A Ti-based bulk glassy alloy with high strength and good glass forming ability

Ti-based bulk metallic glasses have attracted lots of attention of scientific researchers due to their lightweight, low cost and high specific strength. But only a few Ti-based alloys have been reported possessing large glass forming ability. Then, research on new Ti-based alloys with good glass forming ability is necessary and important. In present work, rods of Ti43.15Zr9.59Cu36.24Ni9.06Sn1.96 glassy alloy with diameter of 3 mm have been fabricated by using copper mould casting method. It has been found that this Ti-based bulk metallic glass possesses good mechanical properties at room temperature. The compressive yield strength and the fracture strength of the glassy alloy are 2360 MPa and 2640 MPa, respectively, together with the plastic strain of 2.24%. The present results show that adding an element or increasing the amount of an element with large difference in atomic size ratio with other main constitutive elements and more negative mixing heat with other main constitutive elements in an alloy would benefit to enhance the glass forming ability of the alloy. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.