An alternative route to obtain bulk metallic glasses is by consolidation of metallic glass powders by deforming these materials in the temperature interval between the crystallization temperature and the glass transition temperature, where the material flows with a reduced viscosity. In the present work, bulk parts of the Fe43.2Co28.8B19.2Si4.8Nb4 alloy were produced by hot-pressing gas-atomized powders (GAP) under different uniaxial pressures. Different microstructural analysis revealed that the initial powder as well as the consolidated parts were mostly amorphous, with similar transformation temperatures, showing that bulk samples of this alloy can be produced by conformation in the supercooled liquid region. The sample conformed under the highest pressure (1GPa) exhibited the highest relative density of 96.1±0.5%. These results show that hot pressing of Fe-based gas-atomized powders is a promising route for producing Fe-based bulk metallic glasses.

Cu-based shape memory alloys (SMAs) present some advantages as higher transformation temperatures, lower costs and are easier to process than traditional Ti-based SMAs but they also show some disadvantages as low ductility and higher tendency for intergranular cracking. Several studies have sought for a way to improve the mechanical properties of these alloys and microstructural refinement has been frequently used. It can be obtained by laser remelting treatments. The aim of the present work was to investigate the influence of the laser surface remelting on the microstructure of a Cu-11.85Al-3.2Ni-3Mn (wt%) SMA. Plates were remelted using three different laser scanning speeds, i.e. 100, 300 and 500 mm/s. The remelted regions showed a T-shape morphology with a mean thickness of 52, 29 and 23 µm and an average grain size of 30, 29 and 23µm for plates remelted using scanning speed of 100, 300 and 500 mm/s, respectively. In the plates remelted with 100 and 300 mm/s some pores were found at the root of the keyhole due to the keyhole instability. We find that the instability of keyholes becomes more pronounced for lower scanning speeds. It was not observed any preferential orientation introduced by the laser treatment.

Thermal spraying processes allows high cooling rates and can favor the formation of amorphous microstructures. Amorphous metallic coatings can result in superior mechanical and functional properties. To follow new technological development and innovation paths, indicators based on patent data can be assembled to support technological forecasting assessments and decision making. This study mapped the technological development on amorphous alloys processed by thermal spraying using patent indicators from documents indexed in the Derwent Innovations Index database between the years 1997 and 2014. We evaluate the patent activity, the role of countries, the main technological subdomains and markets of interest, as well as the main metallic alloys explored as coating. We conclude that new technological developments should be expected in near future and these advances both in amorphous alloys and thermal spraying shall be constantly monitored in the coming years.

MoS2 powder has been used to form "self-lubricating" composite coatings, which are very useful to increase the lifetime of machines where liquid lubricants cannot be used. In this work, amorphous overspray powder of Fe60Cr8Nb8B24 (at%) alloy was mixed with 5wt.% MoS2 powder and it was used to produce single tracks on AISI 1020 steel substrates by laser cladding. The tracks were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Vickers microhardness. It was observed α-Fe, an Nb-rich intermetallic and MoS2 particles in the tracks, regardless of laser parameter used. DSC analyses proved the presence of amorphous phase for samples produced with parameters 200W/33.3mm/s, 600W/100mm/s, 800W/100mm/s and 800W/150mm/s. The tracks produced with larger power (800W) and higher scanning speeds (100 and 150mm/s) exhibited a better integrity and homogeneity, lower dilution and presence of amorphous phase, being these parameters considered the most appropriate to produce composite coatings of Fe60Cr8Nb8B24 (at%)/5wt% MoS2 containing amorphous phase. Hardness tests showed that the single tracks produced are harder than the substrate, for example, the track produced with 800W/150mm/s exhibits hardness six times higher than the steel substrate, 1200 HV0.3 and 200 HV0.3, respectively.

Biomedical devices currently in use (prostheses, implants) have satisfactory performance in many cases. However, sometimes the body reacts to the device insertion and may lead to its rapid replacement. Some of these disadvantages can be solved by the use of titanium and its alloys, due to their excellent combination of corrosion resistance, wear resistance and biocompatibility compared to other competing biomaterials. This paper presents the possibility of obtaining near beta titanium alloy with ultrafine grains produced by severe plastic deformation. For this, the Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy was processed by high-pressure torsion processing method. Samples were processed with different loads and number of turns. After characterization, it was observed that after applying three turns, a load of 1GPa produces more Ti-beta phase than a load of 6 GPa. However, as expected, the larger the load, the higher the refinement.

The Ni57Nb33Zr5Co5 metallic glass is a promising alloy for bipolar plates in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. It is important to know which phase forms in this alloy under different cooling rates in order to understand its influence on the thermal stability and mechanical properties. In this work, melt-spun ribbons and rod samples with 1, 2 and 3 mm diameters were prepared and their phase formation, microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and microhardness. It is found that a completely crystalline structure forms in the lower cooling rate samples (2 and 3 mm diameter rods) with the presence of the equilibrium phases Ni3(Nb,Zr) and Nb7Ni6 as primary phases or as a very fine eutectic structure, while a fully glassy structure is attained in the samples with the highest cooling rate (ribbons). For the sample with an intermediate cooling rate (1 mm diameter rod), polymorphically crystals of an unknown metastable phase with spherical morphology precipitate in the glassy matrix with virtually the same composition as the matrix. The 2 mm diameter sample exhibits higher hardness than the other samples, which is attributed to its very fine eutectic colonies.

