Patent ID: 6887585

Claim:
A piston ring for internal combustion engines, said piston ring formed by the process of: providing a piston ring having at least one of a flank surface and a bearing surface, mechanically alloying a metallic matrix and a ceramic phase to provide a compound powder mixture for applying to said at least one of said flank surface and said bearing surface, wherein said metallic matrix is present in an amount of from 5 to 70% by volume and said ceramic phase is present in an amount of from 30 to 95% by volume, both relative to said total compound powder mixture, wherein said metallic matrix comprises at least one of nickel and iron and an alloying element selected from at least one of carbon, silicon, chromium, molybdenum, cobalt, nickel and iron, whereby said alloying elements do not exceed 70% by weight of said metallic matrix; and wherein said ceramic phase is selected from at least one of Al 2 O 3 , Cr 2 O 3 , TiO 2 , ZrO 2 , Fe 3 O 4 , TiC, SiC, CrC, WC, BC or diamond, and wherein said ceramic phase has a particle size of up to 10 Î¼m, and thermal spraying said compound powder mixture to at least one of said flank surface and said bearing surface.