Amorphous - Nanocrystalline Melt Spun Al-Si-Ni Based Alloys Modified with Cu and Zr

Abstract

In the present paper glass forming ability and structure of Al-Si-Ni based alloys were investigated. Three alloys starting from the ternary Al78Si12Ni10 [alloy 1], Al75Si12Ni8Zr5 [alloy 2] and Al73Si5Ni7Cu8Zr7 [alloy 3] were subjected to melt spinning process. The mean thickness of the obtained ribbons amounted between 25 and 40 μm. XRD and DSC studies showed predominantly amorphous structure of the ribbons. STEM and HRTEM methods confirmed participation of crystalline phase identified mainly as Al solid solution with the grain size near 10 nm. The mean microhardness [0.1N] of the ribbons was measured for alloys 1 - 3 respectively: 457 HV, 369 HV and 536 HV. The high value of hardness can be related to the presence of α-Al dispersoids in the amorphous matrix.