Patent ID: 8903035

Claim:
A method of forming at least a portion of a neutron absorber, comprising: casting a first material comprising hafnium and a second material comprising aluminum with a centrifugal induction caster to form a cast compound comprising Al 3 Hf at a temperature less than 1500° C.; after casting the first material comprising hafnium and the second material comprising aluminum with the centrifugal induction caster to form the cast compound comprising Al 3 Hf at a temperature less than 1500° C., reducing a substantial entirety of the cast compound into a plurality of particles, each particle of the plurality of particles having a particle size of less than or equal to 38 microns, each particle of the plurality of particles having a substantially uniform surface area, and each particle of the plurality of particles exhibiting a substantially spherical shape; after reducing a substantial entirety of the cast compound into the plurality of particles, mixing the plurality of particles with a third material comprising pure aluminum; after mixing the plurality of particles with the third material comprising pure aluminum, hot pressing the mixture of the plurality of particles and the third material at a temperature greater than 490° C. and less than 660° C. in a chamber evacuated to form a substantial high vacuum of less than 5×10 −4 Torr to form a composite material comprising: approximately 28.4 volume percent of an intermetallic compound comprising hafnium aluminide, wherein the composite material comprises substantially 7 atomic percent hafnium; and approximately 71.6 volume percent of a matrix material comprising pure aluminum; and forming at least a portion of a neutron absorber with the composite material.