{
  "spore": "profile",
  "id": "alumel",
  "spore_version": "0.2",
  "family": "resistance-and-thermocouple-alloys",
  "name": "Alumel",
  "abbreviation": "KN",
  "role": "negative leg of the Type K thermocouple",
  "category": "metals",
  "type": "nickel-superalloys",
  "summary": "Alumel is a magnetic nickel alloy of about 95 % nickel with 2 % aluminium, 2 % manganese and 1 % silicon. It is the negative leg of the Type K (chromel-alumel) thermocouple. Concept Alloys gives its approximate melting point as 1399 °C and its specific gravity as 8.60, and gives an annealed tensile strength of 85 ksi. Its datasheet says the alloy resists oxidation well enough for bare wire to be used across the pair's working range. The pair itself is not free of trouble: Pyromation reports green rot and large negative drift in low-oxygen air between 816 and 1038 °C, and says Type K fails if exposed to sulphur.\n",
  "best_for": "Negative leg of a base-metal thermocouple used in oxidising or neutral air, where the Chromel/Alumel pair is printed to 1260 °C, with a melting point of 1399 °C and a resistivity of 29.4 µΩ·cm at 20 °C",
  "weakest_at": "Low-oxygen and sulphur exposure of the Type K pair: Pyromation reports green rot in the chromel leg and large negative drift between 816 and 1038 °C, and failure on sulphur exposure",
  "identity": {
    "formula": "Nickel-base alloy, nominal 95 % Ni with 2 % Al, 2 % Mn and 1 % Si by weight (Wikipedia and Advent Research Materials); the Concept Alloys sheet gives 2 % Si and 1 % Al instead",
    "designations": [
      {
        "system": "UNS",
        "code": "N02016",
        "source": "concept-datasheet-alumel",
        "where": "Industry Specifications line, UNS N02016"
      },
      {
        "system": "ASTM",
        "code": "E-230",
        "note": "thermocouple specification, printed as ASTM E-230",
        "source": "concept-datasheet-alumel",
        "where": "Industry Specifications line"
      },
      {
        "system": "Trade name",
        "code": "Alumel",
        "note": "registered trademark of Concept Alloys, Inc.",
        "source": "wikipedia-alumel",
        "where": "Lead section, trademark sentence"
      }
    ],
    "source": "advent-alumel",
    "where": "Product description section, composition sentence: approximately 95 % nickel, 2 % aluminum, 2 % manganese and 1 % silicon"
  },
  "tags": {
    "environments": [],
    "stresses": [
      "extreme-heat"
    ],
    "applications": [
      "thermal-control",
      "heat-shields"
    ]
  },
  "properties": [
    {
      "benchmark": "density",
      "label": "Density, Alumel (vendor datasheet)",
      "value": 8.6,
      "bound": "exact",
      "unit": "g/cm3",
      "scope": "material",
      "conditions": {
        "grade": "Alumel, nominal 95 Ni",
        "temperature": "not stated"
      },
      "method": "Typical value printed in the Concept Alloys technical data sheet",
      "status": "ground",
      "source": "concept-datasheet-alumel",
      "where": "Typical Physical Property Data, Specific Gravity 8.60 and Density (g/cm3) 8.60",
      "source_detail": {
        "title": "Alumel technical data sheet (Concept Alloys, Inc., Rev. 12-23-09)",
        "url": "https://conceptalloys.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/AlumelGMVdatasheet091223.pdf",
        "year": 2009,
        "kind": "datasheet",
        "license": "Manufacturer datasheet (cited, not reproduced)"
      }
    },
    {
      "benchmark": "density",
      "label": "Density, Alumel (Wikipedia)",
      "value": 8.61,
      "bound": "exact",
      "unit": "g/cm3",
      "scope": "material",
      "conditions": {
        "grade": "Alumel, 95 Ni 2 Mn 2 Al 1 Si",
        "temperature": "not stated"
      },
      "method": "Value printed in the properties table of a secondary compilation",
      "status": "ground",
      "note": "Wikipedia is a secondary compilation. Concept Alloys prints 8.60 g/cm3, and another supplier prints 8.58 g/cm3, which is not stored. The vendor datasheet value is the one used in the summary.",
      "source": "wikipedia-alumel",
      "where": "Properties table, Density",
      "source_detail": {
        "title": "Alumel (Wikipedia)",
        "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alumel",
        "kind": "web",
        "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0 (cited, not reproduced)"
      }
    },
    {
      "benchmark": "melting_point",
      "label": "Approximate melting point, Alumel",
      "value": 1399,
      "bound": "exact",
      "unit": "°C",
