PROCESS AND EQUIPMENT FOR OBTAINING METAL OR METAL MATRIX COMPONENTS WITH A VARYING CHEMICAL COMPOSITION ALONG THE HEIGHT OF THE COMPONENT AND COMPONENTS THUS OBTAINED

摘要

The present invention relates to a method of production of functionally graded materials based on an incremental melting and solidification process. Its operation principle can be described as follows: the materials ( metal elements, alloys or ceramics) are melt by the induction heating in the mould, and the continual granules, powders or wire, or even liquid materials, of another metal alloys are fed to the mould. The heating zone is limited to a small part of the mould. The incremental melting and solidification process proceeds from the bottom to the top of the mould by changing the relative position between the mould and the heating apparatus. Usage of this method ensures the obtainment of components with no particular alloy composition, but with a gradual changing of the chemical composition along the casting. As a result the component will have a continuous variation of the chemical composition along the component resulting in different physical, tribologycal, and mechanical properties along the component.