Bulk Metallic Glasses in Sm-Cu-Ni-Al Alloy Systems

【Abstract】 A new series of Sm-Cu-Ni-Al bulk metallic glasses were prepared by suction casting. Their glass-forming ability and thermal stability were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results of DSC indicate that the alloy components strongly affect the widths of supercooled liquid region (ΔT_x=T_x-T_g onset). The widths of supercooled liquid region for Sm_ 70-xCu_xNi_ 10Al_ 20 (x=12.5, 15.0, 17.5), Sm_ 65-xCu_ 15Ni_xAl_ 20 (x=8, 10, 12) and Sm_ 75-xCu_ 15Ni_ 10Al_x (x=15, 20, 25) increase first and then decrease with the increase of x atomic fraction. And Sm_ 55Cu_ 15Ni_ 10Al_ 20 alloy was found to be with the largest width and it can be cast into bulk metallic glass with up to 3 mm in diameter. The glass-forming ability of the alloys was explained in terms of Miedema′s theory, electronegativity difference and atomic size parameter of the amorphous alloys.更多还原