Nd65Al10Fe25-xCox (x=0,5,10) bulk metallic glasses with wide supercooled liquid regions

Bulk metallic glasses of Nd65Al10Fe25-xCox (x=0,5,10) have been prepared in the form of 3 mm diam rods. Results of differential scanning calrimetry, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), and x-ray diffraction are presented for these alloys. It is shown that the glass transition and crystallization have been observed by DMTA. The reduced glass transition temperature of these glasses, defined as the ratio between the glass transition temperature T-g and the melting temperature T-l is in the range from 0.55 to 0.62. All these glasses have a large supercooled liquid region (SLR), ranging from 80 to 130 K. The high value of reduced glass transition temperature and wide SLR agree with their good glass formation ability.

Influences of Hydration Force and Elastic Strain Energy on the Stability of Solid Film in a Very Thin Solid-on-Liquid Structure

Since hydration forces become very strong at short range and are particularly important for determining the magnitude of the adhesion between two surfaces or interaction energy, the influences of the hydration force and elastic strain energy due to hydration-induced layering of liquid molecules close to a solid film surface on the stability of a solid film in a solid-on-liquid (SOL) nanostructure are studied in this paper. The liquid of this thin SOL structure is a kind of water solution. Since the surface forces play an important role in the structure, the total free energy change of SOL structures consists of the changes in the bulk elastic energy within the solid film, the surface energy at the solid-liquid interface and the solid-air interface, and highly nonlinear volumetric component associated with interfacial forces. The critical wavelength of one-dimensional undulation, the critical thickness of the solid film, and the critical thickness of the liquid layer are studied, and the stability regions of the solid film have been determined. Emphasis is placed on calculation of critical values, which are the basis of analyzing the stability of the very thin solid film.

Effect of liquid bridge volume on the instability in small-Prandtl-number half zones

A perturbation method is used to examine the linear instability of thermocapillary convection in a liquid bridge of floating half-zone filled with a small Prandtl number fluid. The influence of liquid bridge volume on critical Marangoni number and flow features is analyzed. The neutral modes show that the instability is mainly caused by the bulk flow that is driven by the nonuniform thermocapillary forces acting on the free surface. The hydrodynamic instability is dominant in the case of small Prandtl number fluid and the first instability mode is a stationary bifurcation. The azimuthal wave number for the most dangerous mode depends on the liquid bridge volume, and is not always two as in the case of a cylindrical liquid bridge with aspect ratio near 0.6. Its value may be equal to unity when the liquid bridge is relatively slender.

Instability Of Crack Propagation In Brittle Bulk Metallic Glass

The instability of the crack tip in brittle Mg-based bulk metallic glass (BMG) is studied. The formation of various fractographic surfaces of the BMG is associated with the instability of the fluid meniscus, which is due to viscous fluid matter being present on the fracture process zone. Depending on the values of the wavelength of the initial perturbation of the fluid meniscus and the local stress intensity factor, different fracture surface profiles, i.e. a dimple-like structure, a periodic corrugation pattern and a pure mirror zone are formed. The fractographic evolution is significantly affected by the applied stress. A decreased fracture Surface roughness is observed under a low applied stress. An increased fracture surface roughness, which has frequently been reported by other researchers, is also observed in the present studies under a high applied stress. Unique fractographic features are attributed to the non-linear hyperelastic stiffening for less softening) mechanism. (C) 2008 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Numerical Study Of Pile-Up In Bulk Metallic Glass During Spherical Indentation

Pile-up around indenter is usually observed during instrumented indentation tests on bulk metallic glass. Neglecting the pile-up effect may lead to errors in evaluating hardness, Young's modulus, stress-strain response, etc. Finite element analysis was employed to implement numerical simulation of spherical indentation tests on bulk metallic glass. A new model was proposed to describe the pile-up effect. By using this new model, the contact radius and hardness of Zr41.2Ti13.8Cu12.5Ni10Be22.5 bulk metallic glass were obtained under several different indenter loads with pile-up, and the results agree well with the data generated by numerical simulation.

