(Zr62Cu15.4Ni12.6) (x = 6–12) in situ glassy composites containing uniformly distributed Ta-rich particles were prepared by arc-melting and copper mould casting. The results show that addition of 6–10 at.% Ta to Zr62Cu15.4Ni12.6Al10 results in dissolution of 2.4 to 4.6 at.% Ta in the glassy matrix, which promotes glass-forming ability, and the remaining Ta precipitates out as body-centered cubic (BCC) Ta-rich particles dispersed on the glassy matrix. The critical diameters for the composites with 6, 8, and 10 at.% Ta are 7, 7, and 6 mm, respectively. At 12 at.% Ta addition, the glass-forming ability is dramatically reduced because of the precipitation of secondary dendritic Ta-rich particles and other nanocrystallites from melts during copper mould casting. Also, owing to the solid-liquid reaction during induction heating, some Ta-rich particles formed in the master alloys will redissolve into the glassy matrix, resulting in a smaller volume fraction of Ta-rich particles in the as-cast glassy rods than that of the corresponding ingots. The glassy matrix composites exhibit enhanced plastic strain of about 7.5 to 22.5% at room temperature. The optimum Ta content in the glassy alloys is determined to be 10 at.%, which corresponds to the highest ultimate stress of 2220 MPa and the largest plastic strain of 22.5%. The plastic strain increases with increasing volume fraction of in situ BCC Ta-rich particles. This is apparently ascribed to the impedance of Ta-rich particles to shear bands. Ta-rich particles seed the initiation of multiple shear bands and block the shear band propagation, leading to intensive multiplication and bifurcation of shear bands.
Review of the Recent Development in Metallic Glass and Its Composites
