Abstract
The effect of tin (Sn) addition on the glass forming ability (GFA) and mechanical properties of the Ni-Nb-Zr ternary alloy system has been studied. The addition of Sn improves the GFA; Ni61Nb35.5−x Zr3.5Sn x (in at.%) alloys with x=1 can be cast into amorphous samples at least 3 mm in diameter using a copper mold injection-casting method. The critical size for glass formation decreases to 2 mm when x=5 because Ni2SnZr phase precipitates readily. The addition of Sn is also effective in enhancing the stability of the supercooled liquid; a maximum supercooled liquid region of 48 K was attained for the Ni61Nb30.5Zr3.5Sn5 alloy. Compression tests reveal that the Ni61Nb33.5Zr3.5Sn2 alloy possesses the best mechanical properties, with yield strength ∼3180 MPa, fracture strength ∼3390 MPa and plastic strain ∼1.3%. The fracture surfaces examined by scanning electron microscopy indicate that the alloys have a transition from ductility to brittleness in fracture behavior. The combination of high GFA, high thermal stability, high strength and compressive plasticity makes these alloys potentially attractive for engineering applications.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Wang W H, Dong C, Shek C H. Bulk metallic glasses. Mater Sci Eng R, 2004, 44: 45–89
Zhang Q S, Wu S D, Zhang H F, et al. Cyclic fatigue fracture of Zr55Al10Ni5Cu30 bulk amorphous alloy with quenched-in crystallites. J Mater Sci Technol, 2003, 19: 13–15
Inoue A, Shen B L, Chang C T. Super-high strength of over 4000 MPa for Fe-based bulk glassy alloys in [(Fe1−x Cox)0.75B0.2Si0.05]96Nb4 system. Acta Mater, 2004, 52: 4093–4099
Wang X M, Yoshii I, Inoue A, et al. Bulk amorphous Ni75−x Nb5Mx P20−y By (M=Cr, Mo) alloys with large supercooling and high strength. Mater Trans JIM, 1999, 40: 1130–1136
Yi S, Park T G, Kim D H. Ni-based bulk amorphous alloys in the Ni-Ti-Zr-(Si,Sn) system. J Mater Res, 2000, 15: 2425–2429
Xu D, Duan G, Johnson W L, et al. Formation and properties of new Ni-based amorphous alloys with critical casting thickness up to 5 mm. Acta Mater, 2004, 52: 3493–3497
Chen L Y, Hu H T, Zhang G Q, et al. Catching the Ni-based ternary metallic glasses with critical diameter up to 3 mm in Ni-Nb-Zr system. J Alloy Compd, 2007, 443: 109–113
Yim H C, Xu D H, Johnson W L. Ni-based bulk metallic glass formation in the Ni-Nb-Sn and Ni-Nb-Sn-X (X=B, Fe, Cu) alloy systems. Appl Phys Lett, 2003, 82: 1030–1032
Zhu Z W, Zhang H F, Pan D G, et al. Fabrication of binary Ni-Nb bulk metallic glass with high strength and compressive plasticity. Adv Eng Mater, 2006, 8: 953–957
Chen L Y, Fu Z D, Zeng W, et al. Ultrahigh strength binary Ni-Nb bulk glassy alloy composite with good ductility. J Alloy Compd, 2007, 443: 105–108
Zhu Z W, Zhang H F, Ding B Z, et al. Synthesis and properties of bulk metallic glasses in the ternary Ni-Nb-Zr alloy system. Mater Sci Eng A, 2008, 492: 221–229
Inoue A, Shen B L, Takeuchi A. Fabrication, properties and applications of bulk glassy alloys in late transition metal-based systems. Mater Sci Eng A, 2006, 441: 18–25
Zhu Z W, Zhang H F, Sun W S, et al. Effect of Zr addition on the glass-forming ability and mechanical properties of Ni-Nb alloy. J Mater Res, 2007, 22: 453–459
Takeuchi A, Inoue A. Calculations of mixing enthalpy and mismatch entropy for ternary amorphous alloys. Mater Trans JIM, 2000, 41: 1372–1378
Zhang Q S, Zhang H F, Deng Y F, et al. Bulk metallic glass formation of Cu-Zr-Ti-Sn alloy. Scripta Mater, 2003, 49: 273–278
Xie K F, Yao K F, Huang T Y. Preparation of (Ti0.45Cu0.378Zr0.10Ni0.072)100−x Snx bulk metallic glass. J Alloy Compd, 2010, 504s: s22–s26
