Metals of the Future

Properties and Characterization of Metallic Glasses

Michael David 6 December 2013

ABSTRACT Amorphous metals, commonly known as metallic glassesonce a dream of the future, these alloys are bringing science fiction closer to science fact. Formed by

supercooling an alloy faster than it can undergo crystallization, a metallic glass contains the ideal properties of metals and glasses alike. Possessing a non-crystalline structure, yet retaining conductivity, amorphous metals provide an increase in yield strength and strain limits in alloys, at the cost of ductility and fatigue strength. Another issue is characterizing the ability of alloys to form such amorphous metals, the most often used method being analysis of kinetics. INTRODUCTION From the transparent aluminum of Star Trek to the transparent steel transparisteelof Star Wars, writers have long dreamed of materials which permit transparency like glass, yet resist impact as metals do. When the authors wrote of such glass metals, they werent entirely far off. Metallic glassesonce a dream of the future, these fantastic alloys are bringing us one step closer from science fiction to science fact. In the 1960s, a trio of engineers at Caltech reported a gold-silicon alloy (Au75Si25) which didnt possess a crystalline structure. [1] This, and all other amorphous metals to follow, would become a subject of interest for materials scientists and metallurgists, though it wouldnt truly be spread to the public until the potential for bulk-production arose. The main source of curiosity regarding these materials is their properties. They possess the structure of glasses, yet maintain the properties of metals. The end result is a

material with a higher yield strength, greater resistance to dislocations, even an added resistance to corrosionall while maintaining the conductivity of metals. Moreover, in addition to the most noticeable propertieshigher yield strengths and higher elastic strain limitsamorphous metals can be manufactured like polymers, and they even end with near-perfect finishes, requiring no further machining. But how are such materials created? By their very definition, metallic glasses are non-crystalline metallic alloys whose atomic arrangements lack long-range periodicity. They are liquid alloys, cooled below their melting point, yet solidified without crystallizing. [2]. In other words, by solidifying the liquid alloys at a rate faster than they can undergo nucleation (or any subsequent phases), scientists can create metals that are more resilient. Indeed, one of the most publicized instances of metallic glass in the media is a comparison of dropped ball bearings on plates of metallic glass and titanium. The metallic glass allows the ball to maintain much more of its momentum due to having less energy lost due to plastic deformation. Typically, dislocations are sent through the material on impact, preventing energy from being transferred. [3] Naturally, plates for media publicity arent the use for metallic glasses. Metallic glasses can be used to manufacture nano-molds that are both easier to manufacture and more resilient than current silicon molds. Additionally, amorphous metals see use int eh biomedical field, the durable materials not undergoing shrinkage or producing abrasion powder. [4] At the moment, however, the most relevant application of metallic glasses is tied to the magnetic properties of some alloys, finding places in transformers thanks to their low magnetization loss.

However, such a material isnt the simplest thing to manufacture, and the extreme cooling required to manufacture glass metals comes at a cost. By requiring such a

reduction in temperature to form the amorphous metal, metallic glasses can only be produced in small quantitiesfrom nonalloyed metals. Alloys with lower cooling rates can be used to achieve bulk processing, though this also requires the machining to achieve such a such a higher cooling rate. Moreover, such alloys can be expensive, toxic, or too dense to be viable for their respective applications. Since the field is relatively new, the

compositions are tested by more of a trial-and-error setup. Indeed, there is no ideal setup for designing metallic glassesthe traditional method being too time-consuming, where materials were checked for properties, then individually tested as alloys. THEORY/DISCUSSION Professor Gregory Windls group has proposed a computation-only design, based off of the critical cooling rate of a metallic glass. However, this method is inhibited by current technology. In his own words, it would take 20 CPUs nearly 200 years to model a metallic glasss forming curve. [3] As of now, there is no ideal way to model the atoms through their thermal vibrations. Stemming from this, Windl proposed another idea to help facilitate the glass-forming ability of metals: to apply crystallization inhibitors, increasing the likelihood of an amorphous metal forming. However, says Windl, one of the most often observed properties to analyze for the formation of metallic glasses is to determine the kinetics of the alloys involved. [3] For kinetics, the property most often looked at is fragility, the temperature dependence of viscosity. Metallic glasses form better with lower fragility. This is because

viscosity indicates slow diffusion, a lower fragility implying higher viscosity (and thus, a lower diffusion), and a lower diffusion yielding in a better glass. The atoms simply lack the motion to find crystalline spots before reaching the glass transition temperature. Less viscosity means more mobility, and thus a less viscous material will result in a harder-toform glass. The only issue with using fragility as a means to determine the glass-forming capabilities of a metal is that such a method would require numerous experimental measurements, and such measurements take time and material to perform. That said, it currently is one of the most feasible methods of determining if an alloy will form an amorphous alloy, especially when coupled with other methods such as structural analysis. [3] CONCLUSION While they may not be applied the same way that they are in the media, metallic glasses are still a new, very viable material in a developing industry. The major inhibitor for their characterization is the lack of modeling and simulations. This results in a lack of production, since companies will focus on existing amorphous metals rather than take chances on the time-consuming methods needed to derive new amorphous metals. Fortunately, there are some ways to try to determine if a metal will be amorphousthough of the two most feasible two, one requires advanced software, and the other requires an excess of manpower.

References [1] W.K. Jun, R.H. Willens, and P. Duwez, Non-crystalline structure in solidified gold-silicon alloys, Nature, 187, 869-879 (1960) [2] W.L. Johnson, Bulk metallic glasses A new engineering material, Current Opinion in Solid State & Materials Science, 1, 383-386 (1996) [3] G.W. Windl, Computer-Driven Design of Bulk Metallic Glasses, Case Western Reserve University. White 411. 15 October 2013. Colloquium. [4] R. Roya and A.K. Majumdara, Thermomagnetic and transport properties of metglass 2605 SC and 2605, Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 25, 83-89.