Type C: Tungsten-Rhenium Thermocouple Wire

Type C:  Tungsten 5% Rhenium versus Tungsten 26% Rhenium wire

Concept Alloys takes care every step of the way to provide the finest quality tungsten-rhenium thermocouple wire with the best customer experience possible Our experts can help guide you in material selection and provide technical information and application advise.

We understand that thermocouple wire accuracy and uniformity are important and we go to extremes to achieve it. Special, proprietary processes are employed to achieve a high level of thermoelectric uniformity and accuracy. This is routinely measured by calibrating each end of every coil produced. We go even further by requiring that every finished coil meet our own end-to-end uniformity tolerance. All of these tests are performed over the entire specified temperature range – usually 100 °C to 2300 °C depending on wire size – without extrapolation from lower temperature tests.

Further important information regarding tungsten-rhenium thermocouple wire:

Manufactured and Calibrated On-Site, in the USA  – We take pride in manufacturing and testing our product in Whitmore Lake, Michigan. Our in-house capabilities allow us to control quality to our own demanding standards, and meet your special requirements.

Experienced Staff – Our team has extensive experience in tungsten-rhenium alloys, which allows us to provide unparalleled technical support and customer service.

Complete Alloy Availability – W/W26%Re, W3%Re/W25%Re, and W5%Re/W26%Re.

Doped 3% and 5% Alloys – Concept Alloys’ doped 3% and 5% materials provide superior ductility to competitive un-doped materials.

Calibration from 200 to 4,200 °F – Concept Alloys’ innovative calibration system allows us to test materials to 4,200 °F or higher. Other manufactures simply extrapolate to these temperatures.

Certified to NIST-traceable standards, deviations in µV, and either °F, or °C – User-friendly certifications express deviations in both microvolts and °F or °C.

Special EMF Tolerances and Sizes Available – Special, tight tolerance wire is available for critical applications. We are fully capable of routinely providing any size wire from 0.0005 to 0.020 inch diameter. Larger diameters are available as special orders.

End-to-End Calibrations – Some customers prefer to use calibration data from both ends of long-length spools, rather than an average. This is available for a nominal fee.

Volume Pricing – Discounts from list price are available, and are based on annual usage rather than single buys.

No Minimum Order – Our goal is to meet your exact needs. No more, no less.

Most Orders shipped same or next day – Stock is maintained to support your just-in-time requirements. Our production and shipping systems allow for quick fulfillment of your rush orders. Stock sizes are .0005, .0008, 0.003, 0.005, 0.010, 0.015, 0.020, .032and .040 inch diameter.

Customers service – In a culture of voice mail menus, faxes, e-mail, and unanswered calls, find out why Concept Alloys’ customers rave about our personal service.

Stock Sizes

The diameter and roundness of all tungsten-rhenium wire is continuously measured using laser micrometer technology. This type of testing ensures that every coil of wire meets our rigid standards for dimensional uniformity. Diameter tolerance for all stock wire sizes is +/- 0.0005″.

Wire Diameter (mm/inches)

mm inches
0.013 0.0005
0.020 0.0008
0.076 0.0030
0.127 0.0050
0.198 0.0078
0.254 0.0100
0.381 0.0150
0.406 0.0160
0.508 0.0200
0.813 0.0320
1.016 0.0400

Mechanical & Physical Properties

Tensile Strength, ann. (x 103 psi) Tungsten W3%Re W5%Re W25/26%Re
68°F 80 172 220 200
1832°F 35 60 35 95
3632°F 15 10 26 24
Elongation (% in 10″) Tungsten W3%Re W5%Re W25/26%Re
68°F 0 15 20 11
1832°F 10 18 24 19
3632°F 23 23 24 27
Resistivity (Ω · circ. mil / ft) Tungsten W3%Re W5%Re W25/26%Re
68°F 33 57 70 170
1832°F 199 228 235 331
3632°F 398 420 434 524
Therm. Exp. Coef. (in./in./°F) Tungsten W3%Re W5%Re W25/26%Re
68°F 1.7X10-⁶ 2.9X10-⁶
1832°F 2.3X10-⁶ 3.1X10-⁶
3632°F 3.1X10-⁶ 3.9X10-⁶
 .
Density Tungsten W3%Re W5%Re W25/26%Re
g./cm³ 19.3 19.4 19.4 19.7
lb./in³ 0.697 0.700 0.701 0.714
  .
Melting Point Tungsten W3%Re W5%Re W25/26%Re
°C 3410 3325 3350 3120
°F 6170 6017 6062 5648

Tungsten-Rhenium Accuracy Guarantee*

Tolerances on Initial Values of EMF vs. Temperature

Wire Size, mm Temperature, °C Tolerance*
<= .002″ 32°F – 3200°F ±4.4°C or ±1%**
(<= .051mm) (0°C – 1760°C)
>.002″ – .004″ 32°F – 3400°F ±4.4°C or ±1%**
(>.051mm – .102mm) (0°C-1870°C)
>.004″ – .006″ 32°F – 3600°F ±4.4°C or ±1%**
(>.102mm – .152mm) (0°C – 1980°C)
>.006″ – .009″ 32°F – 3800°F ±4.4°C or ±1%**
(>.152mm – .229mm) (0°C – 2090°C)
>.009″ = .090″ 32° – 4200°F ±4.4°C or ±1%**
(>.229mm – 2.286mm) (0°C – 2315°C)

Call for more information on other wire sizes – Special tolerances are also available.
* Whichever is greater.
** Percent of actual temperature in °C