Zhu S L, Wang X M, Inoue A. Glass-forming ability and mechanical properties of Ti-based bulk glassy alloys with large diameters of up to 1 cm. Intermetallics, 2008, 16: 1031–1035
Turnbull D. Under what condition can a glass be formed? Contemp Phys, 1969, 10: 473–488
Lu Z P, Liu C T. A new glass-forming ability criterion for bulk metallic glasses. Acta Mater, 2002, 50: 3501–3512
Suo Z Y, Qiu K Q, Li Q F, et al. Effect of Nb on glass forming ability and plasticity of (Ti-Cu)-based bulk metallic glasses. Mater Sci Eng A, 2010, 527: 2486–2491
Yim H C, Xu D H, Lind M L, et al. Structure and mechanical properties of bulk glass-forming Ni-Nb-Sn alloys. Scripta Mater, 2006, 54: 187–190
Liu L F, Dai L H, Bai Y L, et al. Initiation and propagation of shear bands in Zr-based bulk metallic glass under quasi-static and dynamic shear loadings. J Non-Cryst Solids, 2005, 351: 3259–3270
Liu L F, Dai L H, Bai Y L, et al. Behavior of multiple shear bands in Zr-based bulk metallic glass. Mater Chem Phys, 2005, 93: 174–177
Xi X K, Zhao D Q, Pan M X, et al. Fracture of brittle metallic glasses: Brittleness or plasticity. Phys Rev Lett, 2005, 94: 125510
Xu D, Duan G, Johnson W L. Unusual glass-forming ability of bulk amorphous alloys based on ordinary metal copper. Phys Rev Lett, 2004, 92: 245504
Sun W S, Zhang H F, Ding B Z, et al. Relationship of glass formation ability and eutectics in ternary Ni-Zr-B system. J Mater Res, 2004, 19: 2523–2526
Hays C C, Kim C P, Johnson W L. Microstructure controlled shear band pattern formation and enhanced plasticity of bulk metallic glasses containing in situ formed ductile phase dendrite dispersions. Phys Rev Lett, 2000, 84: 2901–2904
Das J, Tang M B, Kim K B, et al. “Work-hardenable” ductile bulk metallic glass. Phys Rev Lett, 2005, 94: 205501
Park E S, Chang H J, Kim D H. Effect of addition of Be on glass-forming ability, plasticity and structural change in Cu-Zr bulk metallic glasses. Acta Mater, 2008, 56: 3120–3131
Park E S, Chang H J, Lee J Y, et al. Improvement of plasticity by tailoring combination of constituent elements in Ti-rich Ti-Zr-Be-Cu-Ni bulk metallic glasses. J Mater Res, 2007, 22: 3440–3449
Fu H M, Zhang H F, Wang H, et al. Multifarious fracture features of CuZrAlGd (Ag) bulk metallic glasses. Adv Mat Res, 2007, 47: 29–30
Zhang L, Cheng Y Q, Cao A J, et al. Bulk metallic glasses with large plasticity: Composition design from the structural perspective. Acta Mater, 2009, 57: 1154–1164
Qin F X, Zhang H F, Wang A M, et al. Effect of Pd on GFA and thermal stability of Zr-based bulk amorphous alloy. J Mater Sci Technol, 2004, 20: 160–163
Cheng Y Q, Cao A J, Sheng H W, et al. Local order influences initiation of plastic flow in metallic glass: Effects of alloy composition and sample cooling history. Acta Mater, 2008, 56: 5263–5275
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Rights and permissions
This article is published under an open access license. Please check the 'Copyright Information' section either on this page or in the PDF for details of this license and what re-use is permitted. If your intended use exceeds what is permitted by the license or if you are unable to locate the licence and re-use information, please contact the Rights and Permissions team.
About this article
Cite this article
Li, D., Zhang, H., Wang, A. et al. Effect of Sn addition on the glass-forming ability and mechanical properties of Ni-Nb-Zr bulk metallic glasses. Chin. Sci. Bull. 56, 3926–3931 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-011-4763-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-011-4763-x