Forming a precipitation hardened composite material having reinforcing particles and precipitated intermetallic particles dispersed in the binder material may involve heat treating the hard composite material at a temperature above a solvus line for the binder material and below a melting point of the binder material and quenching the hard composite material to a temperature below the solvus line of the binder material. At least some of the precipitated intermetallic particles in the precipitation hardened composite material may have at least one dimension less than 1 micron. Such precipitated intermetallic particles may optionally be grown to larger sizes by heat treating the precipitation hardened composite material at a temperature below the solvus line of the binder material.

A method of manufacturing a sized powder metal component having improved fatigue strength. The method includes the sequential steps of solutionizing a sintered powder metal component and quenching the sintered powder metal component, sizing the sintered powder metal component to form a sized powder metal component, re-solutionizing the sized powder metal component, and ageing the sized powder metal component. The sized powder metal component made by this method, in which the component is re-solutionized between sizing before ageing, can exhibit exceptional improvements in fatigue strength compared to components prepared similarly but that are not re-solutionized.

Methods for manufacturing components that include casting a first melt to produce an ingot, remelting the ingot to form a second melt, forming a powder from the second melt using an atomization process, and fabricating a component utilizing the powder in an additive manufacturing process. The ingot and the powder include an aluminum matrix that contains dispersions of TiB.sub.2 particles and Al.sub.3Ti particles and the component is a metal matrix composite having an aluminum matrix that contains dispersions of TiB.sub.2 particles and Al.sub.3Ti particles. Optionally, the metal matrix composite may include particles of an intermetallic compound of aluminum and at least one alloying element.

The invention relates to a method for coding metal powder. Said method comprises the following steps: providing a melt, forming a melt stream, spraying the melt stream by means of a spraying fluid, and forming metal powder particles from the melt stream. The method is characterized in that, during the spraying of the melt and/or the spraying fluid, a coding component or a coding gas is added in such a way that the use of the coding component in the metal powder can be detected, wherein the gaseous coding component comprises one or more isotopes of at least one gas and the fraction of the at least one isotope is changed in comparison with the naturally occurring fraction of said isotope in the gas and/or wherein the gaseous coding component contains gaseous alloying elements.

A process for preparing alloy products is described using a self-sustaining or self-propagating SHS-type combustion process with point-source ignition, preferably a laser, in a pressurized vessel. Binary, ternary and quaternary alloys can be formed with control over polycrystalline structure and bandgap. Methods to tune the bandgap and the alloys formed are described. The alloy products may be doped. Preferably sulfides, tellurides or selenides are formed. Cooling during reaction takes place.

A sintered material contains hard particles composed of one or more selected from the group consisting of cubic boron nitride, Al.sub.2O.sub.3, AlON, SiAlON, TiC, TiCN, TiN, WC, and diamond, a metallic binder phase mainly composed of Co or Ni and containing at least one element selected from the group consisting of Co, Ni, Al, W, V, and Ti, and Al.sub.2O.sub.3 dispersed in the metallic binder phase.

The invention relates to a compacted and densified metal material comprising one or more phases formed of an agglomerate of grains, the cohesion of the material being provided by bridges formed between grains, said material having a relative density higher than or equal to 95% and preferably higher than or equal to 98%.

While a molten metal obtained by melting silver and a metal, which is selected from the group consisting of tin, zinc, lead and indium, in an atmosphere of nitrogen is allowed to drop, a high-pressure water (preferably pure water or alkaline water) is sprayed onto the molten metal in the atmosphere or an atmosphere of nitrogen to rapidly cool and solidify the molten metal to produce a silver alloy powder which comprises silver and the metal which is selected from the group consisting of tin, zinc, lead and indium and which has an average particle diameter of 0.5 to 20 m, the silver alloy powder having a temperature of not higher than 300 C. at a shrinking percentage of 0.5%, a temperature of not higher than 400 C. at a shrinking percentage of 1.0% and a temperature of not higher than 450 C. at a shrinking percentage of 1.5% in a thermomechanical analysis.

Provided herein is a soft magnetic alloy powder that can exhibit a high saturation flux density and desirable soft magnetic characteristics. A dust core using such a soft magnetic alloy powder is also provided. A soft magnetic alloy powder is used that includes an amorphous phase, and an Fe crystalline phase residing in the amorphous phase. The Fe crystalline phase has a crystallite volume distribution with a mode of 1 nm or more and 15 nm or less, and with a half width of 3 nm or more and 50 nm or less.

A soft magnetic powder that can exhibit desirable soft magnetic characteristics. A dust core using the soft magnetic powder is also provided. The soft magnetic powder includes: a soft magnetic powder layer of an unoxidized soft magnetic material; a second oxide layer as an oxide with iron or boron residing around the soft magnetic powder layer; and a first oxide layer of an iron oxide residing around the second oxide layer. The first oxide layer and the second oxide layer reside in a region of 20 nm or more and 500 nm or less from a surface of the soft magnetic powder, and are absent in a region of more than 500 nm and 1,600 nm or less from the surface.