Influence of (Zr,C) content on microstructure and properties of Zr55Al10Ni5Cu30 alloy prepared by laser-induced self-propagating reaction synthesis

Based on large negative enthalpy of mixing among major components of bulk metallic glass forming alloy systems, a new technique to fabricate amorphous-based composite materials using laser-induced self-propagating reaction synthesis (LSRS) was developed. The LSRS of a Zr55Al10Ni5Cu30 (numbers indicate at.%) alloy with different (Zr,C) content shows that the products mainly consist of amorphous phase and the Zr3Al2 and Zr2Cu intermetallic phases. However, the content of amorphous phase in the products is closely related to the (Zr,C) content: the higher the content of (Zr,C), the lower the content of the amorphous phase. The microhardness and wear resistance of the samples increase with increasing (Zr,C) content.