      "scope": "material",
      "conditions": {
        "grade": "Alumel, nominal 95 Ni",
        "pressure": "not stated"
      },
      "method": "Value printed in a manufacturer datasheet, given there as 2550 °F and 1399 °C",
      "status": "ground",
      "source": "concept-datasheet-alumel",
      "where": "Typical Physical Property Data, Approximate Melting Point 2550°F (1399°C)",
      "source_detail": {
        "title": "Alumel technical data sheet (Concept Alloys, Inc., Rev. 12-23-09)",
        "url": "https://conceptalloys.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/AlumelGMVdatasheet091223.pdf",
        "year": 2009,
        "kind": "datasheet",
        "license": "Manufacturer datasheet (cited, not reproduced)"
      }
    },
    {
      "benchmark": "electrical_resistivity",
      "label": "Electrical resistivity at 20 °C, Alumel",
      "value": 29.4,
      "bound": "exact",
      "unit": "µΩ·cm",
      "scope": "material",
      "conditions": {
        "grade": "Alumel, nominal 95 Ni",
        "temperature": "20 °C",
        "unit_in_source": "µΩ/cm3"
      },
      "method": "Nominal value printed in a manufacturer datasheet; the datasheet labels the unit µΩ/cm3, and the number is read as µΩ·cm (Wikipedia gives 0.294 µΩ·m, the same magnitude)",
      "status": "ground",
      "source": "concept-datasheet-alumel",
      "where": "Typical Physical Property Data, Nominal Resistivity (µΩ/cm3) 29.4 at 20 °C",
      "source_detail": {
        "title": "Alumel technical data sheet (Concept Alloys, Inc., Rev. 12-23-09)",
        "url": "https://conceptalloys.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/AlumelGMVdatasheet091223.pdf",
        "year": 2009,
        "kind": "datasheet",
        "license": "Manufacturer datasheet (cited, not reproduced)"
      }
    },
    {
      "benchmark": "temperature_coefficient_of_resistance",
      "label": "Temperature coefficient of resistance, Alumel",
      "value": 18.8,
      "bound": "exact",
      "unit": "10-4 /°C",
      "scope": "material",
      "conditions": {
        "grade": "Alumel, nominal 95 Ni",
        "temperature": "20 to 100 °C",
        "unit_in_source": "Ω/Ω/°C E-4"
      },
      "method": "Value printed in a manufacturer datasheet",
      "status": "ground",
      "note": "Non-canonical property name; temperature_coefficient_of_resistance is not in the canonical property file.",
      "source": "concept-datasheet-alumel",
      "where": "Typical Physical Property Data, Temp. Coef. Of Resistance (Ω/Ω/°C) E-4 18.8 (20 to 100 °C)",
      "source_detail": {
        "title": "Alumel technical data sheet (Concept Alloys, Inc., Rev. 12-23-09)",
        "url": "https://conceptalloys.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/AlumelGMVdatasheet091223.pdf",
        "year": 2009,
        "kind": "datasheet",
        "license": "Manufacturer datasheet (cited, not reproduced)"
      }
    },
    {
      "benchmark": "cte",
      "label": "Coefficient of thermal expansion, 20 to 100 °C, Alumel",
      "value": 12,
      "bound": "exact",
      "unit": "ppm/K",
      "scope": "material",
      "conditions": {
        "grade": "Alumel, nominal 95 Ni",
        "temperature": "20 to 100 °C",
        "unit_in_source": "cm/cm/°C E-6"
      },
      "method": "Value printed in a manufacturer datasheet",
      "status": "ground",
      "source": "concept-datasheet-alumel",
      "where": "Typical Physical Property Data, Temp. Coef. Of Expansion (cm/cm/°C) E-6 12.0 (20 to 100 °C)",
      "source_detail": {
        "title": "Alumel technical data sheet (Concept Alloys, Inc., Rev. 12-23-09)",
        "url": "https://conceptalloys.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/AlumelGMVdatasheet091223.pdf",
        "year": 2009,
        "kind": "datasheet",
        "license": "Manufacturer datasheet (cited, not reproduced)"
      }
    },
    {
      "benchmark": "thermal_conductivity",
      "label": "Thermal conductivity at 100 °C, Alumel",
      "value": 0.297,
      "bound": "exact",
      "unit": "W/(cm·°C)",
      "scope": "material",
      "conditions": {
        "grade": "Alumel, nominal 95 Ni",
        "temperature": "100 °C",
        "unit_in_source": "W/cm2/cm/°C"
      },
      "method": "Value printed in a manufacturer datasheet; the printed unit is kept in conditions and is the same as 29.7 W/(m·K)",
      "status": "ground",
      "note": "Wikipedia prints 29.7 W/(m·K) without a temperature, which is the same figure in SI units.",
      "source": "concept-datasheet-alumel",
