Glass-forming region of the Ni–Nb–Ta ternary metal system determined directly from n-body potential through molecular dynamics simulations

An n-body Ni–Nb–Ta potential is constructed to conduct molecular dynamics simulations using 129 solid solution models with various compositions. Comparing the relative stability of solid solutions versus their disordered counterparts, simulations determine two critical solid-solubility lines, which define a region in the composition triangle. If an alloy is located inside the defined region, a disordered state is energetically favored; if it is located outside, a crystalline solid solution is preserved. The region is therefore named as the metallic glass-forming region.