Dendritic and spherical crystal reinforced metallic glass matrix composites

Zr-based bulk metallic glass matrix composites (BMGMCs) with a composition of Zr_60.0Ti_14.7Nb_5.3Cu_5.6Ni_4.4Be_10.0 (at%) were fabricated by an innovative process, i.e., semisolid processing plus Bridgman solidification. Different morphologies, distributions, and volume fractions of the crystalline phases can be achieved by tailoring the withdrawal velocity. The largest fracture strain of Zr_60.0Ti_14.7Nb_5.3Cu_5.6Ni_4.4Be_10.0(at%) composites with the withdrawal velocity of 1.0 mm/s was found to be 16.7%. The mechanism of plasticity improvement is mainly attributed to the interpenetrated structure of the crystalline phase, which greatly confines the rapid propagation of shear bands.