Bulk amorphous Al-alloys by ball milling and spark-plasma-sintering

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Eckert
• Subject Area: Glass, Ceramics and Derived Composites
• Term: from 2005 to 2011
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5452165

Al-based amorphous alloys have been suggested for commercial applications with a great potential due to their high strength (1200-1500 MPa) compared to conventional crystalline Al-based alloys (400-500 MPa) even though they have shown a limit of scale upon solidification of the melt. Up to now no casting of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) with aluminum as majority component is possible. The purpose of this project is to develop novel bulk Al-based amorphous alloys with high content of Al by powder metallurgy and to overcome this limitation. In order to achieve this purpose it is necessary to design novel Al-based amorphous alloy powders with a distinct supercooled liquid region and high thermal stability, and to optimize the processing conditions for the production of amorphous Al-based alloy powders by mechanical alloying and for their full densification through Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS). In addition, it is necessary to evaluate the structural and thermal properties of these novel bulk Al-amorphous alloys, their mechanical behavior and to try to find a model description for their mechanical properties, as well as to compare the results with those of corresponding asquenched alloys.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Person: Dr. Sergio Scudino