A method of forming a super hard polycrystalline construction comprises forming a liquid suspension of a first mass of nano-ceramic particles and a mass of particles or grains of super hard material having an average particle or grain size of 1 or more microns, dispersing the particles or grains in the liquid suspension to form a substantially homogeneous suspension, drying the suspension to form an admix of the nano-ceramic and super hard grains or particles, and forming a pre-sinter assembly comprising the admix. The pre-sinter assembly is then sintered to form a body of polycrystalline super hard material comprising a first fraction of super hard grains and a second fraction, the nano-ceramic particles forming the second fraction. The super hard grains are spaced along at least a portion of the peripheral surface by one or more nano-ceramic grains, the super hard grains having a greater average grain size than that of the grains in the second fraction which have an average size of less than around 999 nm.

To provide an aluminum-silicon carbide composite which is suitable for use as a power-module base plate. An aluminum-silicon carbide composite wherein a peripheral portion having, as a main component thereof, an aluminum-ceramic fiber composite containing ceramic fibers having an average fiber diameter of at most 20 m and an average aspect ratio of at least 100, is provided on the periphery of a flat plate-shaped aluminum-silicon carbide composite having a plate thickness of 2 to 6 mm formed by impregnating, with a metal containing aluminum, a porous silicon carbide molded body having a silicon carbide content of 50 to 80 vol %, and wherein the proportion of the aluminum-ceramic fiber composite occupied in the peripheral portion is at least 50 area %.

A method for making a braking band (2) for a brake disc (1) for a disc brake, comprising the following steps: a) preparing a mold (10) having an inner cavity (11), which comprises a first portion (11a) of a shape corresponding to the braking band (2) to be made; b) preparing a band preform (20) comprising a central preform (200), an upper outer preform (201) and a lower outer preform (202), said central preform (200) being made of porous ceramic material comprising silicon carbide (SiC), said upper outer preform (201) and lower outer preform (202) being made of porous ceramic material comprising silicon carbide (SiC) and infiltrated with silicon (SiC+Si), wherein a carbon barrier layer (201a, 200a, 200b, 202a) made of carbon is interposed between the upper outer preform (201) and the central preform (200) and between the lower outer preform (202) and the central preform (200), said preforms (200, 201, 202) having the shape of the braking band (2) to be made; c) placing said band preform (20) inside the mold at the first portion (11a) of said inner cavity (11); and d) injecting a liquid or semi-solid aluminum alloy inside the entire inner cavity (11) of the mold (11) to infiltrate the central preform (200) of said band preform (20) made of porous ceramic material with said aluminum alloy, obtaining at the first portion (11a) an aluminum metal matrix composite reinforced by said central preform (200) which defines the braking band (2) to be made. A braking band and a brake disc are made with at least the aforesaid method.

A lightweight, selectively degradable composite material includes a compacted powder mixture of a first powder and a second powder. The first powder comprises first metal particles comprising Mg, Al, Mn, or Zn, having a first particle oxidation potential. The second powder comprises low-density ceramic, glass, cermet, intermetallic, metal, polymer, or inorganic compound second particles. At least one of the first particles and the second particles includes a metal coating layer of a coating material disposed on an outer surface having a coating oxidation potential that is different than the first particle oxidation potential. The compacted powder mixture has a microstructure comprising: a matrix comprising the first metal particles; the second particles dispersed within the matrix; and a network comprising interconnected adjoining metal coating layers that extends throughout the matrix, the lightweight, selectively degradable composite material having a density of about 3.5 g/cm.sup.3 or less.

An abrasive coating for a metal airfoil tip in a gas turbine engine may include a plurality of grit particles coated with a braze alloy material and configured for attachment to the airfoil tip. The braze alloy may be a nickel base, cobalt base or iron base braze alloy or mixtures thereof, or a titanium base braze alloy.

Provided is a method of producing a composite having high strength and high thermal conductivity. The method includes: an alloy preparation step including preparing an alloy which is a solid solution containing ?-Fe as a solvent and at least one type of ?-phase stabilizing element as a solute; a first mixing step including mixing at least one type of ?-phase stabilizing element in powder form and SiC to prepare a first mixture; a second mixing step including mixing the alloy and the first mixture to prepare a second mixture; and a sintering step including sintering the second mixture.

Methods of manufacturing metal, metal-matrix, metal-metal-matrix composite weapon barrels offer barrels with improved thermal performance and rigidity with no, minimal or negative weight increase. A barrel may include a barrel core surrounded by a lightweight, thermally conductive sleeve made from metal, metal-matrix composite (MMC) materials, also referred to as metal-matrix material. The barrel core and barrel sleeve may include aligning features to prevent separation and movement of the sleeve along the core. The disclosed methods provide for material combinations and part designs that prevent separation of their parts over the life of the weapon barrel and allow the barrel to perform at high cadence over the whole temperature range the barrel is used.

A hard composite composition may comprise a binder and a polymodal blend of matrix powder. The polymodal blend of matrix powder may have at least one first local maxima at a particle size of about 0.5 nm to about 30 m, at least one second local maxima at a particle size of about 200 m to about 10 mm, and at least one local minima between a particle size of about 30 m to about 200 m that has a value that is less than the first local maxima.

A housing used for electronic devices includes a structural frame element formed of a metal matrix composite (MMC) for providing improved stiffness over other materials currently in use. The MMC is a metal matrix (formed of a material such as aluminum), with a reinforcing material (such as a glass fiber or ceramic) dispersed within the metal matrix. The composition of the reinforcing material, as well as the ratio of reinforcing material to metal, define the stiffness (resistance to bending) and/or strength (resistance to breaking) achieved, and various compositions may be used for different housings, depending on the use of the electronic device. The element may be configured as a structural frame member, or may be embedded within another material forming the structural frame element. In another embodiment, the MMC may be used to form various components of the complete housing, including the enclosure itself.

A molded article having a small difference in thermal conductivities between a central section and a section located at an outer peripheral surface side; and a method for producing the same; wherein, a plate-shaped molded article includes an aluminum-silicon carbide composited section in which a metal including aluminum was impregnated into a silicon carbide porous body, wherein a difference in the densities, by Archimedes' principle, of a central section of the aluminum-silicon carbide composited section and of at least a portion of an outer side section located further toward the outside peripheral surface side than the central section is 3% or less.