This article examines the role of alloying in the production and use of nickel and its alloys. It explains how nickel-base alloys are categorized and lists the most common grades along with their compositional ranges and corresponding UNS numbers. It describes the role of nearly 20 alloying elements and how they influence strength, ductility, hardness, and corrosion resistance. It also addresses processing issues, explaining how alloying and intermetallic phases affect forming, welding, and machining operations.

This chapter is dedicated mostly to the metallurgical effects on the corrosion behavior of corrosion-resistant alloys. It begins with a section describing the importance of alloying elements on the corrosion behavior of nickel alloys. The chapter considers the metallurgical effects of alloy composition for heat-resistant alloys, nickel corrosion-resistant alloys, and nickel-base alloys. This chapter also discusses the corrosion implications of changing the alloy microstructure via solid-state transformation, second-phase precipitation, or cold work. It concludes with a comparison of corrosion behavior between cast and wrought product forms.

Stainless steels and nickel-base alloys are recognized for their resistance to general corrosion and other categories of corrosion. This chapter examines the effects of specific alloying elements, metallurgical structure, and mechanical conditioning on the corrosion resistance of these alloys. Some categories of corrosion covered are pitting, crevice, intergranular, stress-corrosion cracking, general, and high-temperature corrosion.