INVAR

CONTROLLED EXPANSION ALLOYS

(Alloy developed by Imphy in 1896. Registered trademark)

INTRODUCTION

INVAR is a Fe-Ni alloy with a 36% nickel content • metrology applications, monitoring of civil
that exhibits the lowest expansion of known engineering structures
metals and alloys from the lowest temperatures • seals, spacers and specialised frames
up to approximately 230°C. • the manufacture of thermal bimetallic strips

It is used in particular for: • integral holds on gas carriers (M93)

• thermostat rods • liquefied gas transfer lines (M93)
• clock balance wheels • television applications: Shadow Mask,
• precision condenser blades frames, suspensions, electron gun
• radar cavity resonators components.
• electronic applications: special electronic
housings.
• moulds for composites

TYPICAL ANALYSIS

The Fe-Ni alloys in the Invar range developed by Imphy Alloys feature optimised chemical
compositions in order to achieve the best balance between expansion and the other properties
required by the applications: mechanical properties, weldability, structural stability at cryogenic
temperature, etc.

The content by weight of the principal chemical elements is given in the table below.

G ra d e N i C o F e

In v a r 3 6 < 0 .4 r e m a in d e r

In v a r- M 9 3 3 6 < 0 .2 r e m a in d e r

In o v a r 3 6 < 0 .1 r e m a in d e r

M ic r o v a r 3 6 0 .2 5 r e m a in d e r

In o v c o 3 3 4 .5 r e m a in d e r
GRADES

The Invar grades developed by Imphy Alloys can be categorised into six groups:

Typical values
INVAR αm between 20° and 100°C 1.2 x 10-6°C-1

INVAR-M93 αm between –180° and 100°C 1.5 x 10-6° C-1

(Cryogenic Invar with improved αm between 20° and 100°C 1.3 x 10-6° C-1
weldability)

INOVAR αm between 20° and 100°C 0.65 x 10-6° C-1

(Invar with low residuals, low expansion
coefficient)
MICROVAR * αm between 20° and 100°C 0.65 x 10-6° C-1
(Inovar with low cobalt content and
enhanced mechanical properties)
INOVCO * αm between 20° and 100°C 0.55 x 10-6° C-1
(Invar with cobalt, very low expansion
coefficient and enhanced mechanical
properties)
HARDENED INVAR * αm between 20° and 100°C 2.75 x 10-6° C-1
(Invar with elevated mechanical
properties, hardened by precipitation of
the g’-Ni3 (Ti, Al) phase

NB: Measurements are conducted after heat treatment at 950° for 30 minutes followed b y
cooling in air. On hardened Invar, the measurements are conducted following
hardening heat treatment at 750°C.
Other types of measurement / treatment are possible on request

* These products are only supplied for use on specific projects.

TYPICAL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Only Inovco and hardened Invar exhibit significantly different physical properties to those of Invar.
This divergence is due to the addition of chemical elements (Co, Ti).
Thermal
Curie Resistivity Specific heat
Melting point conductivity Density
Invar Grade Temperature at 20°C at 20°C -3
(°C) at 20°C -1 -1 (g.cm )
(°C) (µW.cm) -1 -1 (J.m .°C )
(W.m .°C )
Invar
Invar-M93
230 1450 75 10.5 0.51
Inovar
8.1
Microvar
Inovco 220 1470 80 10.5 0.51
Hardened Invar 220 1410 80 14.1 0.49

The Fe-Ni alloys in the Invar range are characterised by a mean expansion coefficient, close to
-6 -1
ambient temperature, of less than 3.5 x 10 °C . The low expansion of these alloys is only observed
below the Curie temperature.
Mean expansion coefficient αm 10 ° C
-6

-180°C 20°C to 100°C 20°C to 200°C 20°C to 300°C 20°C to 400°C 20°C to 500°C
Invar 1.8 1.2 2.3 4.8 7.5 8.9
Invar-M93 1.5 1.3 2.4 4.9 7.6 9.0
Inovar 1.4 0.65 1.9 4.8 7.6 9.6
Microvar 1.4 0.65 1.7 4.6 7.5 9.5
Inovco 0.55 1.5 4.4 7.3 9.3
Hardened
(1) 4.5 2.8 4.0 6.5 9.0 10.5
Invar

(1)
: Hardened at 750°C for 30 minutes, from an anneal ed supply condition.