Effect of Fe content on the thermal stability and dynamic mechanical behavior of NdAlNiCu bulk metallic glasses

The dependence of microstructure and thermal stability on Fe content of bulk Nd60Al10Ni10Cu20-xFex (0 less than or equal to x less than or equal to 20) metallic glasses is investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron micrograph (HRTEM). All samples exhibit typical amorphous feature under the detect limit of XRD, however, HRTEM results show that the microstructure of Nd60Al10Ni10Cu20-xFex alloys changes from a homogeneous amorphous phase to a composite structure consisting of clusters dispersed in amorphous matrix by increasing Fe content. Dynamic mechanical properties of these alloys with controllable microstructure are studied, expressed via storage modulus, the loss modulus and the mechanical damping. The results reveal that the storage modulus of the alloy without Fe added shows a distinct decrease due to the main a relaxation. This decrease weakens and begins at a higher temperature with increasing Fe content. The mechanism of the effect of Fe addition on the microstructure and thermal stability in this system is discussed in terms of thermodynamics viewpoints. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Zr-Cu-Al bulk metallic glasses

Zr49Cu46Al5 and Zr48.5Cu46.5Al5 bulk metallic glasses(BMGs) with diameter of 5 mm were prepared through water-cooled copper mold casting. The phase structures of the two alloys were identified by X-ray diffractometry(XRD). The thermal stability was examined by differential scanning calorimetry(DSC). Zr49Cu46Al5 alloy shows a glass transition temperature, T, of about 689 K, an crystallization temperature, T-x, of about 736 K. The Zr48.5Cu46.5Al5 alloy shows no obvious exothermic peak. The microstructure of the as-cast alloys was analyzed by transmission electron microscopy(TEM). The aggregations of CuZr and CuZr2 nanocrystals with grain size of about 20 nm are observed in Zr49Cu46Al5 nanocrystalline composite, while the Zr48.5Cu46.5Al5 alloy containing many CuZr martensite plates is crystallized seriously. Mechanical properties of bulk Zr49Cu46Al5 nanocrystalline composite and Zr48.5Cu46.5Al5 alloy measured by compression tests at room temperature show that the work hardening ability of Zr48.5Cu46.5Al5 alloy is larger than that of Zr48.5Cu46.5Al5 alloy.

Study on flow characteristics of solid/liquid system in lysozyme crystal growth

During the process of lysozyme protein crystallization with batch method, the macroscopic flow field of solid/liquid system was observed by particle image velocimetry (PIV). Furthermore, a normal growth rate of (110) face and local flow field around a single protein crystal were obtained by a long work distance microscope. The experimental results showed that the average velocity, the maximal velocity of macroscopic solid/liquid system and the velocity of local flow field around single protein crystal were fluctuant. The effective boundary layer thickness delta(eff), the concentration at the interface Q and the characteristic velocity V were calculated using a convection-diffusion model. The results showed that the growth of lysozyme crystal in this experiment was dominated by interfacial kinetics rather than bulk transport, and the function of buoyancy-driven flow in bulk transport was small, however, the effect of bulk transport in crystal growth had a tendency to increase with the increase of lysozyme concentration. The calculated results, also showed that the order of magnitude of shear force was about 10(-21) N, which was much less than the bond force between the lysozyme molecules. Therefore the shear force induced by buoyancy-driven flows cannot remove the protein molecules from the interface of crystal.

CHARACTERIZATION OF SHEAR BANDS IN TWO BULK METALLIC GLASSES WITH DIFFERENT INHERENT PLASTICITY

Shear banding characterization of Zr64.13Cu15.75Ni10.12Al10 and Zr65Cu15Ni10Al10 bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) with significant difference in inherent plasticity and quite similar chemical composition was studied by depth sensitive macroindentaion tests with conical indenter. Well-developed shear band pattern can be found for both BMGs after indentation. Distinct difference in the shear band spacing, scale of plastic deformation region and the shear band branching in the two BMGs account for the different plasticity.

BONDING OF ALUMINA AND METAL USING BULK METALLIC GLASS FORMING ALLOY

Metal-alumina joints have found various practical applications in electronic devices and high technology industry. However, making of sound metal ceramic brazed couple is still a challenge in terms of its direct application in the industry. In this work we successfully braze copper with Al2O3 ceramic using Zr52.5Cu17.9Ni14.6Al10Ti5 bulk metallic glass forming alloy as filler alloy. The shear strength of the joints can reach 140 MPa, and the microstructrural analysis confirms a reliable chemical boning of the interface. The results show that the bulk metallic glass forming alloys with high concentration of active elements are prospective for using as filler alloy in metal-ceramic bonding.

