Preparation and mechanical properties of tungsten-particle-reinforced Zr-based bulk-metallic-glass composites

Abstract

Abstract Tungsten-particle (Wp)-reinforced bulk-metallic-glass composites (Wp/BMGCs) with a Wp volume fraction of 0%–50% were prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The sintering process parameters were optimized through an orthogonal experiment. With increasing volume fraction of Wp, the compressive yield strength of the Wp/BMGCs decreased, while their ultimate strength and plastic strain increased. Nanoindentation experiments revealed that the elastic modulus and hardness of the composites increased with increasing volume fraction of Wp. The elastic modulus mismatch between the tungsten particles and metallic glass matrix resulted in a stress concentration at the interface of the two phases, promoting the initiation and propagation of shear bands in the metallic glass matrix. Fracture morphology analysis of the composites showed that the failure mode of the composites was shear fracture mode, which is beneficial to the self-sharpening of the composites. With increasing volume fraction of Wp, the plastic deformation of Wp became more obvious, and the deformation was most obvious near the shear fracture surface. The degree of plastic deformation of Wp in the region far away from the shear fracture surface gradually decreased. In addition, the reliability of the mechanical properties of Wp/BMGCs sintered in the same preparation parameters was verified by three-parameter Weibull statistical analysis. These results help deepen our understanding of the preparation and mechanical properties of Wp/BMGCs and further promote their application.