Bulk metallic glass composites fabricated within the supercooled liquid region

Bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) are amorphous alloys exhibiting high strengths and unique mechanical properties given their liquid-like structure in the solid state. Their properties can be modified (e.g. for increasing toughness and/or strength or for changing the total density) by incorporating secondary phases within the amorphous matrix. In the present work, lightweight Magnesium-based bulk metallic glass composites (BMGCs) were fabricated at low processing temperatures via thermoplastic forming (TPF) within the supercooled liquid region (SCLR) of the amorphous alloy. Here, the unique thermophysical features of the matrix material allow for TPF of composites in non-sacrificial moulds; incorporating various types of reinforcement, via processing in the solid state at low temperatures (less than 200 °C), within a short timeframe (less than 10 minutes) and avoiding the formation of brittle phases at the fibre/matrix interface, leading to efficient bonding between reinforcement and matrix, thus creating low density composite materials with interesting properties