Preparation and Mechanical Properties of Hafnium-based Bulk Metallic Glasses

We have prepared bulk metallic glasses of composition (HfxZr1-x)52.5Cu17.9Ni14.6Al10Ti5 (with x=0-1) by an arc melting/suction casting method. The density of these alloys increases by nearly 67% with increasing Hf content, which is advantageous for their potential use as kinetic energy armor-piercing projectile materials. The glass transition temperature and the melting temperature increase linearly with increasing Hf content. The reduced glass transition temperature (Tg/Tm) decreases from 0.64 (x=0) to 0.62 (x=1), indicating reduced glass-forming ability for the Hf- based alloy. The fracture strength in uniaxial compression at quasi-static strain rates also increases with increasing Hf content, reaching ∼ 2.2 GPa for Hf52.5Cu17.9Ni14.6Al10Ti5.