Tribological characteristics of Ti-based bulk metallic glass via deep cryogenic-cycling treatment

The wear resistance of Ti45Zr16Cu10Ni9Be20 bulk metallic glass with a deep cryogenic-cycling treatment (DCT) was studied here. The specimens showed increased plasticity and decreased hardness after DCT. The higher wear resistance could be achieved by sacrificing partial hardness in macroscopic wear tests. Morphological observation revealed that the wear mechanism changed from severe fatigue wear to mild ductile ploughing, and the oxidation wear played a mild role. Nano-scratch tests were applied to explore the adhesion and ploughing contributions under the ramping-constant load mode. The competition between the lower hardness and the higher elastic recovery results in the lower friction coefficient. Therefore, DCT has great potential in the application of designing wear-resistant BMGs.

Automated summary

Ti45Zr16Cu10Ni9Be20 bulk metallic glass with deep cryogenic-cycling treatment (DCT) exhibited increased wear resistance at the cost of decreased hardness in macroscopic wear tests. The wear mechanism shifted from severe fatigue wear to mild ductile ploughing, while oxidation wear played a minor role. The competition between lower hardness and higher elastic recovery resulted in a lower friction coefficient, indicating the potential of DCT in designing wear-resistant BMGs.