Graded structure of laser direct manufacturing bulk metallic glass

Extending the applications of metallic glasses for use as functionally graded materials could mitigate their intrinsic problems such as limited dimensions. Laser direct manufacturing (LDM) technology is an outstanding and reliable technique to fabricate structural-graded materials. Here, a Zr50Ti5Cu27Ni10Al8 (Zr50) alloy was chosen as the model material to fabricate metallic glass by the LDM. By optimizing the LDM process through the finite-element simulation, a nearly fully amorphous Zr50 alloy with the thickness of larger than 10 mm was fabricated. The structural gradients, induced by gradual variation of crystallinity, were found in the deposited Zr50 metallic glass.