Glass-forming ability and corrosion resistance of Zr-based Zr-Ni-Al bulk metallic glasses

Zr-Ni-Al metallic glass samples with diameters above 10 mm could be produced in a wide composition range of 54-64 at.% Zr, 21-27 at.% Ni, and 11-21 at.% Al by a copper mold casting method. The best glass-forming ability was obtained for Zr ₆₀Ni ₂₅Al ₁₅ and Zr ₅₈Ni ₂₇Al ₁₅ alloys, and the glassy samples with diameters up to 15 mm were fabricated. The Zr ₆₀Ni ₂₅Al ₁₅ bulk metallic glass possesses high compressive yield strength of over 1740 MPa with large plastic strain above 3.0%, and the mechanical properties and fracture mode are almost independent of the cast sample size or the position within the rod where the samples have been machined. In addition, the bulk metallic glass shows high corrosion resistance in chloride-ion- containing solutions.