Prediction and optimization of bulk metallic glass-forming compositions in Zr-Ni-Cu-Al system by thermodynamic modeling

The search for new criteria to predict glass-forming ability (GFA) in multicomponent metallic alloys is an important task from both fundamental and practical points of view. The decades of research have suggested that both thermodynamic and geometric factors contribute essentially to GFA of the alloys. Recently, PHS and PHSS parameters, which combine the enthalpy of chemical mixing, mismatch entropy, and configurational entropy, have been proposed and proved as successful criteria for the prediction of the GFA in several metallic glasses. Here we apply the thermodynamic modeling technique based on the ideal associated solution model to study GFA in (Ni0.11Cu0.19Zr0.70)1-x-Alx, (Ni0.17Zr0.55Cu0.28)1-x-Alx alloys with high Zr content. Our calculations reveal a clear correlation between PHS, PHSS parameters, and GFA in Ni-Zr-Cu-Al alloys for which bulk metallic glasses were experimentally fabricated. Based on the calculations, we predict that (Ni0.17Zr0.55Cu0.28)1-x-Alx alloys at x (Al) <= 0.2 possess high GFA.