Characteristics of near-eutectic and off-eutectic Zr–Al–Ni–Cu glass forming alloys

Abstract The glass forming ability (GFA) and behavior of glass transition and onset crystallization for near-eutectic and off-eutectic Zr–Al–Ni–Cu metallic glasses were investigated by non-isothermal test. The results show that, as for near-eutectic alloy, the glass transition temperature T g is more sensitive to the heating rate than the onset crystallization temperature T x . The apparent activation energy of glass transition E g is greater than that of onset crystallization E x , and the greatest among metallic glasses studied. Its critical cooling rate R c is the lowest among metallic glasses studied. Moreover, the further the distance from near-eutectic composition, the larger is the R c for glass forming alloy.