Zirconium


Zirconium and its alloys are useful construction materials as well.  Though perceived by many to be appropriate only in nuclear and specialized chemical environments – primarily acetic and hydrochloric acids, the list of beneficial applications for zirconium will continue to grow.

 Zirconium is available primarily in two common grades – 702 and 705.  Zirconium 702 is a commercially pure grade and has excellent corrosion protection with resistance to stress-corrosion cracking and crevice corrosion.  This alloy is used for various types of chemical processing.

Zirconium 705 is an alloyed grade with the addition of Niobium.  While still offering excellent corrosion resistance, Zirc 705 offers higher strength capability.

Zirconium gets its protection from a critical oxide layer produced on the surface by heat treatment.  To provide the most enhanced oxide layer on machined parts and especially on threaded fasteners, it is very important that these parts be heat treated to very specific parameters.