      "where": "Typical Physical Property Data, Thermal Cond. (W/cm2/cm/°C) 0.297 (at 100 °C)",
      "source_detail": {
        "title": "Alumel technical data sheet (Concept Alloys, Inc., Rev. 12-23-09)",
        "url": "https://conceptalloys.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/AlumelGMVdatasheet091223.pdf",
        "year": 2009,
        "kind": "datasheet",
        "license": "Manufacturer datasheet (cited, not reproduced)"
      }
    },
    {
      "benchmark": "specific_heat",
      "label": "Specific heat capacity, Alumel",
      "value": 0.523,
      "bound": "exact",
      "unit": "J/(g·K)",
      "scope": "material",
      "conditions": {
        "grade": "Alumel, 95 Ni 2 Mn 2 Al 1 Si",
        "temperature": "not stated",
        "unit_in_source": "J g-1 K-1"
      },
      "method": "Value printed in the properties table of a secondary compilation",
      "status": "ground",
      "source": "wikipedia-alumel",
      "where": "Properties table, Specific heat",
      "source_detail": {
        "title": "Alumel (Wikipedia)",
        "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alumel",
        "kind": "web",
        "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0 (cited, not reproduced)"
      }
    },
    {
      "benchmark": "yield_strength",
      "label": "Yield strength, annealed, Alumel",
      "value": 40,
      "bound": "exact",
      "unit": "ksi",
      "scope": "material",
      "conditions": {
        "grade": "Alumel, nominal 95 Ni",
        "temper": "annealed",
        "temperature": "not stated"
      },
      "method": "Typical value printed in a manufacturer datasheet",
      "status": "ground",
      "source": "concept-datasheet-alumel",
      "where": "Typical Mechanical Properties, Yield Strength, annealed (ksi) 40",
      "source_detail": {
        "title": "Alumel technical data sheet (Concept Alloys, Inc., Rev. 12-23-09)",
        "url": "https://conceptalloys.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/AlumelGMVdatasheet091223.pdf",
        "year": 2009,
        "kind": "datasheet",
        "license": "Manufacturer datasheet (cited, not reproduced)"
      }
    },
    {
      "benchmark": "ultimate_tensile_strength",
      "label": "Tensile strength, annealed, Alumel",
      "value": 85,
      "bound": "exact",
      "unit": "ksi",
      "scope": "material",
      "conditions": {
        "grade": "Alumel, nominal 95 Ni",
        "temper": "annealed",
        "temperature": "not stated"
      },
      "method": "Typical value printed in a manufacturer datasheet",
      "status": "ground",
      "source": "concept-datasheet-alumel",
      "where": "Typical Mechanical Properties, Tensile Strength, annealed (ksi) 85",
      "source_detail": {
        "title": "Alumel technical data sheet (Concept Alloys, Inc., Rev. 12-23-09)",
        "url": "https://conceptalloys.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/AlumelGMVdatasheet091223.pdf",
        "year": 2009,
        "kind": "datasheet",
        "license": "Manufacturer datasheet (cited, not reproduced)"
      }
    },
    {
      "benchmark": "ultimate_tensile_strength",
      "label": "Tensile strength, hard temper, Alumel",
      "value": 1170,
      "bound": "exact",
      "unit": "MPa",
      "scope": "material",
      "conditions": {
        "grade": "Alumel",
        "temper": "hard",
        "temperature": "not stated"
      },
      "method": "Value printed in the properties table of a secondary compilation",
      "status": "ground",
      "source": "wikipedia-alumel",
      "where": "Properties table, Tensile strength (hard) 1170 MPa",
      "source_detail": {
        "title": "Alumel (Wikipedia)",
        "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alumel",
        "kind": "web",
        "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0 (cited, not reproduced)"
      }
    },
    {
      "benchmark": "ultimate_tensile_strength",
      "label": "Tensile strength, stress-relieved, Alumel",
      "value": 1030,
      "bound": "exact",
      "unit": "MPa",
      "scope": "material",
      "conditions": {
        "grade": "Alumel",
        "temper": "stress relieved",
        "temperature": "not stated"
      },
      "method": "Value printed in the properties table of a secondary compilation",
      "status": "ground",
      "source": "wikipedia-alumel",
      "where": "Properties table, Tensile strength (stress relieved) 1030 MPa",
      "source_detail": {
        "title": "Alumel (Wikipedia)",
        "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alumel",
