INCOLOY® alloy DS (W. Nr. 1.4862), first developed for woven wire furnace conveyor belts, is now widely used for a range of heat-treatment applications where its strength and corrosion resistance at high temperatures enable its use in light section.

Alloys for use in high-temperature processes must be able to withstand exposure to hot combustion gases and operating atmospheres for a considerable period of time without the loss of effective section that can be caused by corrosion.

INCOLOY alloy DS, in common with other Special Metals Corporation heat-resisting alloys, develops a tightly adherent oxide film that protects its surface against corrosion processes. It is also resistant to ‘green rot' which can occur in nickel-chromium alloys when atmospheres vary between reducing and oxidizing, and in some cases where the reducing atmosphere is of a carburizing nature. In these conditions chromium carbide can form along the grain boundaries and preferential oxidation of the depleted chromium matrix follows, a form distinct from ordinary oxidation which produces a passive oxide film.

INCOLOY alloy DS is also resistant to ‘sigma' phase, a hard, brittle, complex intermetallic compound, basically iron-chromium, which precipitates in the 600-900°C range from structures that are either ferritic, mixed ferrite and austenite, or marginally austenitic. Nickel, an austenite former, suppresses the tendency to ‘sigma' phase formation and INCOLOY alloy DS, with a nominal 37% nickel content, may be heated indefinitely within the 600-900°C range without fear of ‘sigma' phase embrittlement.

Thus, the corrosion resistance and strength of INCOLOY alloy DS account for its use in a wide variety of high temperature process equipment ranging from furnace retorts and heat treatment jigs to components used in domestic appliances.