Hollow balls and a method for producing hollow balls and for producing light-weight structural components by means of hollow balls

US6828026B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignees

• Glatt Systemtechnik Dresden GmbH · DE
• Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V. · DE

Inventors

• Frank Bretschneider · Radeberg, DE
• Herbert Stephan · Bruchköbel, DE
• Juergen Brueckner · Michendorf, DE
• Guenter Stephani · Großerkmannsdorf, DE
• Lothar Schneider · Biebertal, DE
• Ulf Waag · Annaberg-Buchholz, DE
• Olaf Andersen · Dresden, DE
• Paul Hunkemoeller · Coesfeld, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 9, 2002
• Grant date: Dec 7, 2004
• Expiry date: Oct 12, 2022

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10T428/2998
• WIPO field: Materials, metallurgy
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

The invention relates to hollow balls having shells comprising a sintered inorganic material, such as metals, metal oxides or ceramic, and to methods for producing lightweight structural components using such hollow balls. According to the object of the invention, the application area is to be widened, processing to form structural components is to be made technologically simpler and the properties of the hollow balls and of the structural components produced therewith are to be improved for specific applications. For this purpose, an additional solid functional layer is formed on a shell on the hollow balls. The functional-layer material can then be made able to flow and plastically and/or elastically deformed as a result of a physical and/or chemical treatment.