TYPICAL MECHANICAL PROPERTIES FOR COLD-ROLLED PRODUCTS

The Fe-Ni alloys in the Invar range exhibit mechanical properties in the range 250 MPa – 1000 MPa.
Control of residual chemical elements and the fine-grained austenitic structure of these grades endow
them with excellent ductility (elongation at fracture and impact strength).

Annealed - 850°C - 15 mins Strain-hardened 25%

Rp0.2% Rm E A Grain size Rp0.2% Rm A

Grade (MPa) (MPa) (%) (ASTM) (MPa) (%)
(MPa) (MPa)

Invar 260 455 8 560 575

Invar-M93 270 465 8 570 580

130 000
Inovar 260 455 > 30 8 560 570 >5

Microvar 290 470 9 600 630

Inovco 300 480 125 000 8 610 650

(1) (1) (1) (3) (3) (3)
300 580 33 750 775 7
Hardened Invar (2) (2)
155 000 (2)
8 (4) (4) (4)
775 1100 15 950 990 6

(1)
: Annealed supply condition.
(2)
: Hardened at 750°C for 30 minutes, from an anneal ed supply condition.
(3)
: Strain-hardened supply condition.
(4)
: Hardened supply condition.
In v a r / In o v a r In v a r / In o v a r H a r d e n e d In v a r
(1 )
A n n e a l e d - 8 5 0 °C - 1 5 m i n s S tr a in -h a r d e n e d 2 5 %

T e m p e ra tu re R p 0 .2 % R m E A R p 0 .2 % R m A R p 0 .2 % R m E A
( °C ) (M P a ) (M P a ) (M P a ) (% ) (M P a ) (M P a ) (% ) (M P a ) (M P a ) (M P a ) (% )

2 0 2 6 0 4 5 5 1 3 0 ,0 0 0 3 0 5 6 0 5 7 5 7 7 7 5 1 1 0 0 1 5 5 ,0 0 0 1 5

1 0 0 2 1 0 4 1 0 1 3 5 ,0 0 0 3 2 5 5 0 5 6 5 5 .5 7 5 0 1 0 5 0 1 5 9 ,0 0 0 1 5

2 0 0 1 3 0 3 5 0 1 4 2 ,0 0 0 3 3 5 1 0 5 5 0 3 .5 6 6 0 1 0 0 0 1 6 5 ,0 0 0 1 8

3 0 0 1 0 0 3 2 5 1 4 6 ,0 0 0 3 3 4 8 0 4 8 5 3 6 3 0 9 5 0 1 7 0 ,0 0 0 2 0

4 0 0 9 0 2 9 0 1 4 3 ,0 0 0 3 5 4 1 0 4 3 0 3 .5 6 2 0 9 0 0 1 6 5 ,0 0 0 2 0

5 0 0 8 5 2 6 0 1 4 0 ,0 0 0 3 5 3 1 0 3 4 0 9 6 0 0 8 6 0 1 6 0 ,0 0 0 2 0

6 0 0 7 5 2 1 0 1 3 7 ,0 0 0 3 5 2 4 0 2 7 5 1 8 5 8 0 7 3 0 1 5 0 ,0 0 0 1 5

7 0 0 7 3 1 3 0 1 3 4 ,0 0 0 3 0 9 0 1 3 0 3 0 5 2 0 5 6 0 1 4 5 ,0 0 0 1 0

(1) : Hardened at 750°C for 30 minutes, from an ann ealed supply condition.

