For the manufacture of various electrical appliances, radio equipment, etc. metals and alloys with high strength and durability are used. Particularly widely used in the electronics industry is a material that is an alloy of nickel and chromium, called nichrome. It does not corrode and can withstand high temperature fluctuations.
Nevertheless, despite the decent technological properties of nichrome, it has one drawback. This is the price. Nichrome is a rather expensive material, since its production is laborious and requires large economic costs. Therefore, as an alternative to nichrome, manufacturers of electronic household appliances increasingly use fehral
Fechral is a special alloy of iron, aluminum and chromium. Manganese, silicon, zirconium, etc. can be used as additional components. The protective function of the material is performed by a layer of aluminum oxide. Due to the fact that nickel is not used in large volumes during the production of fechrali, the cost of this material is much lower than the cost of nichrome.
It is heat-resistant, which allows it to be used at temperatures up to 1400 ºС. The low density of the alloy, only about 7.2 g /cm³, makes the material very light. Fechral structures, fechral wire or tape weigh 17% less than similar nichrome products. In addition, Fechral tape is resistant to aggressive environmental influences, does not lend itself to corrosion.
All of the above properties make fechral an excellent material for the manufacture of electrical appliances, electric heating elements that have been working for a long time in non-standard operating conditions, tape and wire resistors, etc.
However, Fehrali also has its drawbacks. This material is more fragile and brittle than nichrome. It can be wound only at temperatures above 300 ºС.
Fehrali has a shorter service life than nichrome. This applies mainly to those cases when the cycles of operation and inactivity of various devices in which elements of fechral are used change too often, while the heating temperature of the equipment exceeds 600 ° C.
It should also be noted that fechral is difficult to process. Due to the physical properties of the material, it is impossible to make very thin industrial wire or tape from fechrali. This somewhat limits the scope of use of the alloy in the manufacture of equipment.
