Abrasion resistance of Cu based bulk metallic glasses

The abrasive wear behaviors of three copper based bulk metallic glasses have been studied using pin-on-disc measurement and compared with both annealed metallic glass and 304 stainless steel. The volume loss increases linearly with sliding distance. However, the wear resistances of metallic glasses are not directly proportional to hardness and do not follow the wear law. The wear resistance increases in the order: annealed metallic glass, metallic glass and 304 stainless steel. The wear rates of metallic glasses are strongly dependent on the applied load. Worn surface shows that the metallic glasses suffer from severe wear compared with that of 304 stainless steel.