Optimal glass-forming composition and its correlation with eutectic reaction in the Ti–Ni–Al ternary system

The composition dependence of glass-forming ability was investigated for the Ti–Ni–Al ternary alloys. Glassy ribbons were fabricated via single-roller melt spinning. The optimal glass-forming composition was located at Ti54Ni32Al14, with a critical thickness of about 90 μm for complete glass formation. With respect to the Ti–Ni binary alloy, Al addition in the system only marginally improves the glass-forming ability. It is attributed to a small atomic size difference between Ti and Al. For the Ti54Ni32Al14 alloy, together with the binary eutectic Ti76Ni24 and hypereutectic Ti68Ni32 alloys for comparison, phase selection in the arc-melted ingots was investigated. The optimal glass-forming composition, Ti54Ni32Al14, is near the univariant eutectic groove of [L → Ti(Al)2Ni + β-Ti(Al)] in the phase diagram. It is suggested that if the primary crystallization of the Ti2Ni intermetallic can be suppressed, solidification of deeply undercooled melt will undergo such a eutectic reaction prior to glass formation.