Optimization of bulk metallic glass forming compositions in Zr-Cu-Al system by thermodynamic modeling

Abstract

Compositions with high glass forming ability have been identified in Zr-Cu-Al system with the help of a thermodynamic parameter, which takes into account the enthalpy of chemical mixing (ΔH^chem), the mismatch entropy normalized by Boltzmann's constant (S_σ/k_B) and the configurational entropy (S_config/R). The best bulk metallic glass forming composition is identified as the one at ΔH^chem and Sσ/k_B maxima in a specific range of S_config/R. A product of thermodynamic parameters (ΔHchem×Sσ/kB) is found to have strong correlation with glass forming ability and can help to identify the exact composition that can form bulk metallic glass.