Production and application of Zr-based bulk amorphous alloys containing nanocrystalline particles

Although bulk amorphous high-strength alloys in Zr-Al-(Ti)-Ni-Cu and Zr-Ti-Be-Ni-Cu systems have been used as sporting goods materials, the mechanical properties were found to be improved by dispersion of nanoscale compound particles. Such a nanostructure was obtained in the Zr-Al-Ni-Cu-M (M=Ag, Ti, Pd) systems. The bulk mixed phase alloys were prepared by the two methods: (1) annealing-induced partial crystallization, and (2) control of cooling rate from the melt. The dispersion particles have a size of 5 to 20 nm for the former method and 2 to 6 nm for the latter. They were named as Nanocrystalline amorphous alloys. The increasing amounts of tensile and bending strength as compared with the amorphous alloy are about 1.2 and 2.2 times, respectively. The bulk Nanocrystalline amorphous alloys will cause the extension of application fields of the bulk amorphous alloys.