A topological model for metallic glass formation

A topological model for metallic glass formation is proposed. A critical feature of this model is that a solute occupying either substitutional or interstitial sites in the host crystalline lattice can destabilize the lattice by producing a critical internal strain and changing the local coordination number. Further, the element may partition between these two types of site and the relative site frequency is a function of the strain energy associated with each site. According to the model, the critical concentration of a solute required to amorphize the alloy decreases, reaches a minimum and then increases as the atomic size of the solute decreases relative to the size of the matrix atom.