Silicon

A hard and brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, it is a tetravalent metalloid.  Elemental silicon also has a large impact on the modern world economy. Most free silicon is used in the steel refining, aluminium-casting, and fine chemical industries (often to make fumed silica). Even more visibly, the relatively small portion of very highly purified silicon used in semiconductor electronics (< 10%) is essential to integrated circuits — most computers, cell phones, and modern technology depend on it. Silicon is the basis of the widely used synthetic polymers called silicones.

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Bronze

Bronze, alloy traditionally composed of copper and tin.  Bronze is harder than copper as a result of alloying that metal with tin or other metals. Bronze is also more fusible (i.e., more readily melted) and is hence easier to cast. It is also harder than pure iron and far more resistant to corrosion.

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Inconel

Inconel is a family of austenitic nickel-chromium-based superalloys.  Inconel alloys are oxidation- and corrosion-resistant materials well suited for service in extreme environments subjected to pressure and heat. When heated, Inconel forms a thick, stable, passivating oxide layer protecting the surface from further attack. Inconel retains strength over a wide temperature range, attractive for high temperature applications where aluminum and steel would succumb to creep as a result of thermally induced crystal vacancies. Inconel’s high temperature strength is developed by solid solution strengthening or precipitation hardening, depending on the alloy.

 

Monel

Monel is a group of nickel alloys, primarily composed of nickel (up to 67%) and copper, with small amounts of iron, manganese, carbon, and silicon. Stronger than pure nickel, Monel alloys are resistant to corrosion by many agents, including rapidly flowing seawater. They can be fabricated readily by hot- and cold-working, machining, and welding.

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Hastelloy

Hastelloy and Incoloy are both members of the “superalloy” family, also known as high-performance alloys. As such, they have several key characteristics in common. They both possess excellent mechanical strength, especially at high temperatures, and they are both highly resistant to corrosion and oxidation.