Pure nickel vs. plated

[rg12]

Hey Guys,

I know that pure nickel is about 10 times more conductive than nickel plated steel.

In real life, does 1 piece of pure nickel can really perform the same as 10 pieces of nickel plated steel?

Also, does the nickel plating add a measurable conductive difference?

 

[spinningmagnets]

IACS has a chart showing the electrical conductivity of various materials, with pure copper being rated as 100.

The chart below shows cast steel at 10/100, and pure nickel at 25/100

http://eddy-current.com/conductivity-of-metals-sorted-by-resistivity/

Then, this website lists nickel at 22/100, with steel being at 5-15/100 (depending on the type)

https://www.bluesea.com/resources/108/Electrical_Conductivity_of_Materials

As a side-note, I read somewhere that nickel-plated copper (which I like right now) runs about 80/100, but it didn't state how thick the plating was...

 

[rojitor]

Rust is not conductive. Since plated strips tend to oxidize, the performance of pure nickel is absolutely better over time.

 

[rg12]

Well, I went by this chart:
http://www.tibtech.com/conductivity.php

It shows nickel as 14.3 and steel as 1.32

 

[kdog]

That's stainless steel. You sure ain't getting that as a cheap nickel alternative!
Try the Carbon steel at 5.9 a bit less than 1/2 of the nickel rating. Which seems about right.

 

[tomjasz]

From Damian Rene

 

[redilast]

I believe nickel plated steel has about 40% higher resistance than pure nickel. But the plating of the nickel can vary between suppliers so thats just a general ballpark estimate.

For short strips of say 0.15mm * 8mm, I have no problem running these at 10A+. Wire is often rated at 60C, 75C, 90C and even 105C for wire that is in appliances. I don't know why we would rate pure nickel any differently from standard copper wire?

 

[rg12]

So I guess it's about twice as conductive then...it's weird that one website shows one thing and the other shows a totally different story...
Thanks guys