High Temperature Resistant Cermet and Ceramic Compositions
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United States Patent [191 [I11 4,13 1,459 Phillips [45] Dw. 26, 1978 HIGH TEMPERATURE RESISTANT Primary Examiner-Brooks H. Hunt CERMET AND CERAMIC COMPOSITIONS Attorney, Agent, or Finn-Monte F. Mott; John R. Manning; Wilfred Griflra Inventors: Jama C. Fletcher, Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space [571 ABSTRACT Administration, with respect to an invention of Wayne M. Phillips, La Cermet compositions having high temperature oxida- Crescenta, Calif. tion resistance, high hardness and high abrasion and wear resistance, and particularly adapted for produc- Appl. NO.: 858,766 tion of high temperature resistant cermet insulator bod- Filed: Dec. 8,1977 ies, comprising a sintered body of particles of a high temperature resistant metal or metal alloy, preferably Related U.S. Application Data molybdenum or tungsten particles, dispersed in and bonded to a solid solution formed of aluminum oxide Division of Ser. No. 633,876, Nov. 20, 1975, Pat. No. 4,072,532. and silicon nitride, and particularly a ternary solid solu- tion formed of a mixture of aluminum oxide, silicon ht. Cl.2 .............................................. C22C 29/00 nitride and aluminum nitride. Also disclosed are novel U.S. Cl. ........................................ 75/20% 75/205; ceramic compositions comprising a sintered solid solu- 75/206; 75/212; 75/226; 264/60 tion of aluminum oxide, silicon nitride and aluminum Field of Search ................. 75/203, 205, 206, 212, nitride. 75/226; 264/60 The cermet compositions are designed particularly to References Cited provide high temperature resistant refractory coatings U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS on metal substrates, preferably molybdenum or tung- sten substrates. 3,526,485 9/1970 Dawihl et al. ......................... 75/235 3,900,626 8/1975 Brennan ................................. 264/60 3,914,500 10/1975 Prennan et al. ........................ 264/60 15 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures ALUMINUM NITRIDE. AI N SILICON CERAMIC NlTRlDE OXIDES 80 60 40 Si3N4 ‘3 MOL K Si3N4- y2 03 “2’3 US. Patent Dec. 26, 1978 4,13 1,459 ALUMINUM NITRIDE. AI N FIG. I SILICON NITRIDE 20 Si3N4 80 60 40 “2 ‘3 MOL % Si3N4- y2 03 “2’3 12 ll 14 IO ‘ 18 16 FIG. 4 26 24 4,13 1,459 1 two ceramic materials, during sintering, form a very HIGH TEMPERATURE RESISTANT CEm stable solid solution, and in this state, it has been found AND CERAMIC COMPOSITIONS that the silicon nitride cannot react with the refractory metal, i.e. molybdenum or tungsten, to form a silicide, ORIGIN INVENTION OF 5 so that the resulting cermet retains its structural integ- The invention described herein was made in the per- rity. Further, the solid solution retains the crystal struc- formance of work under a NASA contract and is sub- ture of the silicon nitride so that the cermet has very ject to the provisions of Section 305 of the National high abrasion resistance, good strength at high tempera- Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, Public Law 85-568 tures as well as resistance to thermal shock and oxida- (72 Stat. 435; 42 USC 2457). 10 tion, while at the same time having good adhesion to This is a division of application Ser. No. 633,876, filed substrate metals such as molybdenum or tungsten, due Nov. 20, 1975 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,532. to the molybdenum or tungsten content of the cermet. As a particular feature of the invention, it has been BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION found that a novel ceramic composition comprising a 1. Field of the Invention 15 solid solution of certain ceramic oxides, particularly This invention relates to production of cermet com- aluminum oxide, silicon nitride and aluminum nitride positions wherein particles of a metal or metal alloy, are (AIN),when combined with certain high temperature dispersed in a matrix of a ceramic material, and is partic- resistance metals, particularly molybdenum or tungsten, ularly concerned with the production of cermet compo- results in the production of a highly valuable cermet sitions of the above type, having high temperature oxi- 20 having in addition to those properties noted above, dation resistance, high strength and hardness, and high including excellent bonding to such metals, high oxida- abrasion and erosion resistance, and particularly de- tion resistance, and good abrasion and wear resistance, signed for use as cermet seals for thermionic converters, low coefficient of friction and high hardness equivalent and diodes, and with the production of high 'tempera- to and superior to tungsten carbide. ture oxidation resistant ceramics particularly useful in 25 As previously noted, the cermet compositions of the the production of such cermet compositions. The inven- invention are particularly designed as high temperature tion is also concerned with procedure for producing resistant electrical insulators, especially for use as seals said cermet and ceramic compositions. for thermionic converters or diodes. However, the cer- 