Developing Processing Parameters and Characterizing Microstructure and Properties of an Additively Manufactured FeCrMoBC Metallic Glass Forming Alloy

Powder bed fusion (PBF) processing parameters are developed for a FeCrMoBC glass-forming alloy. Although bulk metallic glass parts are successfully fabricated using additive manufacturing, the porosity is too high for imparting good mechanical properties. The processing is tuned to create a fully-dense, dendrite-reinforced metal-matrix composite with low hardness and high indentation fracture toughness. Microstructures and properties of the printed alloy are compared to bulk amorphous samples made through thermal spray additive manufacturing (TSAM). The work shows that printing glass-forming alloys can result in tunable properties based on the cooling rate, porosity, and composite microstructures.