Method for fabricating a metal-ceramic composite article

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016271698-A1
Application number	US-201515036840-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 17, 2015
Priority date	Nov 19, 2013
Publication date	Sep 22, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method for fabricating a metal-ceramic composite article includes a) depositing at least one layer of a powdered material onto a target surface, where the powdered material includes at least one metal and an energy-beam responsive ceramic precursor, and b) densifying the at least one metal and chemically converting at least a portion of the energy-beam responsive ceramic precursor to a ceramic material to form a densified layer by directing an energy-beam onto the at least one layer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for fabricating a metal-ceramic composite article, the method comprising:
(a) depositing at least one layer of a powdered material onto a target surface, the powdered material including at least one metal and an energy-beam responsive ceramic precursor; and (b) densifying the at least one metal and chemically converting at least a portion of the energy-beam responsive ceramic precursor to a ceramic material to form a densified layer by directing an energy beam onto the powdered material.

2 . The method as recited in claim 1 , including directing the energy beam onto the at least one layer according to a particular cross-section of an article being formed.

3 . The method as recited in claim 2 , including repeating said steps (a) and (b) according to additional cross-sections of the article to additively build the article.

4 . The method as recited in claim 3 , including changing a ratio of an amount of the at least one metal to an amount of the energy-beam responsive ceramic precursor such that at least a portion of the article has a graded composition.

5 . The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein said step (b) is conducted in a controlled environment including a non-impurity amount of a gas that is reactive with the energy-beam responsive ceramic precursor.

6 . The method as recited in claim 5 , wherein the gas is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, ammonia and combinations thereof.

7 . The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the energy-beam responsive ceramic precursor is selected from the group consisting of an organometallic compound or complex, metal organics, a sol-gel precursor, a preceramic polymer, an oligomeric material, and combinations thereof.

8 . The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the energy-beam responsive ceramic precursor is a preceramic polymer selected from the group consisting of polysilazanes, polysilanes, polycarbosilanes, polycarbosiloxanes, polyborosilazanes, polysiloxanes, and combinations thereof.

9 . The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the at least one metal is selected from the group consisting of silicon, aluminum, copper, nickel, iron, titanium, magnesium, cobalt, alloys thereof, and combinations thereof.

10 . The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the powdered material includes a greater amount of the at least one metal than an amount of the energy-beam responsive ceramic precursor.

11 . The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the at least one metal is non-reactive with the energy-beam responsive ceramic precursor in said step (b).

12 . The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the at least one metal reacts with the energy-beam responsive ceramic precursor in said step (b) to form a ceramic material.

13 . The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the energy-beam responsive ceramic precursor is a silicon-containing material.

14 . A metal-ceramic composite article comprising:
a monolithic structure formed of a compositionally-controlled metal-ceramic composite material, the monolithic structure including at least one internal passage.

15 . The article as recited in claim 14 , wherein the monolithic structure has a graded composition with respect to the metal and the ceramic of the metal-ceramic composite material.

16 . The article as recited in claim 14 , wherein the metal-ceramic composite material includes at least one metal selected from the group consisting of silicon, aluminum, copper, nickel, iron, titanium, magnesium, cobalt, alloys thereof, and combinations thereof.

17 . The article as recited in claim 14 , wherein the metal-ceramic composite material a ceramic material selected from the group consisting of silicon-containing ceramic material, oxides of silicon, copper, aluminum, nickel, boron, titanium, zirconium, strontium and hafnium, and combinations thereof.

18 . The article as recited in claim 17 , wherein the silicon-containing ceramic material includes at least one of boron, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen.

Assignees

• United Technologies Corp

Inventors

• Schmidt Wayde R

Classifications

• C22C29/00

  Alloys based on carbides, oxides, nitrides, borides, or silicides, e.g. cermets, or other metal compounds, e.g. oxynitrides, sulfides {(C22C26/00 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• B33Y10/00

  Processes of additive manufacturing · CPC title

• C04B35/571

  obtained from {Si-containing} polymer precursors {or organosilicon monomers} · CPC title

• C04B35/589

  obtained from {Si-containing} polymer precursors {or organosilicon monomers} · CPC title

• C04B2235/6026

  Computer aided shaping, e.g. rapid prototyping · CPC title