Heat pipes and methods of forming heat pipes, such as for use in nuclear reactor systems, are described herein. A representative method of forming a heat pipe includes forming a first wicking structure from a first material and forming a second wicking structure on the first wicking structure. Forming the second wicking structure can include mixing a second material and a third material, and heating the mixture of the second material and the third material to a temperature (a) less than a melting temperature of the second material and (b) greater than a melting temperature of the third material to melt the third material. The method can further include cooling the mixture of the second material and the third material to below the melting temperature of the third material such that the third material solidifies to bond together a plurality of particles of the second material into a porous structure.

A structural spacecraft component comprising internal microstructure; wherein said microstructure comprises a plurality of parallel layers and a plurality of spacers that connect adjacent parallel layers; wherein said structural spacecraft component is a product of an additive manufacturing process.

A process for producing an electrode material by infiltrating a highly conductive metal such as Cu into a porous object containing heat-resistant elements. Before an infiltration step in which the highly conductive metal is infiltrated, a HIP treatment is given to a powder containing the heat-resistant elements (or to a molded object obtained by molding a powder containing the heat-resistant elements). The composition is controlled so that the HIP treatment yields a porous object which has a degree of filling of 70% or higher, more preferably 75% or higher. The highly conductive metal is infiltrated into the porous object having the controlled composition.

Polycrystalline diamond compacts having parting compound within the interstitial volumes are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a polycrystalline diamond compact includes a polycrystalline diamond body having a plurality of diamond grains bonded together in diamond-to-diamond bonds, interstitial volumes positioned between the adjacent diamond grains, and a parting compound positioned in at least a portion of the interstitial volumes of the polycrystalline diamond body.

A three-dimensional (3D) metal object manufacturing apparatus selects operational parameters for operation of the printer to form conductive metal traces on substrates with dimensions within appropriate tolerances and with sufficient conductive material to carry electrical currents without burning up or becoming too hot. The apparatus identifies the material of the substrate and the bulk metal being melted for ejection and uses this identification data to select the operational parameters. Thus, the apparatus can form conductive traces and circuits on a wide range of substrate materials including polymeric substrates, semiconductor materials, oxide layers on semiconductor materials, glass, and other crystalline materials.

A method of making a component of an electric machine using an additive manufacturing process is disclosed. The method includes forming a first lamina of a conductive material, building a first layer of a second material on a first surface of the first lamina, treating the second material on the first surface of the first lamina to define a first insulative layer, and building on the first insulative layer a second lamina of a conductive material. The steps can be repeated iteratively until a desired thickness or number of layers is reached.

Mixed powder that contains first hard particles, second hard particles, graphite particles, and iron particles is used to manufacture a sintered alloy. The first hard particle is a Fe—Mo—Cr—Mn based alloy particle, the second hard particle is a Fe—Mo—Si based alloy particle. The mixed powder contains 5 to 50 mass % of the first hard particles, 1 to 8 mass % of the second hard particles, and 0.5 to 1.0 mass % of the graphite particles when total mass of the first hard particles, the second hard particles, the graphite particles, and the iron particles is set as 100 mass %.

Process for formation of composite coatings and composite coatings formed thereby. A process for formation of a metal-matrix composite coating on a surface of a substrate is provided. The substrate is an aluminum alloy. The metal-matrix composite coating is formed on the substrate through laser deposition using filler materials comprising aluminum, silicon and graphite. The particles forming the metal-matrix composite coating are formed in-situ from the filler materials. A metal-matrix composite coating obtained by the laser deposition process with in-situ formation of particles is also provided.

The invention relates to a method for producing a composite component (12). At least one shaft (2) and at least one sintered part (1), preferably in the form of a rotor or a cam, are assembled into the composite component. In order to assemble the composite component, at least the following steps are carried out: —introducing the shaft (2) into a continuous bore (3) of the sintered part (1) and —calibrating the sintered part (1) at least by means of a calibrating die (4), furthermore preferably with the simultaneous application of an axial force onto the sintered part (1) by means of at least one upper punch (5) and at least one lower punch (7), wherein the shaft (2) can be found in the bore (3) of the sintered part (1) at least temporarily during the calibration process. The invention further relates to a composite component (12).

A method of manufacturing a highly insulating three-dimensional (3D) structure is provided. The method includes depositing a first layer of hollow microspheres onto a base. The hollow microspheres have a metallic coating formed thereon. A laser beam is scanned over the hollow microspheres so as to sinter the metallic coating of the hollow microspheres at predetermined locations. At least one layer of the hollow microspheres is deposited onto the first layer. Scanning by the laser beam is repeated for each successive layer until a predetermined 3D structure is constructed. The 3D structure includes a composite thermal barrier coating (TBC), which may be applied to a surface of components within an internal combustion engine, and the like. The composite TBC is bonded to the components of the engine to provide low thermal conductivity and low heat capacity insulation that is sealed against combustion gasses.