journal article·2026-07-22

Bulk Metallic Glass and Composites with Flexible Processing Windows

Kevin Kaufmann, Kenneth Vecchio

Advanced Engineering Materials· Volume 28· Issue 14
Publisher page

Abstract

Bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) and their partially crystalline composites are experiencing a resurgence in interest as additive manufacturing and aerospace materials but face significant manufacturing constraints due to cooling rate‐dependent microstructure formation. Maintaining a consistent volume fraction of the crystalline phase, within an otherwise amorphous matrix, across diverse processing routes is a critical aspect of maintaining expected performance. Herein, novel Ti‐Zr‐Cu‐Nb‐Be‐Sn BMG composites with microstructure largely decoupled from thermal processing history are demonstrated. By systematically exchanging equal atomic percentages of titanium and copper across three previously unreported compositions, we achieve tunable crystalline phase fractions ranging from 5 to 40 volume percent, independent of cooling rate variations from suction casting to 30 g arc‐melted ingots. Furthermore, the amorphous phase of the BMG composite ingots is demonstrated to be capable of complete vitrification in the arc‐melted state, a cooling rate significantly slower than the typically required casting methods. The enhanced glass‐forming ability across two extremes of processing routes of these Ti‐based compositions addresses critical scalability challenges for industrial BMG applications, particularly for achieving large‐scale parts, complex geometries, and additive manufacturing processes.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Metallic Glasses and Amorphous Alloys · Shape Memory Alloy Transformations · Metallurgical and Alloy Processes

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of NanoEngineering UC San Diego La Jolla CA USA

Materials R&D Oerlikon Metco (US) Inc. San Diego CA USA

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