Patent ID: 7328831

Claim:
A method of making a brazed metal article, the method comprising: providing a first polymeric foam; coating the first polymeric foam with a powdered metal composition to form a coated first polymeric foam; thermally-treating the coated first polymeric foam to volatilize the first polymeric foam and to form an open-cell metal foam; providing a second polymeric foam; coating the second polymeric foam with a braze composition to form a coated second polymeric foam; thermally-treating the coated second polymeric foam to an intermediate temperature to volatilize the second polymeric foam and to form a thermally-treated metal foam; applying the thermally-treated metal foam to the open-cell metal foam to form a thermally-treated metal foam composite; placing the thermally-treated metal foam composite in contact with a base metal to form an article; and thermally-treating the article to a braze temperature to partially-liquefy or fully-liquefy the applied thermally-treated metal foam of the thermally-treated metal foam composite to form a brazed metal article.