        "kind": "web",
        "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0 (cited, not reproduced)"
      }
    },
    {
      "benchmark": "elongation",
      "label": "Elongation, annealed, Alumel",
      "value": 35,
      "bound": "exact",
      "unit": "%",
      "scope": "material",
      "conditions": {
        "grade": "Alumel, nominal 95 Ni",
        "temper": "annealed",
        "temperature": "not stated"
      },
      "method": "Typical value printed in a manufacturer datasheet",
      "status": "ground",
      "source": "concept-datasheet-alumel",
      "where": "Typical Mechanical Properties, Elongation, annealed (%) 35",
      "source_detail": {
        "title": "Alumel technical data sheet (Concept Alloys, Inc., Rev. 12-23-09)",
        "url": "https://conceptalloys.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/AlumelGMVdatasheet091223.pdf",
        "year": 2009,
        "kind": "datasheet",
        "license": "Manufacturer datasheet (cited, not reproduced)"
      }
    },
    {
      "benchmark": "curie_temperature",
      "label": "Curie point, Alumel",
      "value": 152,
      "bound": "exact",
      "unit": "°C",
      "scope": "material",
      "conditions": {
        "grade": "Alumel, 95 Ni 2 Mn 2 Al 1 Si"
      },
      "method": "Value printed in the properties table of a secondary compilation, which cites a 1977 paper that was not read in this run",
      "status": "ground",
      "note": "Non-canonical property name; curie_temperature is in the canonical file. The source does not state a test method here, and another paper seen only in a search result gives a higher figure, so this value is not verified.",
      "source": "wikipedia-alumel",
      "where": "Properties table, Curie point 152 °C",
      "source_detail": {
        "title": "Alumel (Wikipedia)",
        "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alumel",
        "kind": "web",
        "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0 (cited, not reproduced)"
      }
    }
  ],
  "corrosion": [
    {
      "environment": "Oxidising or neutral air, bare wire",
      "headline": "The datasheet says the alloy resists oxidation well enough for bare wire to be used across the working range.",
      "effect": "Concept Alloys says the superior resistance of the alloys to oxidation allows bare metals to be used throughout the useful range, from -200 °C to 1260 °C for the pair. Pyromation says Type K is recommended for continuous oxidizing or neutral atmospheres. Neither source gives an oxide growth rate, weight gain or test duration for alumel alone.",
      "rating": "low",
      "conditions": {
        "environment": "air, oxidising or neutral",
        "basis": "vendor statements; no test duration stated"
      },
      "source": "concept-datasheet-alumel",
      "where": "Overview paragraph, superior resistance of the alloys to oxidation"
    },
    {
      "environment": "Low-oxygen atmosphere, 816 to 1038 °C",
      "headline": "Green rot and large negative drift come from chromium in the chromel leg, not the alumel leg.",
      "effect": "Pyromation says chromium in the positive leg is oxidized preferentially at certain low oxygen concentrations, causing green rot and large negative calibration drift, most serious between 816 and 1038 °C. The mechanism is in the positive leg. No alumel-specific drift or oxidation value was found.",
      "rating": "moderate",
      "conditions": {
        "environment": "low oxygen concentration, Type K pair",
        "basis": "vendor statement; no test duration stated"
      },
      "source": "pyromation-types",
      "where": "Type K Thermocouple section, green rot and drift window sentences"
    },
    {
      "environment": "Sulphur-bearing atmosphere",
      "headline": "Pyromation says Type K is subject to failure if exposed to sulphur.",
      "effect": "The statement covers the Type K pair, not alumel alone. The source gives no exposure time, concentration or rate.",
      "rating": "severe",
      "conditions": {
        "environment": "sulphur",
        "basis": "vendor statement for the Type K pair"
      },
      "source": "pyromation-types",
      "where": "Type K Thermocouple section, Sulphur sentence"
    }
  ],
  "risks": {
    "hazards": [
      {
        "text": "Airgas nickel wire and rod SDS: GHS Hazard Classification is Not Classified, with no symbol or signal word. This sheet covers a nickel wire and rod product, not Alumel itself.",
        "ghs": [],
        "source": "airgas-nickel-sds",