Characterization Of Shear Bands In Two Bulk Metallic Glasses With Different Inherent Plasticity

Shear banding characterization of Zr64.13Cu15.75Ni10.12Al10 and Zr65Cu15Ni10Al10 bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) with significant difference in inherent plasticity and quite similar chemical composition was studied by depth sensitive macroindentaion tests with conical indenter. Well-developed shear band pattern can be found for both BMGs after indentation. Distinct difference in the shear band spacing, scale of plastic deformation region and the shear band branching in the two BMGs account for the different plasticity.

Bonding Of Alumina And Metal Using Bulk Metallic Glass Forming Alloy

Metal-alumina joints have found various practical applications in electronic devices and high technology industry. However, making of sound metal ceramic brazed couple is still a challenge in terms of its direct application in the industry. In this work we successfully braze copper with Al2O3 ceramic using Zr52.5Cu17.9Ni14.6Al10Ti5 bulk metallic glass forming alloy as filler alloy. The shear strength of the joints can reach 140 MPa, and the microstructrural analysis confirms a reliable chemical boning of the interface. The results show that the bulk metallic glass forming alloys with high concentration of active elements are prospective for using as filler alloy in metal-ceramic bonding.

Intrinsic correlation between fragility and bulk modulus in metallic glasses

A systematic study on the available data of 26 metallic glasses shows that there is an intrinsic correlation between fragility of a liquid and bulk modulus of its glass. The underlying physics can be rationalized within the formalism of potential energy landscape thermodynamics. It is surprising to find that the linear correlation between the fragility and the bulk-shear modulus ratio exists strictly at either absolute zero temperature or very high frequency. Further analyses indicate that a real flow event in bulk metallic glasses is shear dominant, and fragility is in inverse proportion to shear-induced bulk dilatation. Finally, extension of these findings to nonmetallic glasses is discussed.

High-temperature electron-hole liquid and dynamics of Fermi excitons in a In0.65Al0.35As/Al0.4Ga0.6As quantum dot array

State-filling effects of the exciton in a In0.65Al0.35As/Al0.4Ga0.6As quantum dot array are observed by quantum dot array photolumineseence at a sample temperature of 77 K. The exciton emission at low excitation density is dominated by the radiative recombination of the states in the s shell and at high excitation density the emission mainly results from the radiative recombination of the exciton state in the p shell. The spectral interval between the states in the s and p shells is about 30-40 mcV. The time resolved photoluminescence shows that the decay time of exciton states in the p shell is longer than that of exciton states in the s shell, and the emission intensity of the exciton state in the p shell is superlinearly dependent on excitation density. Furthermore, electron-hole liquid in the quantum dot array is observed at 77 K, which is a much higher temperature than that in bulk. The emission peak of the. recombination, of electron-hole liquid has an about 200 meV redshift from the exciton fluorescence. Two excitation density-dependent emission peaks at 1.56 and 1.59 eV are observed, respectively, which result from quantum confinement effects in QDs. The emission intensity of electron-hole liquid is directly proportional to the cubic of excitation densities and its decay time decreases significantly at the high excitation density.

Shear transformation zone volume determining ductile–brittle transition of bulk metallic glasses

Three-point bending experiments were performed on as-cast and annealed samples of Zr52.5Cu17.9Ni14.6Al10Ti5 (Vit105) bulk metallic glasses over a wide range of temperatures varying from room temperature (293 K) to liquid nitrogen temperature (77 K). The results demonstrated that the free volume decrease due to annealing and/or cryogenic temperature can reduce the propensity for the formation of multiple shear bands and hence deteriorate plastic deformation ability. We clearly observed a sharp ductile-to-brittle transition (DBT), across which microscopic fracture feature transfers from micro-scale vein patterns to nano-scale periodic corrugations. Macroscopically, the corresponding fracture mode changes from ductile shear fracture to brittle tensile fracture. The shear transformation zone volume, taking into account free volume, temperature and strain rate, is proposed to quantitatively characterize the DBT behavior in fracture of metallic glasses.