Production of Bulk Metallic Glasses by Severe Plastic Deformation

The aim of this study was to show the possibility to produce bulk metallic glass with severe plastic deformation. High pressure torsion was used to consolidate Zr-based metallic glass powder and deform it further to weld the powder particles together. The produced samples were investigated with Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Transmission electron microscope (TEM), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to check if the specimens are fully dense and have an amorphous structure. The results show that the specimens remain amorphous during high pressure torsion and the density depends on the applied strain. Additional Vickers hardness measurements enable a comparison with literature and show for Zr-based metallic glass powder typical values (approximately 500 HV).