Using thermoforming capacity of metallic glasses to produce multimaterials

In addition to casting, thermoforming is a particularly interesting way to produce components in bulk metallic glasses since large strains can be achieved when the BMGs are deformed in their supercooled liquid region. The experimental window (temperature, time) in which high temperature forming can be carried out is directly related to the crystallization resistance of the glass. Such forming windows have been identified for zirconium based bulk metallic glasses thanks to thermal analysis and compression tests in the supercooled liquid region. Based on this identification, the thermoforming capacity of the studied glasses was used to produce multimaterials associating metallic glasses with conventional metallic alloys. Two processes have been preferentially investigated (co-extrusion and co-pressing) and the interface quality of the elaborated multi materials was studied.