Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha

Yoshiaki Tatematsu

Atsuo Tanaka

Tadashi Donomoto

Masahiro Kubo

Kiyoshi Funatani

Tadashi Dohnomoto

Yorishige Maeda

Shiro Machida

Tsugio Akai

Light alloy articles comprising a body of light alloy having a composite layer of heat-resistant fibers and light alloy and bonded to said body, and a surface layer of heat-resisting alloy sprayed onto said composite layer exhibit improved integrity and heat resistance when the heat-resisting alloy is plasma sprayed onto one surface of a preform of fibers and the light alloy is then cast to the opposite surface of the preform such that an interfacial layer is defined between the composite layer and the surface layer in which the fibers and light alloy are integrally incorporated with the heat-resisting alloy.

Heat resistant light alloy articles and method of manufacturing same

A light metal alloy cast piston comprises a thermal strut provided in the shoulder portion of the piston skirt. The thermal strut is composed of a fiber reinforced metal portion containing high tensile strength fibers integrally molded in the matrix metal. The piston is shaped in such a manner that the inner periphery of the thermal strut is exposed toward the inside of the piston skirt, except for the regions at the piston pin bosses, to avoid the presence of non-reinforced metal a the inside of the thermal strut. This arrangement prevents the formation of cracks along the inner periphery of the thermal strut.

Light metal alloy piston

An alloy is made of a first material and a second material which has a substantially lower melting point than the first material, by (a) forming from the first material a body which has multiple fine interstices; (b) pouring the second material in the molten state around the body formed from the first material; and (c) allowing the resultant mass to cool. Thus, in the parts of the resultant mass in which the body formed from the first material was originally present, an alloy mass comprising the first metal and the second material alloyed together is made. Optionally, the body made from the first material may be preheated, desirably to a temperature higher than the melting point of the second material; and optionally the molten second material may be pressurized so as to enter into the interstices of the body. The first material may desirably be, for example, tungsten, cobalt, chromium, titanium, iron, nickel, silicon, manganese, copper, niobium, tantalum, vanadium, gold, silver, aluminum, molybdenum, zirconium, or zinc; and the second material may desirably be, for example, aluminum, magnesium, copper, lead, tin, or zinc.

Method for alloying substances

A piston for internal-combustion engines, reinforced at least at either the shoulder of the skirt or the piston boss thereof by a composite reinforcement consisting of a layer of inorganic long filaments and a layer or layers of inorganic staple short fibers or whiskers. The inorganic filaments are one or a combination of any of carbon, graphite, alumina, silicon carbide and glass, while the inorganic staple fiber or whiskers are silicon nitride whiskers, mineral fibers, potassium titanate whiskers, carbon fibers or graphite fibers, or a combination of those whiskers and/or fibers.

Piston for internal combustion engine

A composite material, including reinforcing fiber material with principal components SiO.sub.2 and/or CaO and/or Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, and with a Mg content by weight of between about 0% and about 10%, an Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3 content by weight of between about 0% and about 5%, and a content by weight of other inorganic substances of between about 0% and about 10%, and consisting essentially of mineral fibers and non fibrous particles to a total percentage of not more than about 20% by weight, the weight percentage of the part of the non fibrous particles which have a diameter of greater than or equal to about 150 microns being between about 0% and about 7%. Also, the composite material includes a matrix metal selected from the group consisting of aluminum, magnesium, copper, zinc, lead, tin, and alloys having these as principal components, the volume proportion of the mineral fibers being in the range of from about 4% to about 25%. This composite material is economical to manufacture and has very good wear characteristics, machinability, and bending strength.

Composite material including reinforcing mineral fibers embedded in

A composite material is manufactured from a formed mass of reinforcing material and matrix metal by introducing the reinforcing material mass into a pressure chamber and holding it there, introducing molten matrix metal into the pressure chamber so as to surround the reinforcing material mass, moving the reinforcing material mass from the pressure chamber into a casting chamber of substantially smaller volume than the pressure chamber while it is still being surrounded by molten matrix metal, and then allowing the molten matrix metal to solidify while applying pressure. If the reinforcing material mass is preheated before being put into the pressure chamber, it can be kept away from the walls of the pressure chamber until after the molten matrix metal has been poured into the pressure chamber and thus will not lose heat to them; and, since the casting chamber can quite tightly conform to the size and shape of the reinforcing material mass, little extra matrix metal needs to be solidified around the reinforcing material mass. Accordingly the resulting composite material can be easily isolated without the need for much post machining.

Method and apparatus for manufacturing composite material using pressure

First a reinforcing material mass is formed from a quantity of reinforcing material by binding it together with inorganic binder, and then this reinforcing material mass is compounded with matrix metal to form a composite material mass. Then the composite material mass is heated up so that the proportion of the matrix metal thereof which is in the liquid phase is at least 40%, and while still hot it is subjected to a plastic processing process to form the composite material object.

Method for making composite material object by plastic processing

A composite material is made from a whisker body of silicon carbide whiskers containing not more than 5% by weight of non whisker particles of diameter greater than 150 microns, with a mass of matrix metal infiltrated into the interstices of the whisker body. The matrix metal is selected from the group consisting of aluminum, magnesium, tin, copper, lead, zinc, and their alloys. The bulk density of the silicon carbide whiskers is at least 0.07 gm/cm.sup.3. A method is also disclosed for making this composite material, in which first a quantity of silicon carbide whiskers containing not more than 5% by weight of non whisker particles of diameter greater than 150 microns is formed into a shaped mass with a compressive strength of at least 0.5 kg/cm.sup.2 and with a bulk density of at least 0.07 gm/cm.sup.3, and then this shaped mass is compounded with a quantity of the molten matrix metal by a pressure casting method. This formed mass of silicon carbide whiskers may be bound together by an inorganic binder, whicn may be silica, and whose volume percentage in the shaped mass of silicon carbide whiskers may desirably be less than about 25%.

Silicon carbide whisker composite material with low non whisker particle

First a quantity of reinforcing material is formed into a shaped mass bound together by an inorganic binder. Next, this shaped mass is compounded with a quantity of a molten matrix metal by a pressure casting method. The molten matrix metal includes a quantity of a certain element with a strong tendency to become oxidized, and the inorganic binder includes a metallic oxide which, when brought into contact at high temperature with this certain element, is reduced thereby in an exothermic reaction. Thus, during the pressure casting, extra heat is produced as the certain element reduces the metallic oxide, and this aids good penetration of the matrix metal into the interstices of the reinforcing material. The metal remaining from the oxide is dispersed in the matrix metal. This metallic oxide may be silica, zirconia, chromium oxide, yttrium oxide, cerium oxide, ferric oxide, zirconium silicate, antimony oxide, or a mixture thereof; and the certain element may be lithium, calcium, magnesium, aluminum, beryllium, titanium, zirconium, or a mixture thereof.

Composite material manufacturing method exothermically reducing metallic

A fiber reinforced metal type composite material is composed essentially of a mass of reinforcing fibers intimately compounded with a matrix metal. The reinforcing fibers are either alumina fibers, carbon fibers, or a mixture thereof. The matrix metal is an alloy consisting essentially of between about 0.5% and about 4.5% magnesium, less than about 0.2% each of copper and titanium, less than about 0.5% each of silicon, zinc, iron, and manganese, and the remainder aluminum. Preferably, the amount of magnesium is between about 0.7% and about 4.5%, and even more preferably it is between about 1.0% and about 4.0%.

Growing community of inventors

Toyota, Japan

Yoshiaki Tatematsu