Composite material of ferrous cladding material and aluminum cast matrix and method for producing the same

A composite article consisting essentially of:

• a ferrous cladding member;
• a single layer of a single thickness of spaced-apart generally spherical particles tightly bonded to the surface of said ferrous cladding member by sintering, said particles having a particle size in the range of from 40 to 150 mesh and being made of iron, iron alloy, copper, copper alloy or mixture thereof, said particles being located so as to define undercut cavities therebetween;
• a thin layer of metal plated on said particles and the surface of said ferrous cladding member and diffused therein;
• and
• a cast matrix of aluminum or aluminum alloy solidified from the molten state while in contact with said thin layer, said cast matrix filling said undercut cavities and also defining a surface layer covering said particles and said thin layer.

A method for producing a composite article of a ferrous cladding member and a cast aluminum matrix, consisting essentially of the steps of:

• spreading a single layer of a single thickness of generally spherical particles in spaced-apart relation on the surface of a ferrous cladding member, said particles having a particle size in the range of from 40 to 150 mesh and being made of iron, iron alloy, copper, copper alloy or mixture thereof, said particles being located so as to define undercut cavities therebetween;
• sintering the assembly of said ferrous cladding member and said particles to tightly bond said particles to the surface of said ferrous cladding member;
• plating a thin layer of diffusible metal on said particles and the surface of said ferrous cladding member;
• casting molten aluminum or molten aluminum alloy onto the assembly of said ferrous cladding member, said particles and said plated layer to fill said undercut cavities and to form a surface layer covering said particles and said plated layer and then solidifying said molten aluminum or molten aluminum alloy.