Signature of properties in elastic constants of no-metalloid bulk metallic glasses

Abstract

The relations between properties and elastic constants of no-metalloid bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) were investigated. The specific volume (Vm)-normalized characteristic temperatures and mechanical properties of the BMGs reveal solid linear relations with elastic constants, in particular, exceptionally well with the Young's modulus (E). Since Vm becomes known through the “rule of mixture” for no-metalloid BMGs, the characteristic temperatures and, in turn, the glass-forming ability (GFA), thermal stability and mechanical properties (yielding strength, yielding shear stress and fracture strength) can be estimated through E. The values of characteristic temperatures and two GFA indicators (the reduced glass transition temperature and parameter gama (γ)) calculated by these statistical relations agree fairly well with the experimental data. A five-step strategy for designing metalloid-free BMGs with predictable properties was then worked out. The extracted clue of E and Vm to properties of BMGs makes it possible to efficiently design and screen metallic glass formers with desired properties, and provides an insight into the understanding of the nature of the glass formation and the disordered structure–properties relationship.