Dispersion-Strengthened Alloys by the Mixalloying Process

Ceramic particle-dispersed metal-matrix alloys were produced by the Mixalloying Process. In this process, two liquid metal jets were impinged into a mixing head and intimately mixed by turbulence. Liquid copper solution with dilute boron and liquid copper solution with dilute zirconium were impinged and submicron size zirconium diboride particles were produced in liquid copper. The copper-zirconium diboride mixture was solidified in a water cooled mold. Addition of excessive zirconium enhanced boride particle dispersion. Because of particle strengthening, the room temperature microhardness was twice that of annealed copper, and the hardness was retained up to 1173 K in one hour annealing treatments. Experimental result on copper-aluminum oxide alloy is also reported.