Chemical short-range order domain in bulk amorphous alloy and the prediction of glass forming ability

Short-range order domains of face central cubic Zr2Ni (F-Zr2Ni) and tetragonal Zr2Ni (T-Zr2Ni) type structure with a size about 1-3 nanometers were observed in bulk amorphous Zr52.5Cu17.9Ni14.6Al10Ti5 alloy by using HREM and nano-beam electron diffraction technique. A new thermodynamic model was formulated based on the concept of chemical short-range order (SCRO). The molar fractions of CSRO and thermodynamic properties in Ni-Zr, Cu-Zr, Al-Zr, Al-Ni, Zr-Ni-Al and Zr-Ni-Cu were calculated. According to the principle of maximum the optimum glass forming ability (GFA) compositions were predicted in binary and ternary alloys. These results were proved to be valid by the experimental data of crystallizing activation energy, ΔTx and XRD patterns. The TTT curves of Zr-Ni-Cu alloys calculated based on CSRO model shows that the lowest critical cooling rate GFA is in the order of 100 K/s, which is close to the practical cooling rate for the preparation of Zr-based BMG alloys.