G. J. Shiflet

Synthesis and properties of metallic glasses that contain aluminum.

The synthesis and properties of a class of metallic glasses containing up to 90 atomic percent aluminum are reported. The unusual formability of the glasses and their structural features are pointed out. Mechanical properties including tensile fracture strength and Youngs modulus are reported along with crystallization temperatures. The unusually high strengths of the aluminum glasses can be of significant importance in obtaining high-strength low-density materials.

Fe-based bulk metallic glasses with diameter thickness larger than one centimeter

Fe–Cr–Mo–(Y,Ln)–C–B bulk metallic glasses (Ln are lanthanides) with maximum diameter thicknesses reaching 12 mm have been obtained by casting. The high glass formability is attained despite a low reduced glass transition temperature of 0.58. The inclusion of Y/Ln is motivated by the idea that elements with large atomic sizes can destabilize the competing crystalline phase, enabling the amorphous phase to be formed. It is found that the role of Y/Ln as a fluxing agent is relatively small in terms of glass formability enhancement. The obtained bulk metallic glasses are non-ferromagnetic and exhibit high elastic moduli of approximately 180–200 GPa and microhardness of approximately 13 GPa.

Critical Poisson’s ratio for plasticity in Fe–Mo–C–B–Ln bulk amorphous steel

Fracture in compression has been investigated in Fe65Mo14C15B6 bulk amorphous steel doped with lanthanides to provide systematic variations of the elastic moduli. An onset of plasticity is observed as Poisson’s ratio approaches 0.32 from below. Combining with previous analysis reported by Lewandowski et al. [Philos. Mag. Lett. 85, 77 (2005)] using single-composition results from different sources, the findings are in support of universal critical Poisson’s ratio for plasticity in metallic glasses. The compositional dependences of elastic moduli are found to be anomalous considering the elastic moduli of the alloying elements. The role of interatomic interactions in designing ductile metallic glasses is suggested.

Metallic glass ingots based on yttrium

We report a family of yttrium metallic alloys that are able to form glassy ingots directly from the liquid, as well as forming bulk-sized amorphous rods with diameters over 2 cm by water cooling of the alloy melt sealed in quartz tubes. It is apparent that, in addition to the strong chemical interaction among the components, the simultaneous occurrence of well-distributed atom sizes and a strongly depressed liquidus temperature in multicomponent metallic alloys is responsible for the formation of glassy ingots.

Ductile titanium-based glassy alloy ingots

We report that ductile and strong amorphous titanium metallic alloys (∼ twice the strength of high-strength titanium alloys) have been discovered that are in the form of glassy ingots. It is found that the suppression of a competing stable quasicrystalline phase upon solidification is particularly important in forming the current glassy ingots. While there is significant technological potential for these titanium alloys, the present findings have important implications on the design of highly processable bulk metallic glasses.

Synthesis of iron-based bulk metallic glasses as nonferromagnetic amorphous steel alloys

Iron-based amorphous metals are investigated as nonferromagnetic amorphous steel alloys with magnetic transition temperatures well below ambient temperatures. Rod-shaped amorphous samples with diameters reaching 4 mm are obtained using injection casting. Amorphous steel alloys are designed by considering atomistic factors that enhance the stability of the amorphous phase, coupled with the realization of low-lying liquidus temperatures. The present alloys are found to exhibit superior mechanical strengths. In particular, the elastic moduli are comparable to those reported for super austenitic steels.

On the origin of the high coarsening resistance of Ω plates in Al–Cu–Mg–Ag Alloys

