A combined arc-melting and tilt-casting furnace for the manufacture of high-purity bulk metallic glass materials

Abstract

An arc-melting furnace which includes a tilt-casting facility was designed and built, for the purpose of producing bulk metallic glass specimens. Tilt-casting was chosen because reportedly, in combination with high-purity processing, it produces the best fatigue endurance in Zr-based bulk metallic glasses. Incorporating the alloying and casting facilities in a single piece of equipment reduces the amount of laboratory space and capital investment needed. Eliminating the sample transfer step from the production process also saves time and reduces sample contamination. This is important because the glass forming ability in many alloy systems, such as Zr-based glass-forming alloys, deteriorates rapidly with increasing oxygen content of the specimen. The challenge was to create a versatile instrument, in which high purity conditions can be maintained throughout the process, even when melting alloys with high affinity for oxygen. Therefore, the design provides a high-vacuum chamber to be filled with a low-oxygen inert atmosphere, and takes special care to keep the system hermetically sealed throughout the process. In particular, movements of the arc-melting electrode and sample manipulator arm are accommodated by deformable metal bellows, rather than sliding O-ring seals, and the whole furnace is tilted for tilt-casting. This performance of the furnace is demonstrated by alloying and casting Zr(55)Cu(30)Al(10)Ni(5) directly into rods up to ø 10 mm which are verified to be amorphous by x-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry, and to exhibit locally ductile fracture at liquid nitrogen temperature.

Advanced Casting Methodologies

“…Although Ni-based alloys present the primary alloy group used with vacuum casting technologies, many other alloy systems are also used, including magnesium, aluminum, copper, and BMG (4,(14)(15)(16)(17). In the work of Nayan et al, Al-Li alloys were processed via VIM under dynamic argon atmosphere with initial pressure set to 0.1 Pa (14).…”

“…Due to their targeted amorphous nature, they present significant specific improvements in mechanical properties that have the potential to be further enhanced via vacuum casting (16,17). Oxygen is detrimental during BMG manufacture, as crystallization kinetics are enhanced by oxygen.…”

Bulk Metallic Glasses and Their Composites: A Brief History of Diverging Fields

“…e processing possibilities of monolithic BMGs have been the focus of considerable research effort in recent years. New capabilities for casting samples from the molten state, including tilt casting [28], squeeze casting, injection casting, and so forth, have resulted in high-quality, tough parts with excellent cosmetic �nishes. ese have included cell phone cases, hollow tubes, sensors, and plates [6].…”

Curved Continuous Casting of Glassy Alloy Sheets

“…。美国、日本和欧洲等国和地区的 科研人员对非晶合金过冷液相区的微纳米成型加工和 超塑成型加工技术及其特点分别进行了卓有成效的研 究，为非晶合金及其复合材料以后在微机电、电子产 品、信息技术和生物技术等领域的应用奠定了基础 [7][8][9][10] 。 在中国， 非晶合金的研究也相当活跃， 在稀土基、 铝基等大块非晶合金和非晶合金复合材料开发上成果 丰硕，有力促进了国内非晶合金研究和发展 [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] 。 非晶合金的开发和研究进程与非晶合金制备技 术的发展和革新密切相关。非晶合金制备技术的每次 革新和进步都促进了非晶合金的突破和快速发展。 3. 非晶合金的模铸技术 除了常见的块体非晶合金铸造技术，如铜模铸造 法 [22] ，喷铸法 [23] ，吸铸法 [24] ，石英管水淬法 [25] 等，近 年来，出现了一种新的大块非晶合金的制备方法--倾斜铸造法 [26] Figure 2. A combined arc-melting and tilt-casting furnace (a) [26] and a combined drop/suction-casting machine [22] (b) 图 2.…”

“…非晶合金的模铸技术 除了常见的块体非晶合金铸造技术，如铜模铸造 法 [22] ，喷铸法 [23] ，吸铸法 [24] ，石英管水淬法 [25] 等，近 年来，出现了一种新的大块非晶合金的制备方法--倾斜铸造法 [26] Figure 2. A combined arc-melting and tilt-casting furnace (a) [26] and a combined drop/suction-casting machine [22] (b) 图 2. 电弧熔炼倾斜铸造炉(a) [26] ；铜模吸铸炉 [22] (b) E. Soinila 等采用电弧熔炼倾斜铸造炉获得了半 封闭管状和不同直径的棒状大块非晶合金 [27] [28] 、双辊法 [29] 、旋转水纺丝法 [30] 、熔体提取法 [31] 等。但由于非晶合金形成能力的限 制，当时的连续制备技术大多限于直径或厚度为微米 级的丝材或带材等。 最近几年，连续制备方法制备非晶合金新材料的 开发上有了新进展。Nagase T.等 [32] 用传统单流单辊甩 带法直接制备出(Co 0.75 Si 0.10 B 0.15 ) 70 Cu 30 非晶合金双层 复合薄带。Jung G. Lee [33,34] 、Lee K. A.…”