Formation and properties of new Ni-based amorphous alloys with critical casting thickness up to 5 mm

New Ni-based bulk metallic glasses were synthesized in NixCua−xTiyZrb−yAl10 (a~b~45 at.%) system, based on a ternary alloy, Ni45Ti20Zr35. The additions of Al and Cu greatly increase the glass-forming ability (GFA). The best GFA is located around Ni40Cu5Ti16.5Zr28.5Al10, from which fully amorphous samples of up to 5 mm thickness were successfully fabricated by an injection mold casting method. These alloys exhibit high glass-transition temperatures Tg ~ 760 to 780 K, and relatively wide undercooled-liquid regions ΔT (defined by the difference between Tg and the first crystallization temperature Tx1 upon heating) ~ 40–50 K. Mechanical tests on these alloys show quite high Vicker's Hardness ~ 780 to 862 kg/mm^2, Young's modulus ~ 111 to 134 GPa, shear modulus ~ 40 to 50 GPa and high fracture strength ~ 2.3 to 2.4 GPa. The effect of small Si-addition and a discrepancy between GFA and ΔT are also reported. The exceptional GFA and the all-metallic compositions give these new alloys excellent promise for both scientific and engineering applications.