Tech Licensing Opportunity: Advanced Bonding Method for Heterogeneous Systems

Advanced Bonding Method for Heterogeneous Systems

An advanced method for seamlessly bonding similar and dissimilar materials, maintaining grain structure to minimize disruptions at the bond interface and enhancing material properties and integrity.

The Challenge:

In the high-stakes realms of aerospace, electronics, and nuclear industries, the integrity of material bonds can mean the difference between success and catastrophic failure. Traditionally, bonding similar and dissimilar materials often involves using interlayers or powders, which unfortunately creates visible bond lines that can become points of weakness. Researchers at INL have pioneered a groundbreaking method to achieve bonding of dissimilar materials through a multi-stage sintering process.

How it Works:

This innovative bonding method is much less energy intensive relative to other diffusion welding type technologies. The process also eliminates the need for additional interface materials to achieve material bonding. It removes the weaknesses associated with visible bond lines, providing a stronger, more reliable bond for a range of materials including ceramics, metals, and various combinations. The method has been demonstrated using Electric Field Assisted Sintering (EFAS) technologies, but it is adaptable for use with multiple sintering technologies, offering flexibility across different manufacturing contexts.

Key Advantages:

• Enhanced Durability: Bonding without visible bond lines significantly reduces potential failure points, resulting in stronger and more reliable materials.
• Energy Efficiency: When coupled with Electric Field Assisted Sintering, the method reduces processing time by an order of magnitude vs. hot press, providing an eco-friendly alternative to traditional methods
• Versatility: The technology is applicable not only in EFAS furnaces but can also be adapted for hot press, hot isostatic press, and conventional box or tube furnaces.
• No Additional Materials Needed: Eliminates the use of interlayers or powders, reducing material costs and complexity in the bonding process.
• Improved Material Properties: Bonding partially sintered materials allows for increased deformation at the bonding interface, enhancing overall quality of the bond.

Problems Solved

• Elimination of detectable grain structure alterations (bond lines) at the interface, which can lead to inferior material properties.
• Addresses limitations in bonding dissimilar materials
• Reduced energy consumption relative to traditional bonding methods
• Capable of joining materials with complex geometries

Market Applications

• Electronics manufacturing for enhanced component durability
• Nuclear industry for improved material reliability under extreme conditions
• Aerospace industry for stronger structural materials
• Manufacturing of ceramics with complex shapes and high strength requirements
• Development of composite materials with superior mechanical properties

Development Status: TRL 6

US Provisional Patent Application No. 63/593,137, “METHODS OF BONDING OF SIMILAR AND DISSIMILAR MATERIALS AND RELATED ARTICLES,” BEA Docket No. BA-1444

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Learn more about our licensing opportunities and the support we provide at https://inl.gov/technology-deployment/. For specific discussions on how your business can benefit, please contact td@inl.gov.

INL’s Technology Deployment department focuses exclusively on licensing intellectual property and partnering with industry collaborators capable of commercializing our innovations. Our goal is to commercialize the technologies developed by INL researchers. We do not engage in purchasing, manufacturing, procurement decisions, or providing funding. Additionally, this is not a call for external services for the development of this technology.