Glass forming ability, mechanical and magnetic properties in Fe–W–Y–B alloys

Glass forming ability (GFA), mechanical and magnetic properties of Fe72WxY6−xB22 (x = 0, 1, 2 and 3 at.%) and Fe72−xWxY6B22 (x = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 at.%) alloys have been experimentally investigated. It is found that fully amorphous Fe69W3Y6B22 and Fe68W4Y6B22 cylindrical rods with 4 mm in diameter can be prepared by using copper mold casting. The newly developed Fe-based quaternary alloys exhibit excellent combination properties: good GFA, high onset crystallization temperature of 970 K, high fracture strength of about 4 GPa, Vickers hardness of about 1000 kg/mm2, and good soft magnetic properties at ambient temperature (saturation magnetization of about 0.8 T and coercive force of below 2 A/m), which show potential applications in electronic industries. The effect of W addition on GFA in the Fe–Y–B alloy system is discussed.