Nearly full density Ni52.5Nb10Zr15Ti15Pt7..5 bulk metallic glass obtained by spark plasma sintering of gas atomized powders

Ni-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) with a large size were fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) of a gas-atomized Ni52.5Nb10Zr15Ti15Pt7.5 glassy alloy powder. The structure and thermal stability of the sintered specimens as well as the interface characteristics between powder particles were investigated. The sintered glassy specimens with nearly 100% relative density were obtained by the SPS process at a sintering temperature of 773 K with a loading pressure of 600 MPa. It was achieved using relatively low sintering temperature, short holding time, and rapid cooling during the SPS process. The results suggest that the BMGs fabricated by the SPS process opens possibilities of application as structural materials offering excellent properties and satisfying large-size requirements. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.