The Melting of Nickel
BY W. A. MUDGE,*MEMBER A.I.M.E.
THIS discussion will be limited to malle-
able, commercially pure nickel and some
high-nickel alloys, containing more than 50
per cent of nickel, which are produced by
The International Nickel Company, Inc.
a t its Huntington works, West Virginia,
from electrolytic nickel or from a nickel-
copper sulphide matte.
The principal sources of nickel are sul-
phides of nickel, copper and iron, which are
found in the large deposit of pyhhotite-
pentlandite-chalcopyrite ores in the Sud-
bury area of Ontario, Canada. Pentlandite,
a complex nickel-iron sulphide, is the
nickel carrier.
These ores are concentrated, roasted,
and smelted to remove considerable iron
and sulphur and to produce a nickel-
copper sulphide matte. Separation of the
component sulphides of this matte, fol-
lowed by electrolytic rehing, results in
the production of electrolytic nickel and
electrolytic copper; direct refining of a
selected portion of the matte gives the
nickel-copper alloy, Monel.
Melting of the metallic materials is done
in natural gas-£ired, acid furnaces of the
open-hearth, or reverberatory, type, having
capacities of 6 to 2 0 tons; in three-phase,
basic, electric-arc furnaces, having capac-
ities of 7 to 2 0 tons; and in basic, high-
frequency induction furnaces having
capacities of fi to 3 tons.
Manuscript received at the office of the
Institute June 15. 1946.
Assistant Director of Technical Service
on Mill Products. Development and Research
Division. The International Nickel Co., Inc..
New York. N. Y.
Malleable, commercially pure nickel is
melted in the acid open-hearth furnace.
The charge is sulphur-free, electrolytic
nickel, containing 99.9 per cent nickel* and
clean mill scrap.
Monel, containing approximately two
thirds nickel and one third copper, is
produced by roasting the nickel-copper
sulphide matte to an oxide, smelting the
oxide with charcoal in a 20-ton, acid open-
hearth furnace, adding clean mill scrap,
duplexing to a zo-ton, basic, electric-arc
furnace, and refining in this furnace with a
lime-fluorspar, carbide slag.
Inconel, containing nickel, 80 per cent;
chromium, 14 and iron, 6, is melted in
the '/-ton electric-arc furnace or the 3-ton
induction furnace. The charge is electro-
lytic nickel, ferrochromium and clean 'mill
scrap.
These are the fundamental operations.
High-nickel alloys are produced from one of
these three materials by additions of
suitable amounts of manganese, aluminum,
silicon or copper. For example, the age-
hardenable alloy, K Monel, is produced
from Monel by the addition of approxi-
mately 3 per cent of aluminum, and D
nickel is produced from nickel by the addi-
tion of approximately 4.5 per cent of
metallic manganese.
For conversion to rods, bars, sheet, strip,
tubing and wire forms, by hot-working and
cold-working operations, the molten ma-
terials are teemed into ingots ranging in
size from 14 by 14 by 60 in., 3300 lb., to
36 by 36 by 48 in., 18,000 lb. All ingots are,
overhauled mechanically before hot work-
ing.
Contains a small amount of cobalt.

I t is not difticult to melt metals and
alloys providing adequate heat and con-
tainers are available and the operator is
experienced. The operations described thus
far in this discussion are, therefore, not
unusual. A brief summary of them is
necessary, however, to enable proper
appreciation of the more important part
of the metallurgy of nickel and high-
nickel alloys, which will follow; namely, the
treatment of the molten metals for
malleabilization.
Prior to 1870, nickel was used chiefly in
alloys that contained up to approxi-
-mately 2 5 per cent nickel. I n that year,
Fleitmann, in Germany, demonstrated that
pure nickel could be made sufficiently
ductile for hot-working and cold-working
by the addition of a small amount of
magnesium. This operation came to be
known as " deoxidation." I t was followed,
without appreciable variation, for nickel
and the high-nickel alloys to about 1930,
, even though its results were never entirely
satisfactory and were inadequate for the
more severe hot-working operations such as
the rolling of sharp-cornered sections and
hot-piercing of seamless tubing. I t pro-
duced materials that could be hot-worked
well a t temperatures above about ISOOOF.,
but that would edge-crack if worked below
this temperature.
By 1933, a fundamental study of deoxi-
dation and associated phenomena of nickel
and high-nickel alloys a t the Huntington
plant had been completed. This work
furnished adequate proof that deoxidation,
per se, was only a part of a treatment for
these materials, which would give them
adequate hot ductility, or malleability,
and cold ductility for all processing and,
fabricating operations; and which would
prevent the alloys from being considered as
"hot-short " or "red-short."
