Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Cu-Ni-Zr-Ti Bulk Metallic Glass Composites by Spark Plasma Sintering

In the present study, Cu54Ni6Zr22Ti18 bulk metallic glass composites were developed by spark plasma sintering(SPS) using gas atomized Cu54Ni6Zr22Ti18 metallic glass powders and Ta powders. Metallic glass composites with Ta phase were fabricated by SPS. The successful consolidation of Cu54Ni6Zr22Ti18 metallic glass matrix composites with the Ta phase was achieved through the strong bonding due to the plastic deformation of the Ta powder and the super-plastic behavior of the metallic glass powder in the supercooled liquid state during SPS. The deformed Ta phases were well distributed in the Cu54Ni6Zr22Ti18 metallic glass matrix. The compressive fracture strength and total strain were 1770 Mpa and 10.2%, respectively, for the Cu54Ni6Zr22Ti18 bulk metallic glass composite with 40 wt% Ta phases. The uniformly dispersed deformed Ta phase in the Cu54Ni6Zr22Ti18 metallic glass matrix effectively impedes the propagation of the first shear band and generates a second shear band, causing a crossing of the shear bands, resulting in an improvement in plastic strain. This increase in plastic deformation is related to the fact that the deformed Ta phase, uniformly distributed in the Cu54Ni6Zr22Ti18 metallic glass matrix, acts as a source of shear bands and at the same time effectively suppresses the movement of the shear bands, dispersing the stress and causing wide plastic deformation.