On the Effect of the Number of Components on Glass-Forming Ability of Alloys from the Liquid State: Application to the New Generation of Multicomponent Bulk Glasses

摘要

The aim of this work is to demonstrate that an increase of the number of components in a liquid glass forming alloy may contribute to inhibit intermetallic nucleation thus enhancing glass-forming ability. The approach is based on an analysis of the distribution of concentration fluctuations in undercooled multicomponent liquid alloys. It is demonstrat- ed that fluctuations in the undercooled liquid can help intermetallic nucleation in a certain range of temperature and con- entration. Addition of one component lowers the probability of creating a nucleant fluctuation by a factor of ten.