Doktorarbeit / Dissertation, 2017
288 Seiten, Note: 1,0
1 Abstract
2 Objectives
3 Fundamentals
3.1 Structure of metallic glass
3.2 Glass formation and crystallization
3.2.1 Glass transition
3.2.2 Classical nucleation theory
3.2.3 Crystal growth in undercooled liquids
3.2.4 Isothermal and isochronal devitrification of metallic glasses
3.2.5 Fragility concept
3.2.6 Glass-forming ability
3.3 Mechanical properties
3.3.1 Deformation of bulk metallic glass
3.3.2 Measures to affect the plasticity of bulk metallic glass
3.4 Cu-Zr-Al-based alloys
3.5 Flash-annealing
4 Experimental
4.1 Sample preparation
4.2 X-ray diffraction
4.3 Calorimetry
4.4 Flash-annealing
4.5 Electro-static levitation
4.6 Microscopy
4.7 Mechanical testing
4.8 Optical profilometry
5 Results and Discussion
5.1 Development of the flash-annealing device
5.1.1 Description of the temperature-time heating curve
5.1.2 Inductive heating
5.1.3 Estimation of the cooling rate
5.1.4 Surface oxidation of Cu-Zr-Al-based BMGs during flash-annealing
5.2 Characterization of the as-cast bulk metallic glasses
5.2.1 Development of the Cu44Zr44Al8Hf2Co2 alloy
5.2.2 Amorphicity of the Cu46Zr46Al8 and Cu44Zr44Al8Hf2Co2 BMGs
5.2.3 Mechanical behaviour of as-cast Cu44Zr44Al8Hf2Co2 BMGs
5.3 Structural changes during flash-annealing below Tx
5.3.1 Calorimetric investigation of structural changes
5.3.2 Mechanical properties of flash-annealed bulk metallic glass
5.4 Crystallization of BMGs during flash-annealing
5.4.1 Phase formation of Cu-Zr-Al-based BMGs
5.4.2 Crystallization kinetics of Cu-Zr-Al-based BMGs
5.4.3 Mechanical behaviour of Cu44Zr44Al8Hf2Co2 BMG composites
6 Summary
7 Outlook
8 Appendix
8.1 Chemical analysis
8.2 Device development
8.2.1 Temperature control
8.2.2 Inductive heating - derivation of the skin depth
8.2.3 Estimation of the cooling rate
8.3 Calorimetric analysis
8.3.1 Isochronal transformation kinetics (Kissinger)
8.3.2 Isothermal transformation kinetics (Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov)
8.3.3 Fragility
8.4 Uniformity of partially crystallized BMG
8.5 Crystal growth rate
8.6 Stereology
The primary objective of this dissertation is to investigate the potential of flash-annealing as a novel heat treatment method for Cu-Zr-Al-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) to precisely tailor their microstructure and enhance their mechanical properties, specifically by overcoming inherent brittleness through the controlled precipitation of uniformly distributed B2 CuZr nanocrystals.
3.1 Structure of metallic glass
The lack of long-range order is the defining structural characteristic of glass [68]. For this reason, no sharp reflections, which could be attributed to lattice planes, are present in the X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern. Instead, one can observe two characteristic broad “maxima” (Fig.3.1.1, marked with black arrows). Metallic glass shows no discernable microstructure like for instance grains, precipitates, interfaces, twins or dislocations as they are typical characteristics of polycrystalline alloys. Instead, high-resolution transmission electron micrographs display mazelike patterns (Fig. 3.1.1b).
Bernal and Scott have been the first to propose a model to describe disordered structures [60, 61]. They approximated the atoms in metals as identical hard spheres and arranged them as densely as possible in a random manner. The three-dimensional space, however, cannot be filled solely with these densely randomly packed clusters without introducing long-range translational symmetry. This problem is addressed in literature as “packing frustration” [59, 62, 69]. Therefore Bernal suggested that holes smaller than a hard sphere have to be incorporated into the dense random packing. Bernal termed them “canonical holes” [61]. Altogether, according to this model five different types of holes with edges of equal length are present as can be seen from Fig. 3.1.2. This pioneering concept known as “the dense random packing of hard spheres” (DRPHS) model [69], has been analyzed by means of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to determine the fraction of each hole. The “empty” space necessary to avoid packing frustration is also termed as “free volume” [59] and is redistributed among all hole types whereas the tetrahedra are found to be dominant [70].
3 Fundamentals: Provides a comprehensive overview of metallic glass structures, glass formation, crystallization kinetics, and the mechanical properties of BMGs and BMG composites, establishing the theoretical framework for the study.
4 Experimental: Describes the materials, sample preparation techniques, the custom-built flash-annealing device, and the analytical methods including X-ray diffraction, calorimetry, levitation, and mechanical testing used to investigate the BMG samples.
5 Results and Discussion: Details the development of the flash-annealing device, characterizes the as-cast BMGs, and presents an in-depth investigation of structural changes, crystallization kinetics, and mechanical behaviors observed during flash-annealing.
Bulk Metallic Glasses, Flash-annealing, Cu-Zr-Al alloys, Crystallization kinetics, B2 CuZr nanocrystals, Mechanical properties, Plasticity, Shear bands, Free volume, Structural heterogeneities, Nucleation, Quenching, Calorimetry, Phase formation, Amorphous materials.
The thesis explores the application of flash-annealing as a rapid thermal treatment for Cu-Zr-Al-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) to improve their mechanical performance by inducing controlled crystallization.
The work focuses on understanding the crystallization kinetics, structural relaxation, rejuvenation processes, and the formation of BMG composites with improved ductility and work-hardening capabilities.
The research investigates whether flash-annealing can be effectively used to reproducibly generate uniformly distributed nanocrystals within BMGs to enhance their plasticity while maintaining high strength, thereby overcoming their intrinsic brittleness.
The study employs a custom-built flash-annealing device, X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electrostatic levitation, and mechanical testing (compression and tension).
The main body examines the structural changes of BMGs subjected to rapid heating, develops models for the flash-annealing process, characterizes phase formation, evaluates the resulting microstructures, and analyzes how these microstructures influence mechanical deformation mechanisms.
Key terms include Bulk Metallic Glasses, Flash-annealing, Cu-Zr-Al-based alloys, crystallization kinetics, B2 CuZr nanocrystals, plastic deformation, shear bands, and structural heterogeneities.
Unlike casting, where uncontrolled temperature gradients often lead to heterogeneous and large crystal distributions, flash-annealing allows for rapid, uniform heating and quenching, which enables the tailored and reproducible precipitation of small, uniformly distributed nanocrystals.
The B2 CuZr phase is a shape-memory crystalline phase. Its precipitation within the amorphous matrix enables work-hardening through a stress-induced martensitic transformation, significantly improving the plasticity and ductility of the composite material.
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