Computational analysis of the atomic size effect in bulk metallic glasses and their liquid precursors

The atomic size effect and its consequences for the ability of multicomponent liquid alloys to form bulk metallic glasses are analyzed in terms of the generalized Bernal's model for liquids, following the hypothesis that maximum density in the liquid state improves the glass-forming ability. The maximum density that can be achieved in the liquid state is studied in the 2(N-1) dimensional parameter space of N-component systems. Computer simulations reveal that the size ratio of largest to smallest atoms are most relevant for achieving the maximum packing for N = 3-5, whereas the number of components plays a minor role. At small size ratio, the maximum packing density can be achieved by different atomic size distributions, whereas for medium size ratios the maximum density is always correlated to a concave size distribution. The relationship of the results to Miracles efficient cluster packing model is also discussed. (C) 2008 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.