Method of manufacturing heat resistant sintered articles

Claim 1

A METHOD FOR REINFORCING HEAT RESISTANT METAL PRODUCTS CAPABLE OF SUSTAINING HEAT STRENGTH PROPERTIES AND HIGH RESISTANCE TO CREEP AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES ABOVE 800*C. AND UP TO ABOUT 1050*C. FOR PROLONGED PERIODS OF TIME WHICH COMPRISES UNIFORMLY MIXING ABOUT 5% TO 20% BY VOLUME OF A FINELY DIVIDED POWDER OF A SLIP AND RECOVERY INHIBITING COMPOUND PHASE HAVING A PARTICLE SIZE NOT EXCEEDING ABOUT 10 MICRONS SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF CARBIDES, BORIDES, SILICIDES AND NITRIDES OF TITANIUM, ZIRCONIUM, COLUMBIUM, TANTALUM, VANADIUM AND HAFNIUM, AND DISILICIDES OF MOLYBDENUM AND TUNGSTEN, WITH A FINELY DIVIDED HEAT RESISTANT MATRIX METAL POWDER NOT EXCEEDING ABOUT 40 MICRONS IN SIZE TO MAKE UP SUBSTANTIALLY THE BALANCE, SAID HEAT RESISTANT MATRIX METAL COMPRISING BY WEIGHT ABOUT 5% TO 30% CHROMIUM, UP TO ABOUT 25% IRON WITH SUBSTANTIALLY THE REMAINDER OF THE MATRIX METAL BEING AT LEAST ONE METAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF UP TO ABOUT 90% NICKEL AND UP TO ABOUT 70% COBALT, THE SUM OF THE NICKEL AND COBALT CONTENTS BEING AT LEAST ABOUT 40% BY WEIGHT OF THE MATRIX METAL COMPOSITION, SHAPING SAID POWDER MIXTURE TO A COHERENT BODY, SINTERING THE SHAPED BODY AT A TEMPERATURE OF AT LEAST ABOUT 1100*C. TO NOT GREATER THAN ABOUT 5*C. BELOW THE POINT OF INCIPIENT FUSION AT A SUBATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE NOT EXCEEDING ABOUT 100 MICRONS TO PRODUCE A SUBSTANTIALLY DENSE BODY, HOT WORKING SAID SINTERED BODY TO REDUCE ITS CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA AT LEAST ABOUT 50% TO ELIMINATE SUBSTANTIALLY THE VOIDS IN SAID BODY AND TO EFFECT OPTIMUM DISPERSION OF SAID SLIP AND RECOVERY INHIBITING PHASE, AND THEN FABRICATING SAID HOT WORKED BODY INTO A HEAT RESISTANT ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE, SAID FABRICATED ARTICLE BEING CHARACTERIZED BY A MICRO-STRUCTURE HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY DISCONTINUOUS AND RANDOM DISPERSION OF THE FINELY DIVIDED SLIP AND RECOVERY INHIBITING PHASE THROUGHOUT THE MATRIX OF THE HEAT RESISTANT METAL, THE AVERAGE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE FINELY DIVIDED PHASE BEING NOT GREATER THAN ABOUT ONE MICRON.

Claim 2

A METHOD FOR REINFORCING HEAT RESISTANT METAL PRODUCTS CAPABLE OF SUSTAINING HEAT STRENGTH PROPERTIES AND HIGH RESISTANCE TO CREEP AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES ABOVE 800*C. AND UP TO ABOUT 1050*C. FOR PROLONGED PERIODS OF TIME WHICH COMPRISES UNIFORMLY MIXING ABOUT 5% TO 20% BY VOLUME OF A FINELY DIVIDED POWDER OF A SLIP AND RECOVERY INHIBITING COMPOUND PHASE HAVING A PARTICLE SIZE NOT EXCEEDING ABOUT 10 MICRONS SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF CARBIDES, BORIDES, SILICIDES AND NITRIDES OF TITANIUM, ZIRCONIUM, COLUMBIUM, TANTALUM, VANADIUM AND HAFNIUM, AND DISILICIDES OF MOLYBDENUM AND TUNGSTEN, WITH A FINELY DIVIDED HEAT RESISTANT MATRIX METAL POWDER NOT EXCEEDING ABOUT 40 MICRONS IN SIZE TO MAKE UP SUBSTANTIALLY THE BALANCE, SAID HEAT RESISTANT MATRIX METAL COMPRISING BY WEIGHT ABOUT 5% TO 30% CHROMIUM, UP TO ABOUT 25% IRON WITH SUBSTANTIALLY THE REMAINDER OF THE MATRIX METAL BEING AT LEAST ONE METAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF UP TO ABOUT 90% NICKEL AND UP TO ABOUT 70% COBALT, THE SUM OF THE NICKEL AND COBALT CONTENTS BEING AT LEAST ABOUT 40% BY WEIGHT OF THE MATRIX METAL COMPOSITION, SHAPING SAID POWDER MIXTURE TO A COHERENT BODY, SINTERING THE SHAPED BODY AT A TEMPERATURE OF AT LEAST ABOUT 1100*C. TO NOT GREATER THAN ABOUT 5*C. BELOW THE POINT OF INCIPIENT FUSION AT A SUBATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE NOT EXCEEDING ABOUT 100 MICRONS TO PRODUCE A SUBSTANTIALLY DENSE BODY, HOT WORKING SAID SINTERED BODY TO REDUCE ITS CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA AT LEAST ABOUT 50% TO ELIMINATE SUBSTANTIALLY THE VOIDS IN SAID BODY AND TO EFFECT OPTIMUM DISPERSION OF SAID SLIP AND RECOVERY INHIBITING PHASE, AND THEN FABRICATING SAID HOT WORKED BODY INTO A HEAT RESISTANT ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE, SAID FABRICATED ARTICLE BEING CHARACTERIZED BY A MICRO-STRUCTURE HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY DISCONTINUOUS AND RANDOM DISPERSION OF THE FINELY DIVIDED SLIP AND RECOVERY INHIBITING PHASE THROUGHOUT THE MATRIX OF THE HEAT RESISTANT METAL, THE AVERAGE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE FINELY DIVIDED PHASE BEING NOT GREATER THAN ABOUT ONE MICRON.