Effect of pre-existing nuclei on crystallization during laser welding of Zr-based metallic glass

Abstract In this study, experiments are carried out to demonstrate that in laser welding of a Zr-based (Zr52.5Ti5Al10Ni14Cu17.9) bulk metallic glass (BMG), pre-existing nuclei nucleus density has significant influence on its crystallization behavior. Based on the classical nucleation/growth theory, it is concluded that a small amount of pre-existing nuclei in a BMG can shift the time-temperature-transformation (TTT) curve from a well-known ‘C-shape’ to a ‘e-shape.’ This result provides fundamental understanding on why the shape of the TTT curve for a heating process is different from that for a cooling process for the same BMG. Two quality factors were defined as a measure of the effect of pre-existing nucleus density. By integrating the classical nucleation/growth theory with the heat transfer model, the evolution of crystalline phase during laser welding for a BMG with pre-existing nuclei was studied, and the modeling predictions compared favorably with the experimental results.