Johns Hopkins University

Li-Qian Xing

Todd Hufnagel

Kaliat T Ramesh

An alloy is described that is capable of forming a metallic glass at moderate cooling rates and exhibits large plastic flow at ambient temperature. Preferably, the alloy has a composition of (Zr, Hf) Ta Ti Cu Ni Al , where the composition ranges (in atomic percent) are 45&lE;a&lE;70, 3&lE;b&lE;7.5, 0&lE;c&lE;4, 3&lE;b&plus;c&lE;10, 10&lE;d&lE;30, 0&lE;e&lE;20, 10&lE;d&plus;e&lE;35, and 5&lE;f&lE;15. The alloy may be cast into a bulk solid with disordered atomic-scale structure, i.e., a metallic glass, by a variety of techniques including copper mold die casting and planar flow casting. The as-cast amorphous solid has good ductility while retaining all of the characteristic features of known metallic glasses, including a distinct glass transition, a supercooled liquid region, and an absence of long-range atomic order. The alloy may be used to form a composite structure including quasi-crystals embedded in an amorphous matrix. Such a composite quasi-crystalline structure has much higher mechanical strength than a crystalline structure.

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Li-Qian Xing