This work was begun under the author's
general direction by Clarence Bieber,
MUDGE 75
-
and was continued by him and his assist-
ants to a most satisfactory c o n c l ~ s i o n I. ~t
is unfortunate that Mr. Bieber could not be
present a t this symposium and present his
story in person. I n his absence, the follow-
ing summary will have to suffice.
Mr. Bieber has pioneered in one form of
high-temperature metallurgy. His work has
introduced a new era in the pyr~metallurgy
of nickel and the high-nickel alloys, and
has- contributed greatly to the increased
uses of these materials.
The process of malleabilization includes
four essentials:
I. Deoxidation t o remove harmful oxides.
2. Degasification to remove carbon mon-
oxide, nitrogen, or 'hydrogen.
3. Fixing of harmful elements.
4. No injurious effect from the malleabi-
lizing materials added.
As far as is known, no single addition
element satisfies all four of these require-
ments. Aluminum will deoxidize, but it
will not fix harmful elements; calcium will
deoxidize and fix sulphur, but an excess of
it causes brittleness; phosphorus will con-
vert a harmful element such as calcium to a
harmless constituent, but will not remove
gases; titanium will fix some harmful solid
and gaseous elements, but will not provide
adequate deoxidation; and magnesium,
although sufficient for deoxidation and
fixation of sulphur, will not always provide
for adequate degasification, nor will it fix
.
selenium or tellurium completely.
The treatment for optimum malle-
ability, therefore, requires the use of two
or more addition elements. This can be
illustrated well by a description of the
method used to evaluate optimum malle-
abilization and by examples that describe
the malleabiliziig treatment for. nickel,
Monel, K Monel and Inconel. The former
will be presented in detail as a contribu-
' U. S. Pat. No. 2150094.
 76 THE MELTING OF NICKEL
tion to the 1947 Symposium on the Work-
ing of Non-Ferrous Metals and Alloys, and
will be described only briefly now.
Evaluation of hot malleability by the
ductility factors, elongation and reduction
of area, as determined by the short-time,
high-temperature tensile test, or by the
number of twists to rupture, as deter-
mined by the short-time, high-temperature
torsion t e ~ t , ~is Jnot as reliable for nickel
and the high-nickel alloys as it is for'steels.
For the nickel materials, the hot-bend and
hot-upset tests are more useful because the
deformation is practically instantaneous
and, therefore, duplicates more accurately
the heavy "bite" of a hot-mill roll or the
sudden blow of a forging hammer.
At the Huntington works of The Inter-
national Nickel Company, Inc., a 3 by 3
by IS-in., 50-lb. test ingot is cast, along
with the standard ingots, from each melt of
each high-nickel material. Small bars, 0.5
by I by 6 in., are forged from this test
ingot and used for the hot-bend specimen.
This specimen is heated in a small electric
furnace to temperatures from 1200° tq
2500°F., with I O O O F . intervals, withdrawn
from the furnace and bent 180°, flat on it-
self, a t temperature with a single blow of a
1500-lb. steam hammer. This operation
produces instantaneous .elongation of ap-
proximately 66 per cent in one inch a t the
outer surface and severe compression a t the
inner surface. If the test specimen bends
without fracture a t a specific temperature,
the material can be hot-forged or hot-rolled
satisfactorily a t that temperature; if the
H. K. Ihrig: The Effect of Various Ele-
ments qn the Hot-workability of Steel. Metals
'
Tech.. A.1.M.E. (Oct. 1945); Trans. A.1.M.B.
(1946) 167.
8 C. L. Clark and J. Russ: A Laboratory
Evaluation of the Hot-working Characteristics
of Metals. Metals Tech., A.I.M.E. (Dec. 1945);
Trans. A.I.M.E. (1946) 167.
specimen cracks a t a specific temperature,
hot-rolling a t that temperature will result
in fracture, checking or edge-cracking.
Examination of all the test specimens will
disclose those that have not fractured in
this hot-bending test and will give the
hot-working range for the material.
The hot-upset test supplements the hot- '
bend test. I t consists in heating a I-in.
cube of the nickel materials to tempera-
tures of 1200° to 25m°F., with loo°F.
intervals, and flattening it a t temp&ature
to )Q-in. thickness with a single blow of the
hammer. Freedom from edge-cracking in
the specimens determines the range of
temperature in which the metal can be hot-
worked satisfactorily.
Nickel.-Treatment of molten nickel
with only magnesium gives a . sound ma-
terial that can be hot-worked satisfactorily
over the temperature range of approxi-
mately 1600' to 2250°F. The preferred
treatment with small amounts of mag-
nesium, titanium and boron gives a pro-
duct that can be hot-worked a t all tempera-
tures from approximately IIOOO to 2350°F.
