Parameter for glass forming ability of ternary alloy systems

Abstract

A parameter (σ parameter) for glass forming ability (GFA) of the ternary bulk metallic glasses is proposed, taking into consideration the relative thermodynamic stability and atomic configuration of the liquid phase. The σ parameter, defined by ΔT*×P′, combines the effects of melting temperature depression (ΔT*) and effective atomic size mismatch between constituting elements (P′). The parameter shows better correlation with GFA than previously proposed parameters. The relationship between σ and GFA can be expressed as Dmax=2.0×10−1exp(20.01σ), where Dmax is the maximum thickness for glass formation. Since σ can be calculated simply using data on melting temperature and atomic size, the GFA can be easily estimated using this parameter.