Abstract: The invention described herein is an apparatus and method for forming a wear-resistant metal composition. As a specific example, aluminum oxide powder is added to a magnesium alloy to provide a wear-resistant magnesium composition. The magnesium alloy, as the base metal, is placed in a crucible and melted with a burner positioned external to the crucible. A pump having a suction side and a discharge side is mounted on the crucible, with the pump head being suspended below the surface of the molten magnesium. The pump includes a feed tube connected to the suction side, and this tube has a suction opening therein which lies partly above and partly below the surface of the molten metal. The aluminum oxide is fed into the feed tube, and the suction action of the pump causes a vortex at the molten metal surface. The vortex pulls the molten magnesium through the suction opening where it mixes with the aluminum oxide powder.

Abstract: Molten magnesium alloy is stirred under a substantially inert atmosphere as it is cooled to freezing, thereby forming discrete solid particles of the alloy. The process may be carried out batch-wise or continuously.

Abstract: The invention is a method for adding substantially insoluble material to an at least partially liquid metal. The method comprises providing a combination of a first metal having discrete degenerate dendrites and a plurality of insoluble particles at least partially suspended in the first metal. The combination is mixed with a second metal at a temperature above the solidus temperature of the first metal and the second metal. The second metal is capable of forming a dendritic structure when cooled from a liquid state to a solid state. The mixture is then solidified into a dendritic-containing metallic structure having a plurality of substantially insoluble particles at least partilly suspended in the structure.