M Cubed Technologies, Inc.

Other

W Michael Waggoner

Michael K Aghajanian

Allyn L McCormick

Michael A Richmond

Barry R Rossing

Marlene Rossing, Legal Representative

Brian E Schultz

Composite bodies made by a silicon metal infiltration process that feature a metal phase in addition to any residual silicon phase. Not only does this give the composite material engineer greater flexibility in designing or tailoring the physical properties of the resulting composite material, but the infiltrant also can be engineered compositionally to have much diminished amounts of expansion upon solidification, thereby enhancing net-shape-making capabilities. These and other consequences of engineering the metal component of composite bodies made by silicon infiltration permit the fabrication of large structures of complex shape. Certain liquid-based preforming techniques are particularly well suited to the task, particularly where a high volumetric loading of the reinforcement component is desired.

Silicon-containing composite bodies, and methods for making same

Improved silicon carbide composites made by an infiltration process feature a metal phase in addition to any residual silicon phase. Not only are properties such as mechanical toughness improved, but the infiltrant can be so engineered as to have much diminished amounts of expansion upon solidification, thereby enhancing net-shape-making capabilities. Further, multi-component infiltrant materials may have a lower liquidus temperature than pure silicon, thereby providing the practitioner greater control over the infiltration process. In particular, the infiltration may be conducted at the lower temperatures, where low-cost but effective bedding or barrier materials can terminate the infiltration process once the infiltrant has migrated through the permeable mass up to the boundary between the mass and the bedding material.

Silicon carbide composites, and methods for making same

Techniques to bond two or more smaller bodies or subunits to produce a unitary SiC composite structure extend the capabilities of reaction-bonded silicon carbide, for example, by making possible the fabrication of complex shapes. In a first aspect of the present invention, two or more preforms are bonded together with a binder material that imparts at least strength sufficient for handling during subsequent thermal processing. In a second aspect of the present invention, instead of providing the subunits to be bonded in the form of preforms, the subunits may be dense, SiC composite bodies, e.g., RBSC bodies. In each of the above embodiments, a preferable means for bonding two or more subunits combines aspects of adhesive and mechanical locking characteristics. One way to accomplish this objective is to incorporate a mechanical locking feature to the joining means, e.g., a 'keyway' feature. The mechanical locking feature thus substitutes for, or supplements the binder qualities of the adhesive, which is especially important when the adhesive itself may be or become weak due to, for example, thermal processing.

Methods for making composite bonded structures

Silicon carbide composites and methods for making same

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Newark, DE, United States of America

W Michael Waggoner