Continuous production of metal alloy composites
AssigneeInternational Telephone and Telegraph Corporation
InventorsMalachi P. Kenney, Kenneth P. Young, Alan A. Koch
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A process and apparatus for the continuous production of shaped aluminum alloy-particulate composites. The process comprises metering at a substantially constant ratio a particulate solid molten aluminum alloy containing at least 0.10% by weight of magnesium into a mixing station while continuously vigorously agitating to produce a homogeneous mixture, simultaneously discharging from the mixing station a homogeneous mixture of molten aluminum alloy and particulate solid, transferring the mixture to a forming station and shaping and solidifying the composite.
Claims10
A continuous process for the production of a shaped composite of an aluminum alloy and a particulate solid other than an aluminum alloy comprising
- metering into a mixing station, at a substantially constant ratio by weight, the particulate solid in uncoated form and molten aluminum alloy containing at least 0.10% by weight of magnesium while said aluminum alloy and particulate solid are continuously vigorously agitated at a shear rate sufficient to produce a homogeneous mixture of molten aluminum alloy and particulate solid,
- simultaneously with said metering step continuously discharging a homogeneous mixture of molten aluminum alloy and particulate solid into a holding station, said mixture being continuously agitated in said holding station while the temperature of the alloy is maintained above the liquidus temperature, said agitation being at a shear rate of at least 200 sec..sup.1 and being sufficient to maintain the mixture homogeneous and to substantially prevent chemical reaction between the alloy and said particulate solid,
- tranversing said molten aluminum alloy-particulate mixture while still homogeneous to a forming station and
- shaping and solidifying said aluminum alloy-particulate composite at said forming station into a shaped part containing a particulate solid uniformly dispersed therein.
The process of claim 5 in which the aluminum alloy contains from 0.2 to 1% by weight of magnesium.
The process of claim 7 in which the particulate solid comprises from 15-40% by weight of the total weight of the aluminum-particulate composite.
A continuous process for the production of a shaped aluminum alloy-sand composite comprising
- metering into a mixing station, at a substantially constant ratio by weight, uncoated sand and molten aluminum alloy containing from 0.10% to 10% by weight of magnesium while said aluminum and sand are continuously vigorously agitated at a shear rate sufficient to produce a homogeneous mixture of molten aluminum alloy and sand,
- simultaneously with said metering step continuously discharging from said mixing station into a holding station a homogeneous mixture of molten aluminum alloy and sand,
- said mixture being continuously agitated in said holding station while the temperature of the alloy is maintained above the liquidus temperature, said agitation being at a shear rate of at least 200 sec..sup.-1 and being sufficient to maintain the mixture homogeneous and to substantially prevent chemical reaction between the alloy and sand,
- transferring said homogeneous aluminum alloy-sand mixture while still molten to a forming station and
- shaping and solidifying said aluminum alloy-sand composite at said forming station into a non-load bearing shaped part, the sand comprising from 15-40% by weight of the total weight of the composite and uniformly dispersed therein.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.