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    Production and characterization of brass-matrix composites reinforced with Ni59Zr20Ti16Si2Sn3 glassy particles
    (Basel : MDPI AG, 2012) Kim, J.Y.; Scudino, S.; Kühn, U.; Kim, B.S.; Lee, M.H.; Eckert, J.
    Brass-matrix composites reinforced with 40 and 60 vol.% of Ni59Zr20Ti16Si2Sn3 glassy particles were produced by powder metallurgy. The crystallization behavior and the temperature dependence of the viscosity of the glass reinforcement were studied in detail to select the proper sintering parameters in order to avoid crystallization of the glassy phase during consolidation. The brass-glass powder mixtures were prepared through manual blending as well as by ball milling to analyze the effect of the matrix ligament size on the mechanical properties of the composites. The powder mixtures were then consolidated into highly-dense bulk specimens at temperatures within the supercooled liquid region by hot pressing followed by hot extrusion. The preparation of the powder mixtures has a strong influence on the mechanical behavior of the composites. The strength increases from 500 MPa for pure brass to 740 and 925 MPa for the blended composites with 40 and 60vol.% of glass reinforcement, while the strength increases to 1,240 and 1,640 MPa for the corresponding composites produced by ball milling. Modeling of the mechanical properties indicates that this behavior is related to the reduced matrix ligament size characterizing the milled composites.
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    Strengthening of Al-Fe3Al composites by the generation of harmonic structures
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2018) Shahid, R.N.; Scudino, S.
    Strengthening of alloys can be efficiently attained by the creation of harmonic structures: bimodal microstructures generated by controlled milling of the particulate precursors, which consist of coarse-grained cores embedded in a continuous fine-grained matrix. Here, we extend the concept of harmonic structures to metal matrix composites and analyze the effectiveness of such bimodal microstructures for strengthening composites consisting of a pure Al matrix reinforced with Fe3Al particles. Preferential microstructural refinement limited to the surface of the particles, where the Fe3Al phase is progressively fragmented, occurs during ball milling of the Al-Fe3Al composite powder mixtures. The refined surface becomes the continuous fine-grained matrix that encloses macro-regions with coarser reinforcing particles in the harmonic composites synthesized during subsequent powder consolidation. The generation of the bimodal microstructure has a significant influence on the strength of the harmonic composites, which exceeds that of the conventional material by a factor of 2 while retaining considerable plastic deformation. Finally, modeling of the mechanical properties indicates that the strength of the harmonic composites can be accurately described by taking into account both the volume fraction of reinforcement and the characteristic microstructural features describing the harmonic structure.
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    Glass-forming ability, phase formation and mechanical properties of glass-forming Cu-Hf-Zr alloys
    (Amsterdam : Elsevier B.V., 2019) Kosiba, K.; Song, K.; Kühn, U.; Wang, G.; Pauly, S.
    The influence of Hf additions on the glass-forming ability (GFA), phase formation and mechanical properties of Cu50HfxZr50-x (x = 2,5,10,20 at.%) alloys has been systematically investigated. We report on a distinct correlation between phase formation and GFA of Cu50Zr50-based alloys. Increasing additions of Hf reduce the thermal stability of the high-temperature B2 Cu(Hf,Zr) phase, while the thermal stability of the corresponding undercooled melt is enhanced. The GFA of these alloy series gradually raises up to 10 at.% Hf, whereas at 20 at.%Hf, the GFA is drastically lowered, since the B2 Cu(Hf,Zr) phase becomes unstable and the precipitation of the low-temperature equilibrium phases is favoured. This interrelation determines the microstructure and results in the formation of Cu-Hf-Zr-based bulk metallic glass composites. These composites not only show appreciable macroscopic plastic strain, but also high yield strength.
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    Two-phase quasi-equilibrium in β-type Ti-based bulk metallic glass composites
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2016) Zhang, L.; Pauly, S.; Tang, M.Q.; Eckert, J.; Zhang, H.F.
    The microstructural evolution of cast Ti/Zr-based bulk metallic glass composites (BMGCs) containing β-Ti still remains ambiguous. This is why to date the strategies and alloys suitable for producing such BMGCs with precisely controllable volume fractions and crystallite sizes are still rather limited. In this work, a Ti-based BMGC containing β-Ti was developed in the Ti-Zr-Cu-Co-Be system. The glassy matrix of this BMGC possesses an exceptional glass-forming ability and as a consequence, the volume fractions as well as the composition of the β-Ti dendrites remain constant over a wide range of cooling rates. This finding can be explained in terms of a two-phase quasi-equilibrium between the supercooled liquid and β-Ti, which the system attains on cooling. The two-phase quasi-equilibrium allows predicting the crystalline and glassy volume fractions by means of the lever rule and we succeeded in reproducing these values by slight variations in the alloy composition at a fixed cooling rate. The two-phase quasi-equilibrium could be of critical importance for understanding and designing the microstructures of BMGCs containing the β-phase. Its implications on the nucleation and growth of the crystalline phase are elaborated.