Cermets and their manufacture
AssigneeEltech Systems Corporation
InventorsJean-Marie Fresnel, Pierre-Etienne Debely, Jean-Pierre Waefler
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A cermet is produced by providing a bulk reaction mixture of particulate reactants which react to produce a self-sustaining ceramic body, and carrying out the reaction with the bulk reaction mixture in contact with molten metal which moderates the reaction and infiltrates the resulting ceramic body. The method is particularly applicable for boride-based ceramics infiltrated with aluminum, suitable as components of electroytic cells for the production of aluminum by molten salt electrolysis.
Claims17
A method of producing a ceramic-metal composite (cermet), comprising providing a bulk reaction mixture of particulate reactants capable of reacting to produce a sintered self-sustaining ceramic body, bringing said reaction mixture to a reaction temperature in contact with a mass of molten metal, and carrying out a reaction with the bulk reaction mixture in contact with the molten metal whereby said ceramic body produced by said reaction is infiltrated with the molten metal.
The method of any preceding claim, wherein the reaction mixture is contacted with molten aluminum.
A method of producing a component of an electrolytic cell for the production of metal by molten salt electrolysis which component comprises a ceramic-metal composite, comprising providing a bulk reaction mixture of particulate reactants capable of reacting to produce a sintered, self-sustaining ceramic body, bringing said reaction mixture to a reaction temperature in contact with a mass of molten metal, and carrying out a reaction with the bulk reaction mixture in contact with the molten metal whereby said ceramic body produced by said reaction is infiltrated with the molten metal which is the same metal as that to be produced in the cell.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.