TYPICAL MECHANICAL PROPERTIES FOR HOT-FINISHED INVAR PRODUCTS

The physical properties are measured in the recrystallised condition

Grain Vickers Rm (MPa) Rp0.2%(MPa) A% (50 mm)

size hardness
HV30
ASTM E- NF EN ISO NF EN ISO 10002-15 NF EN ISO 10002-15 NF EN ISO 10002-15
112 6507

Round - Disc
20 < φ < 500 mm 3 à 10 130 – 220 400 – 550 200 – 350 > 20
As-rolled
Rod
φ < 20 mm 150 – 250 650 – 850 >5
As-drawn
Plate
3 < Thick < 100 mm 100 – 150
Annealed
Flat - Square
3 < Thick < 30 mm 100 – 150
Annealed or As-drawn
Ring
As-rolled > 110
Billet
Block
Sheet bar
NB: Other tests can be performed on request

TYPICAL MAGNETIC PROPERTIES

B10 Hc µanh
µmax
(G) (A/m) at 0.4 Oe
Invar 27 9 500 18 000
Inovar Annealed 12 500 25 12 000 19 000
Microvar 850°C - 15 mins 45 6 000 13 500
Inovco 11 700 43 6 300 14 000
Grade
Hardened on
Hardened annealed supply
11 750 38 4 900 9 000
Invar condition
(750°C - 30 mins)

µanh: anhysteretic permeability

SUPPLY FORMS

Cold-rolled products
Strip
Plate
Hot-finished products Round - Disc
Rod
Plate Flat – Square
Ring
Billet – Block – Sheet bar

PROCESSING PARAMETERS

Consult us in respect of Microvar and hardened Invar.

For Invar, Inovar and Inovco:

Machining
Baking Invar :
Turning Milling Drilling
Tool Carbide Super High • For stress relief:
S3 or 34 HSS speed Rolled, drawn, forged, machined, etc.
steel products generally exhibit residual
Coolant/ Soluble Soluble Soluble stresses. In the case of high-precision
Lubricant oil oil oil machining with substantial material
Cutting 12 – 17° 15° removal, it is recommended that a stress
angle relief treatment for 3 hours at 315°C
Relief angle 5 – 8° 3 – 7° 9 – 13° followed by slow cooling be performed
Cutting 50 – 75 10 – 15 10 between rough and finish machining.
speed
(m/min) • For accelerated aging:
Feed rate 0.2 – 0.5 0.05 – 0.10 Furthermore, Invar is subject to some
mm/ /revolution 0.10 /revolution dimensional instability due to physico-
/tooth chemical effects. It is therefore
necessary to perform accelerated aging
Brazing: of the metal before use, by baking as
follows: 24 hours at 100°C followed by
In order to avoid any risk of stress corrosion cracking when slow cooling to ambient temperature
brazing, the parts to be joined must be free from residual (25°C/24h).
stresses. This condition is attained by stress-relief
annealing at 700-800°C. Brazing with copper or sil ver-
copper with or without palladium produces very good results Corrosion resistance:
on stress-relieved Invar. The use of tin or white tin soft-
Despite its high nickel content, which affords it
brazing solder can also be adopted.
some resistance to oxidation, the INVAR alloy
cannot be compared, as regards corrosion
Welding: resistance, to so-called stainless alloys such as
type 18/8 alloys for example. Careful polishing
significantly improves its resistance to oxidation.
Welding should preferably be carried out in the annealed
Obviously, it is possible to employ the traditional
condition. Oxy-acetylene, TIG and resistance welding can
methods of protection (varnishing, electroplating).
be performed, taking the same type of precautions as for
stainless alloys.
For complex fabricated joints (intersecting welds) and for
thicknesses in excess of 2 mm, it is possible, depending on
the application requirements, to use either Invar-M93, Invar-
M93T or INVAR-Ti.Mn wire (consult us).
Refer to the specific welding technical data sheets for Invar
M93 and M93T.