90-Silver 10-Nickel Electrical Contact Alloy
90-silver 10-nickel is a precious metal alloy formulated for use in electrical contacts. It has a moderately high electrical conductivity among the precious metal electrical contact alloys in the database.
The properties of 90-silver 10-nickel include four common variations. This page shows summary ranges across all of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare 90-silver 10-nickel to: precious metal electrical contact alloys (top), all alloys in the same category (middle), and the entire database (bottom). A full bar means this is the highest value in the relevant set. A half-full bar means it's 50% of the highest, and so on.
Mechanical Properties
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
82 GPa 12 x 106 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.36
Shear Modulus
30 GPa 4.4 x 106 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
250 to 420 MPa 36 to 61 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
130 J/g
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
840 °C 1540 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
960 °C 1760 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
260 J/kg-K 0.061 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Expansion
19 µm/m-K
Other Material Properties
Density
10 g/cm3 640 lb/ft3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
90 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
79 % IACS
Common Calculations
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
4.4 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
14 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
6.7 to 11 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
8.5 to 12 points
Thermal Shock Resistance
11 to 19 points
Alloy Composition
Ag | 89 to 91 | |
Ni | 8.8 to 11 | |
res. | 0 to 0.2 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
ASTM B693: Standard Specification for Silver-Nickel Electrical Contact Materials
CRC Materials Science and Engineering Handbook, 4th ed., James F. Shackelford et al. (editors), 2015