Bulk metallic glasses: Fabrication, structure, and structural changes under heating

Bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) of Pd-Cu-Si and Pd-Ni-P systems were formed from a melt in the 1970s-1980s. However, in view of the extremely high cost of the main component (palladium), they have been outside the realm of special interest of scientists and engineers for a long time. Relatively recently, BMGs in the form of macroscopic-sized ingots have been fabricated in alloys based on industrial metals (iron, copper, magnesium, and titanium), which opened up wide possibilities for their application. BMGs possess high strength, hardness, wear resistance, elastic deformation, and corrosion resistance. In this study, a review of publications is presented and main scientific achievements in this field are described. It is noted that main scientific problems, which are not solved completely, are describing the BMG structure as well as vitrification and plastic deformation, while the technical problem attracting the attention of scientists in many countries is to increase the plasticity and impact fracture toughness of these materials.