Glass forming ability and reliability in fracture stress for Mg–Cu–Ni–Nd–Y bulk metallic glasses

The glass forming ability (GFA), thermal stability and mechanical properties of Mg–Cu–Ni–Nd–Y alloy were investigated by using copper mold casting, differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and compression tester. The results show that both the GFA and thermal stability for Mg58.5Cu30.5Y11 alloy are improved when partial Cu and Y are substituted by Ni and Nd, respectively. A full amorphous rod of 13 mm in diameter was obtained for Mg58.5Cu27.5Ni3Nd5Y6 alloy, which has a large-supercooled liquid region, and a narrow melting temperature interval compared with Mg58.5Cu30.5Y11 alloy. The GFA was discussed in term of experiential parameters. We suggest using the relative difference between calculated and experimental fracture stress to estimate the reliability of experimental stress, which is correlated well with our results.