Effects of Fe addition on glass-forming ability and mechanical properties of Ti-Zr-Be bulk metallic glass

The influence of Fe addition on the glass-forming ability (GFA) and mechanical properties in Ti41Zr25-Be34 Fe-x(x) (x = 0, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 at.%) alloys was studied. It has been found that the glass forming-ability and mechanical property of the Ti-Zr-Be alloys could be significantly improved by addition of Fe element. Among the present alloys, the Ti41Zr25Be28Fe6 glassy alloy shows the largest supercooled liquid range Delta T-x (Delta T-x = 107 K), and a large critical size of 8 mm for fabricating BMGs by copper mold casting method. The yield strength, ultimate strength and plastic strain are dramatically enhanced from 1755, 1914 MPa and 2.9% for Ti41Zr25Be34 glassy alloy to 1964 MPa, 2268 MPa and 11.2% for Ti41Zr25-Be28Fe6 glassy alloy, respectively. Especially, the specific strength (yield strength/density) is 4.02 x 10(5) Nm/kg, greatly larger than that of most other BMGs. The experimental results show that Fe addition is an effective way for improving the glass-forming ability and mechanical properties of Ti-Zr-Be glassy alloy. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.