Tailoring of microstructure and mechanical properties of a Ti-based bulk metallic glass-forming alloy

To achieve plasticity of Ti-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) without sacrificing their high strength, the microstructure of Ti50Cu20Ni24Sn3Si2B1 alloy was tailored to form in situ composites. The cast rods consist of micrometer-sized NiTi dendrites surrounded by a thin metallic glass network along with a fine CuTi3 phase. The rods show high strengths of ∼1900–2250 MPa and plastic strains of ∼4.5–7.8%, which are superior to the monolithic Ti-based BMGs. The microstructure–property correlations and the deformation behavior are investigated.