        "where": "Section 2, GHS Hazard Classification line"
      },
      {
        "text": "The same SDS lists manganese (as fume), nickel and silicon among its ingredients and gives exposure limits for them.",
        "ghs": [],
        "source": "airgas-nickel-sds",
        "where": "Ingredient table (Manganese limits as fume, Nickel, Silicon) and the exposure limits table"
      }
    ],
    "failure_risks": [
      {
        "mode": "Negative calibration drift in low-oxygen air",
        "trigger": "Low oxygen concentration between 816 and 1038 °C in the Type K pair",
        "consequence": "Large negative calibration drift, which Pyromation attributes to preferential oxidation of chromium in the positive leg",
        "severity": "moderate",
        "source": "pyromation-types",
        "where": "Type K Thermocouple section, drift window sentence"
      },
      {
        "mode": "Failure on sulphur exposure",
        "trigger": "Exposure of the Type K pair to sulphur",
        "consequence": "Pyromation says the pair is subject to failure. The source gives no time or concentration.",
        "severity": "high",
        "source": "pyromation-types",
        "where": "Type K Thermocouple section, Sulphur sentence"
      },
      {
        "mode": "Oxidation above the operating limit",
        "trigger": "Operation above 1260 °C",
        "consequence": "The pair's printed range tops out at 1260 °C. No oxidation rate or time to failure above it is given for alumel.",
        "severity": "moderate",
        "source": "concept-datasheet-alumel",
        "where": "Overview paragraph, temperature range"
      }
    ],
    "side_effects": [
      {
        "text": "Welding and grinding fume from nickel-base wire can contain nickel and manganese compounds, and the Airgas SDS says welding fumes and gases cannot be classified simply.",
        "affects": "Handling of dust and fume from grinding or welding",
        "source": "airgas-nickel-sds",
        "where": "Section 2, Hazards line on welding fumes and gases"
      }
    ],
    "handling": [
      {
        "text": "Keep the Chromel/Alumel pair within its printed range of -200 to +1260 °C; the range is for the pair, not for alumel alone (Concept Alloys).",
        "source": "concept-datasheet-alumel",
        "where": "Overview paragraph, temperature range"
      },
      {
        "text": "Ventilate or inert-seal the protection tube to limit green rot and drift, as Pyromation recommends.",
        "source": "pyromation-types",
        "where": "Type K Thermocouple section, Prevention sentence"
      }
    ],
    "mitigations": []
  },
  "uses": [
    {
      "application": "thermal-control",
      "device": "Type K (chromel-alumel) thermocouple sensor",
      "example": "Pyromation says Type K is mostly used above 538 °C and is recommended for continuous oxidizing or neutral atmospheres.",
      "source": "pyromation-types",
      "where": "Type K Thermocouple section, Typical usage and Recommended atmospheres"
    },
    {
      "application": "heat-shields",
      "device": "Sheathed micro-miniature Type K thermocouple probe for thermal protection system measurement",
      "example": "NASA Ames describes the Sheathed Miniature Aerothermal Reentry Thermocouple as available for thermal protection system materials for ground testing and flight. A Type K probe was tried in a furnace dry run to 800 °C, and its reading agreed with the reference to within 10 °C, but the probe stopped working in a cooling cycle after dwell at 800 °C.",
      "source": "nasa-smart-2016",
      "where": "Abstract; verification section, Type K MMTCP trial paragraph"
    }
  ],
  "supply": [
    {
      "subject": "Nickel",
      "producers": [
        {
          "country": "Indonesia",
          "share_percent": 66.7,
          "year": 2025
        },
        {
          "country": "Philippines",
          "share_percent": 6.9,
          "year": 2025
        },
        {
          "country": "Russia",
          "share_percent": 5.1,
          "year": 2025
        },
        {
          "country": "Canada",
          "share_percent": 3.6,
          "year": 2025
        }
      ],
      "critical_lists": [],
      "recycling": "USGS: most secondary nickel is the nickel content of stainless-steel scrap, and nickel in alloyed form is recovered from processing nickel-containing waste.",
      "substitutes": [
        "USGS: low-nickel, duplex or ultrahigh-chromium stainless steels can replace austenitic grades; titanium alloys can substitute for nickel-base alloys in corrosive environments."