The thickening kinetics of Ω plates in an Al–4Cu–0.3Mg–0.2Ag (wt. %) alloy have been measured at 200, 250 and 300°C using conventional transmission electron microscopy techniques. At all temperatures examined the thickening showed a linear dependence on time. At 200°C the plates remained less than 6 nm in thickness after 1000 h exposure. At temperatures above 200°C the thickening kinetics are greatly increased. Atomic resolution Z-contrast microscopy has been used to examine the structure and chemistry of the (001)Ω‖(111)α interphase boundary in samples treated at each temperature. In all cases, two atomic layers of Ag and Mg segregation were found at the broad face of the plate. The risers of the thickening ledges and the ends of the plates were free of Ag segregation. The necessary redistribution of Ag and Mg accompanying a migrating thickening ledge occurs at all temperatures and is not considered to play a decisive role in the excellent coarsening resistance exhibited by the Ω plates at temperatures up to 200°C. Plates transformed at 200°C rarely contained ledges and usually exhibited a strong vacancy misfit normal to the plate. A large increase in ledge density was observed on plates transformed at 300°C, concomitant with accelerated plate thickening kinetics. The high resistance to plate coarsening exhibited by Ω plates at temperatures up to 200°C, is due to a prohibitively high barrier to ledge nucleation in the strong vacancy field normal to the broad face of the plate. Results also suggest that accommodation of the large misfit that exists normal to the broad face of the plate is unlikely to provide the driving force for Ag and Mg segregation.

Bainite viewed three different ways

The present status of the three principal definitions of bainite currently in use is reviewed. On the surface relief definition, bainite consists of precipitate plates, producing an invariant plane strain (IPS) surface relief effect, which form by shear,i.e., martensitically, at temperatures usually aboveMs andMd. The generalized microstructural definition describes bainite as the product of the diffusional, noncooperative, compctitive ledgewise growth of two precipitate phases formed during eutectoid decomposition, with the minority phase appearing in nonlamellar form. This alternative mode of eutectoid decomposition is thus fundamentally different from the diffusional, cooperative, shared growth ledges mechanism for the formation of pearlite developed by Hackney and Shiflet. The overall reaction kinetics definition of bainite views this transformation as being confined to a temperature range well below that of the eutectoid temperature and being increasingly incomplete as its upper limiting temperature, the kineticBs, is approached. Recent research has shown, however, that even in steels (the only alloys in which this set of phenomena has been reported), incomplete transformation is not generally operative. Revisions in and additions to the phenomenology of bainite defined in this manner have been recently made. Extensive conflicts among the three definitions are readily demonstrated. Arguments are developed in favor of preference for the generalized microstructural definition, reassessment of the overall reaction kinetics definition, and discarding of the surface relief definition.

Atomic structure of amorphous Al 90 Fe x Ce 10−x

The atomic structure of liquid-quenched amorphous Al{sub 90}Fe{sub {ital x}}Ce{sub 10{minus}}{sub {ital x}} ({ital x}=5, 7) was studied by pulsed neutron and x-ray scattering. The atomic pair--density function determined by pulsed neutron diffraction indicates that a significant portion of Al--Fe distances are anomalously short, while some part of Al--Al distances are anomalously long. Both neutron and x-ray scattering showed the presence of a prepeak in the structure factor. These results suggest that a strong interaction between Al and Fe modifies the structure of this glass, leading to chemical and topological short-range ordering.

Glass formability of ferrous- and aluminum-based structural metallic alloys

Abstract Synthesis of ferrous- and aluminum-based amorphous metals as prospective structural materials is presented and discussed in light of atomic size–composition interaction effects. The search of prospective bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) may benefit from noting that current BMG alloys can be broadly categorized into two atom size-composition classes, distinctly different from ordinary metallic glasses which can exist over a much wider atom size-composition range. The high formability of one class of BMGs is suggested to be due to the presence of a structure-reinforced network or backbone formed by tightly bound components in the undercooled liquid. For the ferrous-based BMG alloys investigated, it is proposed that zirconium-boron and molybdenum–carbon atom pairs constitute the strong backbone structures. Although aluminum-based BMG has not been reported, the good formability of some current aluminum-glasses is suggested to be due to the presence of backbone structures formed by transition metal–lanthanide and magnesium–copper pairs. The ferrous-based bulk metallic glasses obtained have a high reduced glass transition temperature reaching 0.63 and large supercooled liquid region up to 100 K. These bulk metallic glasses are found to be non-ferromagnetic above 160 K as well as having Vickers hardness and specific tensile strengths that far exceed those reported for steel alloys. Magnetization and susceptibility results are presented and compared with ab initio magnetic-structure calculations [D.M. Nicholson, M. Widom, Y. Wang, unpublished results]. Relevant factors on forming bulk metallic glasses are discussed.