Fabrication of metal and ceramic matrix composites
AssigneeGeneral Dynamics Corporation Air Defense Systems Division
InventorSam M. Weiman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A process for manufacturing metal and ceramic matrix composite materials. The invention also encompasses various composite products made by the disclosed method. The resulting composite material comprises a reinforcement material in either continuous or discrete form embedded in a matrix material which is either a pure metal, a metal alloy, or a ceramic. The reinforcing material is optionally coated with a barrier coating material. An electric arc or plasma arc is used to spray a thin layer of matrix material over a preplaced layer of reinforcement material. Successive layers are built up until a desired object shape and thickness are achieved. There is an optional final step of high-temperature diffusion annealing or hot isostatic pressing.
Claims28
A process for manufacturing metal and ceramic matrix composites comprising the steps of:
- a) arc spraying a thin layer of at least one matrix material over a preplaced first layer of a woven fabric reinforcement material;
- b) placing an additional layer of woven fabric reinforcement material on a sprayed matrix layer resulting from the previous step;
- c) arc spraying a thin layer of said at least one matrix material over said additional layer;
- and
- d) repeating steps b) and c) until a desired object shape and thickness are achieved;
- wherein said reinforcement material comprises discontinuous segments of a material from the group consisting of graphite, silicon carbide, alumina, and boron carbide;
- and
- wherein each said reinforcement layer further comprises a plurality of discrete particles which have been coated by a fluidized bed process with a barrier material that does not form a brittle compound with said matrix material.
The of claim wherein 8 wherein said metal powder comprises a pre-alloyed mixture of metals from the group consisting of aluminum, titanium, nickel, and niobium.
A process for manufacturing metal and ceramic matrix composites comprising the steps of:
- a) arc spraying a thin layer of at least one matrix material over a preplaced first layer of a woven fabric reinforcement material;
- b) placing an additional layer of woven fabric reinforcement material on a sprayed matrix layer resulting from the previous step;
- c) arc spraying a thin layer of said at least one matrix material over said additional layer;
- and
- d) repeating steps b) and c) until a desired object shape and thickness are achieved;
- wherein said reinforcement material comprises discontinuous segments of a material from the group consisting of graphite, silicon carbide, alumina, and boron carbide;
- and
- wherein each said reinforcement layer further comprises a plurality of discrete particles which have been coated by dipping into molten metal that does not form a brittle compound with said matrix material.
A process for fabricating metal and ceramic composites comprising the steps of:
- a) establishing a first layer of a segmented woven fabric reinforcement material on a form to which said reinforcement material does not adhere;
- b) arc spraying a matrix material onto said first layer to form a composite layer;
- c) applying more of said segmented woven fabric reinforcement material to said composite layer to form a resulting reinforcement layer;
- d) arc spraying more of said matrix material onto said resulting layer of the previous step to form an additional composite layer;
- and
- e) repeating steps c) and d) ad libitum until a desired thickness and form are achieved;
- wherein each said reinforcement layer further comprises a plurality of discrete particles which have been coated by a fluidized bed process with a barrier material that does not form a brittle compound with said matrix material.
A process for fabricating metal and ceramic composites comprising the steps of:
- a) establishing a first layer of a segmented woven fabric reinforcement material on a form to which said reinforcement material does not adhere;
- b) arc spraying a matrix material onto said first layer to form a composite layer;
- c) applying more of said segmented woven fabric reinforcement material to said composite layer to form a resulting reinforcement layer;
- d) arc spraying more of said matrix material onto said resulting layer of the previous step to form an additional composite layer;
- and
- a) repeating steps c) and d) ad libitum until a desired thickness and form are achieved;
- wherein each said reinforcement layer further comprises a plurality of discrete particles which have been coated by dipping into molten metal that does not form a brittle compound with said matrix material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.