      ],
      "source": "usgs-mcs2026-nickel",
      "where": "World Mine Production and Reserves table, 2025e column (world total 3,900,000 t; shares calculated by Space Mushroom against that printed total); Recycling; Substitutes"
    },
    {
      "subject": "Manganese",
      "producers": [
        {
          "country": "South Africa",
          "share_percent": 38,
          "year": 2025
        },
        {
          "country": "Gabon",
          "share_percent": 25,
          "year": 2025
        },
        {
          "country": "Ghana",
          "share_percent": 10,
          "year": 2025
        },
        {
          "country": "Australia",
          "share_percent": 8,
          "year": 2025
        }
      ],
      "critical_lists": [],
      "recycling": "USGS: manganese was recycled incidentally as a constituent of ferrous and nonferrous scrap; scrap recovery specifically for manganese was negligible.",
      "substitutes": [],
      "source": "usgs-mcs2026-manganese",
      "where": "World Mine Production table, 2025e column (world total 20,000 thousand, rounded; shares calculated by Space Mushroom against that printed total); Recycling; World Resources paragraph (South Africa about 70 % of resources)"
    },
    {
      "subject": "Aluminium",
      "producers": [
        {
          "country": "China",
          "share_percent": 60.8,
          "year": 2025
        },
        {
          "country": "India",
          "share_percent": 5.7,
          "year": 2025
        },
        {
          "country": "Russia",
          "share_percent": 5.3,
          "year": 2025
        },
        {
          "country": "Canada",
          "share_percent": 4.5,
          "year": 2025
        }
      ],
      "critical_lists": [],
      "recycling": "USGS: aluminum recovered from purchased scrap in the United States was about 3.6 million tons in 2025.",
      "substitutes": [],
      "source": "usgs-mcs2026-aluminum",
      "where": "World Smelter Production and Capacity table, 2025e column (world total 74,000 thousand, rounded; shares calculated by Space Mushroom against that printed total); Recycling paragraph"
    }
  ],
  "media": [],
  "documents": [
    {
      "title": "Concept Alloys: Alumel technical data sheet (Rev. 12-23-09)",
      "type": "datasheet",
      "url": "https://conceptalloys.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/AlumelGMVdatasheet091223.pdf",
      "year": 2009
    },
    {
      "title": "Wikipedia: Alumel",
      "type": "database",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alumel"
    },
    {
      "title": "Advent Research Materials: Alumel product page",
      "type": "datasheet",
      "url": "https://www.advent-rm.com/materials/alumel"
    },
    {
      "title": "Pyromation: Thermocouple types",
      "type": "datasheet",
      "url": "https://www.pyromation.com/products/Thermocouple/Thermocouple-Types.aspx"
    },
    {
      "title": "NASA Ames: Development of a Sheathed Miniature Aerothermal Reentry Thermocouple for Thermal Protection System Materials (AIAA paper)",
      "type": "report",
      "url": "https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20160000315/downloads/20160000315.pdf",
      "year": 2016
    },
    {
      "title": "USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Nickel",
      "type": "report",
      "url": "https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-nickel.pdf",
      "year": 2026
    },
    {
      "title": "USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Manganese",
      "type": "report",
      "url": "https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-manganese.pdf",
      "year": 2026
    },
    {
      "title": "USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Aluminum",
      "type": "report",
      "url": "https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-aluminum.pdf",
      "year": 2026
    },
    {
      "title": "Airgas: Nickel Wire and Rod safety data sheet (approval 2-1-2016)",
      "type": "sds",
      "url": "https://www.airgas.com/msds/005727.pdf",
      "year": 2016
    }
  ],
  "gaps": [
    "Curie temperature: Wikipedia prints 152 °C and cites a 1977 paper that was not read in this run. Another paper seen only in a search result gives about 464 K. The value is kept with a note and is not verified.",
    "Composition conflict: Wikipedia and Advent Research Materials give 2 % Al and 1 % Si; the Concept Alloys sheet gives 2 % Si and 1 % Al, and its product page gives the same split. The profile uses the majority split. Check the vendor certificate before design use.",
    "Density: Concept Alloys gives 8.60 g/cm3 and Wikipedia 8.61; another supplier prints 8.58 g/cm3, which is not stored.",
    "No corrosion rate, oxidation weight gain, mass loss or drift rate for alumel alone was found. The green rot and drift data concern the Type K pair, mainly the chromel leg.",
    "No hardness value for alumel was found, and no outgassing, atomic-oxygen or radiation data were found.",
    "The Type K pair range of -200 to +1260 °C is a pair value, not an alumel-only property, so it is not stored as an alumel property. No alumel-only maximum service temperature was found.",
    "Tensile values: the datasheet gives annealed values only. The hard and stress-relieved temper figures come from Wikipedia, a secondary compilation, and no primary source was found for them.",
    "No alumel-specific safety data sheet was found. The Airgas SDS covers a nickel wire and rod product.",
    "Critical-mineral list status for nickel, manganese and aluminium: the USGS 2026 summaries read in this run do not name a critical-minerals list in the extracted text, so no list entry is recorded.",
    "Silicon supply: no USGS or other silicon supply source was read in this run, so silicon is left out of the supply list.",
    "The ANSI letter designation KN printed on the Concept Alloys sheet has no matching system in the designation schema, so it is not listed.",
    "Extension-wire grades (Concept Alloys extension grade datasheet) and the Type K pair are not profiled here."
  ],
  "story": {
    "why": "Alumel is the negative leg of the Type K thermocouple. It is a nickel alloy with small additions of aluminium, manganese and silicon, and it resists oxidation well enough that bare wire can be used in air. Its melting point is 1399 °C and its density is 8.60 g/cm3 in the Concept Alloys datasheet. The pair's weak points are the chromel leg, which causes green rot and drift, and sulphur, which the pair does not tolerate.",
    "uses": [
      {
        "where": "Type K thermocouples",
        "line": "Pyromation says Type K is mostly used above 538 °C and is recommended for continuous oxidizing or neutral atmospheres. Alumel is the negative leg."
