Patents by Inventor Fengchao Liu

Fengchao Liu has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11890788
    Abstract: Methods of producing polymer-metal hybrid components that are bonded by C—O-M bonds at the interface using at least one of the hot pressing, rolling, and injection molding methods to create chemical bond formation conditions at the polymer and metal interface. When the thermal cycle and compressive pressure specified herein is combinationally created at the polymer and metal interfaced, strong C—O-M bonds forms at the interface and strongly bonds the metal and polymer together through the reaction carbonyl groups (C?O) in polymer and the metal surface. For polymers lacking enough carbonyl groups, new functional groups can be in-situ generation through introducing distributed air pockets at the polymer-metal interface for forming 3-dimensional distributed C—O-M bonds at the interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
    Inventors: Fengchao Liu, Pingsha Dong
  • Publication number: 20240025150
    Abstract: A method of joining a metal part and a polymer/polymer composite part comprising providing a metal part; providing a polymer or polymer composite part; inserting an insert layer between the metal part and the polymer or polymer composite part; and applying heat to the metal part to a temperature above the melting temperatures and below a degradation temperature of the polymer or polymer composite part and the insert layer and simultaneously applying pressure to the combination of the metal part, the polymer or polymer composite part, and the insert layer to combine the metal part and the polymer or polymer composite part into a joined assembly having a chemical bond therebetween.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 19, 2023
    Publication date: January 25, 2024
    Inventors: Abdul Sayeed KHAN, Pingsha DONG, Fengchao LIU
  • Publication number: 20240025167
    Abstract: A method of joining a metal part and a polymer/polymer composite part comprising providing a metal part; providing a polymer or polymer composite part; inserting an insert layer between the metal part and the polymer or polymer composite part; and applying heat to the metal part to a temperature above the melting temperatures and below a degradation temperature of the polymer or polymer composite part and the insert layer and simultaneously applying pressure to the combination of the metal part, the polymer or polymer composite part, and the insert layer to combine the metal part and the polymer or polymer composite part into a joined assembly having a chemical bond therebetween.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 18, 2023
    Publication date: January 25, 2024
    Inventors: Abdul Sayeed KHAN, Pingsha DONG, Fengchao LIU
  • Publication number: 20230173768
    Abstract: A method of directly joining a polymer to a metal along a joint interface through the formation of C—O—M chemical bonds, where M represents an element in the metal to be joined. The method includes heating the metal to a predetermined temperature above a glass transition temperature of the polymer and less than a flash ignition temperature of the polymer and less than a metal melting temperature of the metal; and applying force to the joint interface of the metal and the polymer to generate intimate atomic contact between the metal and the polymer to create C—O—M chemical bonds between the metal and the polymer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 21, 2022
    Publication date: June 8, 2023
    Inventors: Fengchao LIU, Pingsha DONG
  • Publication number: 20230121810
    Abstract: A solid-state manufacturing method comprising urging a metal-based feedstock material within a sleeve of a propulsion system in a processing direction along an axis of the sleeve and against a friction die adjacent one end of the sleeve; softening at least a portion of the feedstock material within the hollow portion of the sleeve to a malleable state to form malleable feedstock material using relative rotatory friction between the friction die and the feedstock material; extruding the malleable feedstock material from an extrusion hole in response to the urging step; and depositing the malleable feedstock material from the extrusion hole onto a substrate as a paste using at least one plastering surface and continuing depositing the malleable feedstock material as deposit layers until a desired shape is completed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2022
    Publication date: April 20, 2023
    Inventors: Fengchao LIU, Pingsha DONG
  • Patent number: 11396139
    Abstract: A method of directly joining a polymer to a metal along a joint interface through the formation of C—O-M chemical bonds, where M represents an element in the metal to be joined. The method includes heating the metal to a predetermined temperature above a glass transition temperature of the polymer and less than a flash ignition temperature of the polymer and less than a metal melting temperature of the metal; physically contacting at least one of the metal and the polymer; and applying compression pressure to the joint interface of the metal and the polymer when the metal is above the glass transition temperature of the polymer and less than the flash ignition temperature of the polymer and less than the metal melting temperature of the metal to generate intimate atomic contact between the metal and the polymer to create C—O-M chemical bonds between the metal and the polymer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2022
    Assignee: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
    Inventors: Fengchao Liu, Pingsha Dong
  • Publication number: 20210362380
    Abstract: Methods of producing polymer-metal hybrid components that are bonded by C—O-M bonds at the interface using at least one of the hot pressing, rolling, and injection molding methods to create chemical bond formation conditions at the polymer and metal interface. When the thermal cycle and compressive pressure specified herein is combinationally created at the polymer and metal interfaced, strong C—O-M bonds forms at the interface and strongly bonds the metal and polymer together through the reaction carbonyl groups (C?O) in polymer and the metal surface. For polymers lacking enough carbonyl groups, new functional groups can be in-situ generation through introducing distributed air pockets at the polymer-metal interface for forming 3-dimensional distributed C—O-M bonds at the interface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 18, 2021
    Publication date: November 25, 2021
    Inventors: Fengchao LIU, Pingsha DONG
  • Publication number: 20210205919
    Abstract: A method of joining a first component and a second component that are made of dissimilar metals. In some embodiments, the method comprises applying friction between the first component and the second component sufficient to generate a layer of quasi-liquid metal and produce shear localization within the quasi-liquid metal at a dissimilar metal interface between the first component and the second component and terminating the application of friction at a predetermined time after generation of the quasi-liquid metal. In some embodiments, the method comprises applying amorphous metal between at least a portion of the first component and the second component at a dissimilar metal interface, heating the amorphous metal to a temperature between its glass transition temperature (Tg) and the lowest melting temperature of the components involved, and applying compression pressure to generate thermoplastic deformation of the amorphous metal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2020
    Publication date: July 8, 2021
    Inventors: Fengchao LIU, Pingsha DONG, Wei LU, Alan TAUB
  • Publication number: 20210053283
    Abstract: A solid-state manufacturing system having a sleeve having a hollow portion for receiving a feedstock material; a friction die rotatably coupled adjacent an end of the sleeve, the friction die and the sleeve being rotatable relative to each other along a rotation axis and configured to generate frictional heat to heat at least a portion of the feedstock material within the hollow portion of the sleeve to a malleable state; a propulsion system operably coupled to the sleeve configured to urge the feedstock material in a processing direction along the rotational axis; and an extrusion hole configured to permit the malleable feedstock material to be extruded from the extrusion hole in response to the propulsion system. A solid-state manufacturing method similarly configured is provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2020
    Publication date: February 25, 2021
    Inventors: Fengchao LIU, Pingsha DONG
  • Publication number: 20200368976
    Abstract: A method of directly joining a polymer to a metal along a joint interface through the formation of C—O-M chemical bonds, where M represents an element in the metal to be joined. The method includes heating the metal to a predetermined temperature above a glass transition temperature of the polymer and less than a flash ignition temperature of the polymer and less than a metal melting temperature of the metal; physically contacting at least one of the metal and the polymer; and applying compression pressure to the joint interface of the metal and the polymer when the metal is above the glass transition temperature of the polymer and less than the flash ignition temperature of the polymer and less than the metal melting temperature of the metal to generate intimate atomic contact between the metal and the polymer to create C—O-M chemical bonds between the metal and the polymer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 23, 2020
    Publication date: November 26, 2020
    Inventors: Fengchao Liu, Pingsha Dong