2. Description of the Prior Art met bodies produced according to the invention can It is known to strengthen high temperature resistant 30 have wide application and can be employed wherever a metals by adding ceramic or refractory metal oxides pure ceramic can be used, while at the same time pro- thereto. It is also known to incorporate high tempera- viding the above noted properties and advantages, in- ture resistant metals into ceramic materials or refractory cluding very high strength and high thermal shock metal oxides, in order to increase adhesion of the ce- resistance. Other diverse applications include use of the ramic material or refractory metal oxide to a metal 35 cermet, for example, as turbine blades, coal gasification substrate, to provide high temperature resistance refrac- equipment including powdered coal feed nozzles, reen- tory coatings on such metal substrates. try shields fpr space vehicles, and the lie, taking advan- In my U.S. application Ser. No. 348,422, filed Apt. 5, tage of the high abrasion and erosion resistance coupled 1973, there is disclosed a high strength cermet composi- with oxidation resistance of the cermet, as medical im- tion comprising a sintered body consisting of high tem- 40 plants for rebuilding bones and joint structures of the perature resistant metal or metal alloy particles such as body, and taking aivantage of the very high hardness, niobium or niobium alloys, coated with and dispersed in which produces low wear rates, good biocompatibility, a continuous matrix of a ceramic oxide such as alumina, and capability of producing surfaces with controlled yttria or zirconia, and particularly designed for use as porosity to allow bone and tissue ingrowth. The cer- cermet seals for thermionic diodes. Although such cer- 45 mets and novel ceramics formed of the three compo- met compositions have been found to e advantageous, nent single phase solid solution of aluminum oxide, cermets having even higher temperature oxidation re- silicon nitride and aluminum nitride are particularly sistance for application as seals for thermionic convert- advantageous in fabricating body joints such as hip ers are required. Also, cermets having improved hard- joints, and as tooth and bone implants. The foregoing ness, and high abrasion and erosion resistance, coupled 50 novel three-component ceramic composition and cer- with high oxidation resistance are required especially mets produced therefrom employing molybdenum and for applications such as the production of turbine tungsten as metal components, can be employed for blades. very high hardness applications such as sand blast noz- NATURE PHYSICAL SCIENCE, VOLUME 238, zles and the production of machine tools, as a substitute NO. 80, Pages 28,29, July 10, 1972, discloses ceramics 55 for tungsten carbide in such applications. obtained by hot pressing mixtures of silicon nitride and Thus, the ceramic compositions employed in produc- alumina to form a single phase solid solution, known as ing the improved cermets according to the invention the Si-A1-0-N system. are two-component single phase solid solutions consist- ing of certain ceramic oxides, particularly aluminum DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 60 oxide, and silicon nitride, and especially three-compo- In accordance with the present invention it has now nent single phase solid solutions of such ceramic oxides, been found that cermet bodies, particularly having high particularly aluminum oxide, silicon nitride and alumi- temperature oxidation resistance, high strength and num nitride. abrasion resistance, as well as resistance to thermal The ceramic oxide component can be any of the shock are provided, comprising particles of molybde- 65 oxides, also known as sesquioxides, of the group consist- num or tungsten, coated with and dispersed in a solid ing of aluminum oxide (Al2O3), yttrium oxide (Y203), solution of certain ceramic oxides, particularly alumi- and chromium oxide (CrzO3), employed separately or in num oxide (A1203)and silicon nitride (Si3N4). These combination. The preferred ceramic oxide for produc- 4,13 1,459 3 4 ing the solid phase ceramic compositions employed in The compositions of the solid solutions at the points producing the cermets of the invention, is aluminum A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J and K, defining the boundaries oxide. However, mixtures of such ceramic oxides, par- of the above noted broad, preferred and optimum ticularly aluminum oxide together with yttrium oxide ranges of ceramic compositions, in terms of mol percent and/or chromium oxide, can be employed. Particularly 5 of the three components are set forth in the table below. preferred combinations are those of aluminum oxide and yttrium oxide, preferably in proportions of about 1 TABLE1 ’ to about 10% yttrium oxide and about 90 to about 99% aluminum oxide, by weight. Similar combinations of POINTS (mol %) A B C D aluminum oxide and chromium oxide in amounts for 10 1 10% of AlN 0 0 50 6 example of about to about chromium oxide ~~d Al o3 40 70 40 4 and about 90 to about 99% of aluminum oxide, by Range Si&4 60 30 10 90 weight, can also be employed.