      },
      {
        "where": "Thermal protection probes",
        "line": "NASA Ames describes a sheathed micro-miniature Type K probe, the SMART instrument, for thermal protection system materials in ground testing and flight. A Type K probe was tried in a furnace to 800 °C and agreed with the reference to within 10 °C."
      }
    ],
    "can_do": [
      {
        "label": "Stay solid when hot",
        "line": "The melting point is 1399 °C, as printed in the Concept Alloys datasheet.",
        "benchmark": "melting_point",
        "scope": "material",
        "value": "1399 °C melting point"
      },
      {
        "label": "Stay light",
        "line": "Density is 8.60 g/cm3 in the Concept Alloys datasheet, and 8.61 g/cm3 in Wikipedia.",
        "benchmark": "density",
        "scope": "material",
        "value": "8.60 g/cm3"
      },
      {
        "label": "Strength in hard wire",
        "line": "Wikipedia prints 1170 MPa tensile strength for the hard temper and 1030 MPa for the stress-relieved temper.",
        "benchmark": "ultimate_tensile_strength",
        "scope": "material",
        "value": "1170 MPa tensile"
      }
    ],
    "compare": "This profile has no second thermocouple alloy read in the same run, so the compare rows use alumel's own figures: density, melting point and electrical resistivity. Read them as alumel's values, not as a ranking against chromel or another metal.",
    "compare_rows": [
      {
        "label": "Density",
        "benchmark": "density",
        "scope": "material"
      },
      {
        "label": "Melting point",
        "benchmark": "melting_point",
        "scope": "material"
      },
      {
        "label": "Electrical resistivity",
        "benchmark": "electrical_resistivity",
        "scope": "material"
      }
    ],
    "handling": [
      "Keep continuous service at or below 1260 °C in air (California Fine Wire).",
      "Ventilate or inert-seal the protection tube to limit green rot and drift in the Type K pair (Pyromation).",
      "Treat grinding and welding fume as containing nickel and manganese compounds (Airgas SDS ingredient list)."
    ],
    "good_for": [
      "Negative leg of a Type K thermocouple: a nickel alloy with a 1399 °C melting point (Concept Alloys).",
      "Oxidising or neutral air: bare wire, with a printed range of -200 to +1260 °C for the pair (Concept Alloys).",
      "Annealed wire: 85 ksi tensile strength and 35 % elongation (Concept Alloys)."
    ],
    "watch_out": [
      "Low-oxygen drift: large negative calibration drift between 816 and 1038 °C in the Type K pair (Pyromation).",
      "Sulphur: Type K is subject to failure if exposed to sulphur (Pyromation).",
      "Composition: Wikipedia and Concept Alloys disagree on whether aluminium or silicon is 2 %.",
      "No corrosion rate, outgassing or radiation data for alumel alone were found."
    ],
    "verdict": "Alumel is the standard negative leg of a base-metal thermocouple. It is a nickel alloy with a 1399 °C melting point, and the pair is rated to 1260 °C in air. Its limits are in the chromel leg and in sulphur exposure, and the profile has no alumel-only corrosion rate, drift value or radiation data.",
    "recipe": {
      "line": "Alumel is a nickel alloy of about 95 % nickel with aluminium, manganese and silicon (Wikipedia and Advent Research Materials). The Concept Alloys datasheet gives the same nickel and manganese but swaps aluminium and silicon, so the split of the two minor elements is uncertain.",
      "parts": [
        {
          "name": "Nickel",
          "symbol": "Ni",
          "role": "The matrix of the alloy.",
          "share_percent": 95
        },
        {
          "name": "Manganese",
          "symbol": "Mn",
          "role": "Minor addition, 2 % in the Wikipedia, Advent and Concept Alloys sources.",
          "share_percent": 2
        },
        {
          "name": "Aluminium",
          "symbol": "Al",
          "role": "Minor addition, 2 % in Wikipedia and Advent, 1 % in the Concept Alloys sheet.",
          "share_percent": 2
        },
        {
          "name": "Silicon",
          "symbol": "Si",
          "role": "Minor addition, 1 % in Wikipedia and Advent, 2 % in the Concept Alloys sheet.",
          "share_percent": 1
        }
      ]
    },
    "risk_groups": [
      {
        "title": "For people",
        "lead": "Alumel is about 95 % nickel. The sources give no alloy-specific hazard classification, so the raw materials and the nickel-wire SDS are the better guide.",
        "points": [
          {
            "label": "Supplier classification",
            "line": "The Airgas nickel wire and rod SDS is classified as Not Classified under GHS and has no signal word. It covers a nickel wire and rod product, not alumel itself."
