Effects of Annealing and Pressure on Devitrification and Mechanical Properties of Amorphous Al<Subscript>87</Subscript>Ni<Subscript>7</Subscript>Gd<Subscript>6</Subscript>

Annealing studies at different temperatures, as well as those conducted with 940 MPa hydrostatic pressure, were conducted on amorphous ribbons of Al₈₇Ni₇Gd₆. The studies were performed to investigate the evolution of structure under different conditions and to particularly examine the effects of superimposed hydrostatic pressure during annealing. This amorphous alloy devitrifies at low temperatures via the precipitation of nano-crystalline α-Al particles. The effects of these various exposures on the amount of devitrification have been quantified using a variety of analytical techniques (i.e., X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM)). In addition, the effects of devitrification on the mechanical properties have been quantified using microhardness indentation and uniaxial tension tests. This article is based on a presentation given in the symposium entitled “Bulk Metallic Glasses IV,” which occurred February 25–March 1, 2007 during the TMS Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida under the auspices of the TMS/ASM Mechanical Behavior of Materials Committee.

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