Dual alloy railroad wheel
AssigneeUltraclad Corporation
InventorJoseph C. Runkle
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A railroad wheel formed from at least two metallic alloys. In one embodiment, a railroad wheel has a body formed from a first alloy and a rim formed from a second alloy initially in powder form. In an exemplary embodiment, to form the dual alloy wheel the body of the wheel is cast with a circumferential channel formed therein. The perimeter of the body is enveloped with a material, such as sheet metal, to form a cavity defined by the channel and the sheet metal. The second alloy in the form of a powder is placed in the cavity and subjected to heat and pressure to metallurgically weld the first and second alloys and form a composite railroad wheel.
Claims15
A method for fabricating a railroad wheel, comprising:
- forming a body portion of the wheel from a first alloy;
- forming a channel about a circumference of the body portion;
- securing an envelope about the circumference of the body portion so as to create a cavity defined by the envelope and a surface of the body portion;
- placing a second alloy into the cavity to form a wheel assembly, the second alloy being in powdered form;
- sealing the cavity;
- heating the wheel assembly
- subjecting the wheel assembly to a selected pressure such that the second alloy is metallurgically bonded to the body portion;
- and
- removing the envelope.
A method of fabricating a railroad wheel, comprising:
- securing an envelope about the circumference of a body portion of the wheel so as to create a cavity defined by the envelope and a surface of the body portion;
- filling the cavity with a second alloy, which is in powder form, to form a wheel assembly;
- sealing the cavity;
- heating the wheel assembly to a selected temperature;
- placing the heated wheel assembly in a hot isostatic press after the wheel assembly is heated to the selected temperature;
- and
- subjecting the wheel assembly to a predetermined temperature and pressure in the hot isostatic press, wherein the heat stored in the body portion from heating it prior to placement in the hot isostatic press provides a majority of the heat required to densify the second alloy.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.