Preparation of Zr-based amorphous composites strengthened by three-dimensional continuous copper mesh and its mechanical property

Abstract

Bulk amorphous alloys appear as promising candidate materials with a wide range of applications in implants. However, their brittleness at room temperature and small preparation size are two key problems restricting them in practical application. In this study, the atomized Zr48Cu47.5Al4Co0.5 (ZCAC) amorphous powders were coated with a layer of copper (Cu) by chemical plating method, and then the Cu coated amorphous powders were sintered to prepare Cu/ZCAC composites by using sparking plasma sintering (SPS) technology. The results show that relative density of the composites was slightly promoted with the increase of Cu content. The compression strength of the composite with 10.1 vol% Cu was 1531 MPa with poor plasticity. While the Cu content increased to 31.2 vol%, the strength of the composite dropped to 1209 MPa with a fracture strain of 9.8 %, which followed the mixture rule according to theoretical calculation.