Patent ID: 6852273

Claim:
Method of manufacturing high-strength metal aluminide-containing matrix composite including the steps of (a) providing an aluminum or aluminum alloy skeleton structure having open porosity of 50-95 vol. %; (b) filling said skeleton structure with the powder of a reactive matrix metal and/or reactive alloy to obtain an aluminum skeleton/matrix powder composite preform; (c) compacting said aluminum skeleton/matrix powder composite preform by cold rolling, cold die pressing, cold isostatic pressing, and/or hot rolling in any combination; (d) consolidating the initial or compacted aluminum skeleton/matrix powder composite preform by sintering, hot pressing, hot rolling, hot isostatic pressing, and/or hot extrusion in any combination to provide, at least partially, a reaction between aluminum skeleton and matrix metal powder; (e) diffusion annealing and/or additional sintering followed by any type of heat treatment needed to provide predetermined mechanical and surface properties of the resulting metal matrix composite.