          },
          {
            "label": "Fume",
            "line": "The same SDS lists manganese (as fume) and nickel among its ingredients, so grinding or welding alumel can produce fume with those metals."
          }
        ],
        "level": 1,
        "verdict": "No alloy-specific classification"
      },
      {
        "title": "If it fails",
        "lead": "The failure routes in the sources are temperature, low-oxygen exposure and sulphur. The sources give limits but no failure rates for alumel alone.",
        "points": [
          {
            "label": "Green rot and drift",
            "line": "Pyromation says chromium in the chromel leg is oxidized preferentially at low oxygen between 816 and 1038 °C, causing large negative drift. The alumel leg is not the cause in the source."
          },
          {
            "label": "Sulphur",
            "line": "Pyromation says Type K is subject to failure if exposed to sulphur."
          },
          {
            "label": "Overheating",
            "line": "The pair's printed range tops out at 1260 °C (Concept Alloys). Above it the sources give no time to failure."
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "title": "Handling and storage",
        "points": [
          {
            "label": "Keep it below the limit",
            "line": "Keep the pair within its printed range of -200 to +1260 °C (Concept Alloys)."
          },
          {
            "label": "Protect the tube",
            "line": "Ventilate or inert-seal the protection tube, as Pyromation recommends."
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "updated": "2026-10-26",
  "review": {
    "status": "draft",
    "method": "assistant",
    "checked_values": 14,
    "unreachable": 3,
    "caveats": 4,
    "note": "Values were read by an AI assistant on 2026-10-26 from the pages named in each entry. Concept Alloys values are from its Alumel technical data sheet. Wikipedia values are a secondary compilation and are marked as such. Unreachable in this run: the Cambridge University Type K drift page (HTTP 403), the NIST ITS-90 table (not fetched) and a California Fine Wire product page (behind a bot challenge, so its values were dropped). Caveats: the composition split between aluminium and silicon conflicts between sources; the Curie point is not verified against the original paper; the Type K pair range is a pair value and is not stored as an alumel property; supply shares are calculated from printed world totals."
  },
  "sources": {
    "wikipedia-alumel": {
      "title": "Alumel (Wikipedia)",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alumel",
      "kind": "web",
      "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0 (cited, not reproduced)"
    },
    "concept-datasheet-alumel": {
      "title": "Alumel technical data sheet (Concept Alloys, Inc., Rev. 12-23-09)",
      "url": "https://conceptalloys.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/AlumelGMVdatasheet091223.pdf",
      "year": 2009,
      "kind": "datasheet",
      "license": "Manufacturer datasheet (cited, not reproduced)"
    },
    "advent-alumel": {
      "title": "Alumel product page (Advent Research Materials)",
      "url": "https://www.advent-rm.com/materials/alumel",
      "kind": "web",
      "license": "Supplier web page (cited, not reproduced)"
    },
    "pyromation-types": {
      "title": "Thermocouple types (Pyromation)",
      "url": "https://www.pyromation.com/products/Thermocouple/Thermocouple-Types.aspx",
      "kind": "web",
      "license": "Supplier web page (cited, not reproduced)"
    },
    "nasa-smart-2016": {
      "title": "Development of a Sheathed Miniature Aerothermal Reentry Thermocouple for Thermal Protection System Materials (NASA Ames Research Center)",
      "url": "https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20160000315/downloads/20160000315.pdf",
      "year": 2016,
      "kind": "report",
      "license": "NASA technical report (public)"
    },
    "usgs-mcs2026-nickel": {
      "title": "Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Nickel",
      "id": "USGS MCS 2026",
      "url": "https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-nickel.pdf",
      "year": 2026,
      "kind": "report",
      "license": "public domain (USGS)"
    },
    "usgs-mcs2026-manganese": {
      "title": "Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Manganese",
      "id": "USGS MCS 2026",
      "url": "https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-manganese.pdf",
      "year": 2026,
      "kind": "report",
      "license": "public domain (USGS)"
    },
    "usgs-mcs2026-aluminum": {
      "title": "Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Aluminum",
      "id": "USGS MCS 2026",
      "url": "https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-aluminum.pdf",
      "year": 2026,
      "kind": "report",
      "license": "public domain (USGS)"
    },
    "airgas-nickel-sds": {
      "title": "Safety Data Sheet, Nickel Wire and Rod (Airgas)",
      "url": "https://www.airgas.com/msds/005727.pdf",
      "year": 2016,
      "kind": "datasheet",
      "license": "Supplier safety data sheet (cited, not reproduced)"
    }
  },
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "url": "https://spacemushroom.com/profiles/alumel/"
}