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AssigneeSumitomo Chemical Company, Limited
InventorsHideho Okamoto, Ken-ichi Nishio
Estimating the term…
A spring useful as various machine parts or elements for various machines and apparatuses, which is made of a fiber-reinforced metallic composite material comprising a matrix metal (e.g. a metal having a melting point of not higher than 1,700.degree. C.) and a reinforcement of an inorganic fiber having high modulus of elasticity and high strength selected from a ceramic fiber and a metallic fiber, particularly an alumina or alumina-silica fiber containing alumina of 100 to 72% by weight, preferably 98 to 75% by weight, and silica of 0 to 28% by weight, preferably 2 to 25% by weight, and having substantially no .alpha.-alumina reflection by X-ray diffraction. The spring of the present invention is light in weight and has far greater heat resistance and mechanical properties in comparison with the conventional metallic or non-metallic springs, and hence is particularly valuable from the standpoint of saving energy and saving resources.
A heat resistant leaf spring or coil spring exhibiting excellent creep characteristics, fatigue properties and impact resistance at high temperatures comprising a fiber-reinforced metallic composite material including a metal matrix having a melting point of not higher than 1700.degree. C. reinforced by an inorganic fiber having a high specific modulus of elasticity and a high specific strength comprising an alumina-silica fiber containing from about 98 to 75 percent by weight of Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 and 2 to 25 percent by weight of SiO.sub.2, said fiber having substantially no .alpha.-alumina reflection by X-ray diffraction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.