Structural and thermal sensitivity of Cu–Zr–Ti amorphous alloys to pressure

Abstract The structural and thermal sensitivity of Cu (60 − x ) Zr (30 + x ) Ti 10 ( x = 0, 5, and 10 at%) amorphous alloys to pressure was investigated. The structural sensitivity to pressure decreases with increasing Cu content, resulting in the decrease of the deforming and casting capacities. The increase of the crystallization enthalpy is positively related with the increase of the free volume. The activation energies for the glass transition ( E g ) and the crystallization ( E x ) increase with increasing Cu content for the as-cast and compressed amorphous alloys, but decrease after the compression. The more the Cu content or the increment of the free volume is, the more the decrement of the E g . Thus the increase of the free volume significantly influences the glass transition and the crystallization. Moreover, the effect of the pressure on the glass transition depends stronger on the change of the free volume than on the magnitude of the free volume.