Revisiting Al-Ni-Zr bulk metallic glasses using the 'clusterresonance' model

Abstract

Six series of alloys, namely, Ni3Zr6Alx, Ni3Zr7Alx, Ni4Zr9Alx, Ni3Zr8Alx, Ni3Zr9Alx and Ni3Zr10Alx (x=1, 1.5, 2, 3) were designed in this work and the bulk metallic glass (BMG) formation of these compositions was investigated by copper mold suction casting. A centimeter-scale BMG sample was obtained for the Ni4Zr9Al2 (Al13. 3Ni26.7Zr60 in atomic percent) composition. The thermal glass parameters for this BMG were determined to be ΔTx = 68 K, Trg = 0.579, and γm = 0.689. Using the 'cluster-resonance' model for glass formation an optimal BMG composition was determined using the cluster formula [Ni3Zr9](Al2Ni1). © 2011 Science China Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.