Bulk metallic glasses: what are they good for?

Abstract

Bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) are not cheap materials, and they are unlikely to become so for some time. Finding applications for them relies on identifying products in which the BMGs can offer sufficiently high improvements in performance to justify the cost. The research applies the notions of material-property space and performance indices and explores three strategies for systematically finding potential applications for a “new” material. Different approaches to compare the “new” material with conventional materials identify the potential victims for substitution, in which established current applications suggest promising applications for the “new” material. The output is a ranked list of technically viable applications. They are then subjected to a market analysis. Finally, an analysis is made of current and future applications of bulk metallic glasses.