Aluminum alloy-boron fiber composite

Claim 1

An aluminum alloy-boron fiber composite structure constructed by the method of stacking a plurality of similar foils in surface-to-surface relationship on a mold having the shape of the desired composite structure to be formed, each of said foils including a sheet of relatively ductile aluminum having a plurality of boron fibers distributed in a layer throughout, and each of said aluminum sheets having a coating on at least one surface thereof of copper capable of forming a liquid eutectic with the aluminum of the foil and of diffusing relatively uniformly throughout the aluminum without producing melting of any material, said foils being stacked on the mold so that at least one layer of said coating material is between each pair of adjacent foils in the stack, said composite structure being formed by subjecting said stacked foils under pressure to a predetermined temperature sufficient to form a liquid eutectic at the interfaces between the aluminum sheets and the coatings of material thereon, said predetermined temperature being greater than the eutectic temperature but less than the melting temperatures of the foils and the coatings thereon, said eutectic temperature being maintained for a sufficient time for the copper in the coating to diffuse substantially uniformly throughout the foil so as to lose its identity as a distinct coating and to integrally unite adjacent foils.