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AssigneeHRL Laboratories, LLC
InventorsBrennan Yahata, Justin Mayer, John H. Martin
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A universal approach is described to produce welding filler materials with enhanced grain refining, for making welded objects with hot-crack resistance. Some variations provide a welding filler material comprising a functionalized metal-containing powder, wherein the functionalized metal-containing powder comprises metal or metal alloy particles and a plurality of nanoparticles disposed on surfaces of the metal or metal alloy particles, and wherein the nanoparticles are consolidated in a three-dimensional architecture throughout the welding filler material. A welded object contains a welding filler material comprising the functionalized metal-containing powder, enabling the welded object to be free of hot cracks. Other variations provide methods of making a welding filler material. This approach has been successfully demonstrated by incorporating zirconium-based nanoparticle grain refiners within a welding precursor material for welding aluminum alloy Al 7075, as one non-limiting example.
A welding filler material comprising a functionalized metal-containing powder, wherein said functionalized metal-containing powder comprises metal or metal alloy particles and a plurality of nanoparticles chemically and/or physically disposed on surfaces of said metal or metal alloy particles, wherein said nanoparticles are in the form of a continuous or intermittent coating on said metal or metal alloy particles, and wherein said nanoparticles are consolidated in a non-random three-dimensional architecture throughout said welding filler material such that there is some regularity in spacing between said nanoparticles and said nanoparticles form a dispersed microstructure having an average dispersion length from 1 nanometer to 100 microns.
A method of making a welding filler material, said method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.