Unexpected facture without any room-temperature plasticity severely limits potential structural applications of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs), especially La-, Mg- and Fe-based ones. In this study, a simple free corrosion method was provided to improve the plasticity of a brittle (La, Ce)-based BMG by the introduction of high-density corrosion defects on the surface. The influences of immersing time in 0.1 mol/L H2SO4 aqueous solution on the surface morphology and mechanical properties of the BMG were evaluated. With increasing immersing time from 5 to 30 min, the degree of surface corrosion increased obviously, and the distribution of corrosion defects became more homogenous. In the samples, the yielding phenomenon and certain plasticity appeared up to 0.3% after the surface treatment. The yielding and plasticity can be attributed to easier nucleation of shear bands on the defect surface rather than on the glabrous surface. The results provided a novel method to improve the plasticity of BMGs.
The present work is devoted to the development of Fe-(B-Si)-Zr amorphous alloys with high glass-forming ability and good magnetic properties. Using the cluster-plus-glue-atom model proposed for ideal amorphous structures, [FeFe11B3Si](Fe1-xZrx) was determined as the cluster formula of Fe-(B-Si)-Zr alloys. The glass formation and thermal stability of the serial alloys, namely, [FeFel^B3Si](Fel_xZrx) (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.75, and 1.0), were studied by the combination of copper mold casting, X-ray diffraction, and differential thermal analysis techniques. The maxima of glass-forming ability and thermal stability were found to occur at the compositions of [FeFe11B3Si] (Fe0.6Zr0.4) and [FeFe11B3Si](Fe0.5Zr0.5). The alloys can be cast into amorphous rods with 1.5 ram diameter, and upon reheating, the amorphous alloys exhibit a large undercooled liquid span of 37 K. The saturation magnetization of the [FeFe11B3Si](Fe0.5Zr0.5) amorphous alloy was measured to be 1.4 T.
Bulk amorphous formation in Ti-Cu-based multicomponent alloys, free of Ni, Pd and Be elements, were studied using the cluster-plus-glue-atom model. The basic cluster formula was revealed as [Ti9Cu6]Cu3 to explain the best binary glass forming composition Ti50Cu50 =Ti9Cu9 , where the CN14 rhombi-dodecahedron Ti9Cu6 was the principal cluster in the devitrification phase CuTi. This basic cluster formula was further alloyed with Zr and Sn and a critical glass forming ability was reached at (Ti7.2Zr1.8)(Cu8.72Sn0.28) and (Ti7.2Zr1.8)(Cu8.45Sn0.55) up to 5 mm in diameter by suction casting, which was the largest in Ti-Cu- based and Ni-, Pd- and Be-free alloys.
WANG ZengRuiDONG DanDanQIANG JianBingWANG QingWANG YingMinDONG Chuang