Mod.-Treatment of molten Monel
with only magnesium or calcium gives a
sound alloy, which can be hot-worked
satisfactorily over the temperature range
of approximately 1700' to 2100°F. The
preferred treatment with small amounts of
aluminum, titanium, phosphorus or boron,
and magnesium gives a product that can
be hot-worked a t all temperatures within
the range, of approximately 1200' to
2 200°F.
K Momel.-K Monel is produced by
adding approximately 3 per cent of alumi-
num Monel; cryolite is added
the furnace slag to remove aluminum oxide
from the molten metal. Although aluminum
is a powerful deoxidizing element, the hot-
malleability range of K Monel without

additional malleabilizing elements is only
approximately 19ooO to 2100°F. The pre-
ferred treatment with small amounts of
titanium and magnesium, in addition to the
aluminum, broadens the hot-malleability
range to approximately 1500~t o 2250°F.
Inconel.-When Inconel is treated with a
single element like magnesium or calcium,
the hot-working range is only about 1800"
to 2350°F. and the ingots are usually gassy
because of occluded nitrogen. Treatment
with small amounts of aluminum, titanium,
boron and magnesium gives a solid pro-
duct, which can be hot-worked readily in
the temperature range of approximately
1 5 0 0 ~to 2350°F. - of 0.02 per cent, calcium of the order of
General.-The amounts of each element
used to produce optimum malleability must
be varied to suit the chemical composition
of the nickel material being treated, and
its condition in the melting furnace a t
the time of treatment.
The statement, " a hot-malleable range
of 1 5 0 0 ~to 2350°F." does not mean t h a t
the material cannot be forged or hot-rolled
a t temperatures below the minimum of
this range. Actually, this can be accom-
plished, but it is not commercial because
the alloy is too hard a t this temperature.
The experienced millman will prefer
always t o work in the upper portion of the
hot-malleable range; and he has the d e h i t e
assurance that the cold corners of a n intri-
cate forging or of a hot-rolled strip will not
crack or check.
DISCUSSION
(H. L. Burghoj presiding)
MEMBER.-I wonder whether there is any
satisfactory theory for the extremely interest-
ing and complex malleabilization processes
described?
W. A. MUDCE(author's reply).-I am not
sure it is as much a theory as a fact based
upon two methods of observation; these are
chemical or spectographic analysis for the
MUDCE 77
minor constituents, and the actual hot-forging
and hot-rolling of the materials. Components
such as sulphur will affect the lower portion
of the hot-ductility range. If sulphur is present
in nickel, you will not be able to work the
material a t a lower temperature than about
1700 F. without fracture along the cold edges.
On the other hand, a material like calcium,
which may be found in molten nickel as a
result of the contact between the molten
metal and the refractories, affects the upper
range of hot ductility and must be counter-
acted by a material that forms a compound
with it, such as phosphorus or boron.
Materials that can cause difficulties in hot-
working of high-nickel materials are lead of the
order of 0.025 per cent, sulphur of the order
0.02 per cent, and tellurium or selenium of
the order of 0.001 per cent. Chemical analysis
is not always adequate to determine small
amounts of these minor elements, therefore
the spectograph has been used.
G. P. HALLIWELL.*--Can this method of
fixation be applied effectively to cast nickel
silvers for the improvement of their cold
mechanical properties?
W. A. MUDCE.-I am not qualified to
speak about nickel silvers because we have
never produced that alloy. I can mention that
the production of the nickel castings, wherethe
nickel content is 50 per cent or more, the
treatment is similar to that. for wrought
materials but not as extensive. There are two
reasons for the difference. First, the higher
melting point of the high-nickel materials
requires a different and usually higher grade
of refractory than is required for the copper-
base materials or the aluminum-base mate-
rials; and second, and equally important,
since the castings are not hot-worked, the
high degree of malleability required for the
hot-workable alloys is not necessary in the
casting. If the casting is sound and has a ~
good ratio of strength to ductility, that is all
that is needed. Therefore, in castings we
usually have a higher carbon content and a
Director of Research. H. Kramer and Co..
Chicago, Illinois.
78 THE MELTING OF NICKEL

higher silicon content than in the malleable
product to reduce the melting point and secure
higher fluidity; the h a 1 treatment for de-
oxidation and degassification is done only
with magnesium; and the auxiliary elements
such as titanium, boron and phosphorus are
not needed.
MEMBER.-HOW much boron, phosphorus,
and titanium do you have in your residual
malleable mixer?
W. A. MUDGE.-That is a long story, and
rather than take the time, I will refer you to
U. S. Patent No. 2,150,094.