Possible Improvements on Kettle Elements
When looking at kettle heating elements, the most common material used is Nichrome insulated elements. Although Nichrome is malleable and has low deformation under high heat, another type of alloy can be more suitable to this application; namely a Fe-Cr-Al alloy. This alloy should consist of majority Iron (60-65%), with Chromium (20-28%) and Aluminium (5-8%) impurities. This would create an alloy which has a very high melting point (over 1200°C), allowing for the same advantages in heating as Nichrome.
The advantages over Nichrome are that it forms a layer of Aluminium Oxide which can prevent shorting even if the protective casing breaks/deforms as Aluminium oxide is an electrical insulator which still has a good thermal conductivity.
The advantages over Nichrome are that it forms a layer of Aluminium Oxide which can prevent shorting even if the protective casing breaks/deforms as Aluminium oxide is an electrical insulator which still has a good thermal conductivity.
FeCrAl alloys are also much better suited to heating applications as they tend to stretch less than Nichrome, so the use of FeCrAl alloys in kettle heating elements would mean that the kettle has a longer lifespan, and less wear and tear, since the reduction of deformation of the heating wire would mean that less stress is placed on the protective casing than Nichrome wires. This means that less Copper casing material, and less Ceramic insulation would be required for FeCrAl alloys, reducing the cost of production drastically per element manufactured at no risk to the product or user.
This alloy also has a slightly higher resistivity than Nichrome, so the element would heat the water within the kettle faster than a standard kettle heating element.
The elements used in the manufacture of this alloy, specifically Aluminium, are much more readily available than Nickel, and this would mean that the production costs of this alloy is much lower than that of Nichrome.
In conclusion, the material properties of a FeCrAl alloy make it a feasible improvement on standard Nichrome heating elements.
This alloy also has a slightly higher resistivity than Nichrome, so the element would heat the water within the kettle faster than a standard kettle heating element.
The elements used in the manufacture of this alloy, specifically Aluminium, are much more readily available than Nickel, and this would mean that the production costs of this alloy is much lower than that of Nichrome.
In conclusion, the material properties of a FeCrAl alloy make it a feasible improvement on standard Nichrome heating elements.