Fe60Cr8Nb8B24 (at%) amorphous powder and ingot were submitted to LASER cladding and remelting process, respectively. Fe-based coatings were produced using different LASER processing parameters and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Vickers microhardness. All coatings obtained by LASER cladding (LC) and layers obtained by LASER surface remelting (LSR) with shorter and median interaction times (scanning speeds of 16.7 and 66.7mm/s), irrespective of overlap value, presented peaks of the crystalline phases α-Fe, Fe2B and the FeNbB intermetallic. In addition, layers obtained by LSR with shorter interaction time (150mm/s), in general, presented only peaks of the α-Fe and Fe2B phases, except that produced with overlap value of 20%, more amorphous. SEM results showed that, regardless of LASER process, the coatings presented cracks, some pores and FeNbB intermetallic phase. All coatings obtained by LC and that obtained with shorter interaction time, by LSR, showed a Vickers microhardness, 1086 to 1329HV and 2161 to 2294HV, respectively, significantly higher than the substrates, AISI steel: 170HV and Fe-Cr-Nb-B: 1921HV.

Based on the Fe60Cr8Nb8B24 alloy, reported in the literature as good Glass Forming Ability (GFA), in this study the GFA of two new compositions was proposed, Fe68-xCrxNb8B24 (x=10,12). They were evaluated as good candidates to be new compositions of Bulk Metallic Glasses (BMG) with better corrosion resistance due to the high Cr content. Rapidly solidified glassy ribbons were processed, and based on their thermal characteristics, the critical thickness of the glassy structure formation (Zc) was estimated. The critical thickness (Zc) obtained experimentally using the wedge-shaped casting method was evaluated and it presented a much lower value than that estimated theoretically. However, the GFA of the compositions analyzed was ranked and this ranking (i.e. whichever has the most or least GFA) is in agreement with the result predicted theoretically. The GFA of Fe58Cr10Nb8B24, which presented a maximum thickness of the amorphous region of wedge-shaped samples of about 0.6 mm (but estimated it would be 3.56 mm), offered good prospects to be a new Fe-based glass former alloy which has better resistance to corrosion than the Fe60Cr8Nb8B24 alloy reported.

A structural and mechanical characterization of pure aluminum and 2124 T6 aluminum alloy reinforced with quasicrystalline phases of composition Al65Cu20Fe15 and Al70.5Pd21Mn8.5 (%at.) were performed. The quasicrystalline phases were synthesized by arc melting and then milled to produce powder of the alloys, which were then mechanical mixed with the starting powders of aluminum and 2124 aluminum alloy. The composites were produced by hot extrusion of a mechanical mixture containing 20% (%wt.) of the reinforcing phases on the metallic matrix. The structural characterization of the composites was carried out by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Mechanical characterization was carried out by Vickers hardness measurements and torsion tests at room temperature. The pure aluminum/quasicrystal composite showed the presence of the same phases from the starting powder mixture while for the 2124 aluminum alloy/Al65Cu20Fe15 the quasicrystalline phase transformed to the tetragonal ω-Al7Cu2Fe during the solution heat treatment. Mechanical strength of the composites presented a substantial increase in comparison to the original matrix metal. While the equivalent ultimate tensile strength of the Al/quasicrystal composites reached values up to 215MPa and Vickers hardness up to 60HV, the 2124/quasicrystal composites reached values up to 670MPa and Vickers hardness up to 190HV.

Selective laser melting (SLM) is an additive manufacturing process used to produce parts with complex geometries layer by layer. This rapid solidification method allows fabricating samples in a non-equilibrium state and with refined microstructure. In this work, this method is used to fabricate 3 mm diameter rods of a Cu-based shape memory alloy. The phase formation, thermal stability and mechanical properties were investigated and correlated. Samples with a relative density higher than 92% and without cracks were obtained. A single monoclinic martensitic phase was formed with average grain size ranging between 28 to 36 μm. The samples exhibit a reverse martensitic transformation temperature around 106 ± 2 °C and a large plasticity in compression (around 15±1%) with a typical “double-yielding” behaviour.

A good glass former, Ti57.4Cu33.4Ni9.2, was selected using the topological instability criterion (lambda criterion) and the average electronegativity approach. The crystallization behavior and microstructural development of amorphous melt-spun ribbons of this new composition in response to heat treatment were investigated using a combination of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results indicate that the crystallization of the Ti57.4Cu33.4Ni9.2 alloy takes place through of three exothermic reactions with the nucleation of TiCu, Ti2Cu and Ti2Ni. The kinetics of crystallization were investigated by DSC, and the kinetic parameters were determined using Kissinger’s method.

Since the early 90's the oil industry has been encouraging the development of corrosion and wear resistant alloys for onshore and offshore pipeline applications. In this context supermartensitic stainless steel was introduced to replace the more expensive duplex stainless steel for tubing applications. Despite the outstanding corrosion resistance of stainless steels, their wear resistance is of concern. Some authors reported obtaining material processed by spray forming, such as ferritic stainless steel, superduplex stainless steel modified with boron, and iron-based amorphous alloys, which presented high wear resistance while maintaining the corrosion performance1,2. The addition of boron to iron-based alloys promotes the formation of hard boride particles (M2B type) which improve their wear resistances3-9. This work aimed to study the microstructure and wear resistance of supermartensitic stainless steel modified with 0.3 wt. (%) and 0.7 wt. (%) processed by spray forming (SF-SMSS 0.3%B and SF-SMSS 0.7%B, respectively). These boron contents were selected in order to improve the wear resistance of supermartensitic stainless steel through the formation of uniformly distributed borides maintaining the characteristics of the corrosion resistant matrix. SF-SMSS 0.7%B presents an abrasive wear resistance considerably higher than spray-formed supermartensitic stainless steel without boron addition (SF-SMSS).

An investigation was made of the stability of melt-spun ribbons of Mm55Al25Ni10Cu10 (Mm = Mischmetal) amorphous alloy. The structural transformations that occurred during heating were studied using a combination of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Crystallization took place through a multi-stage process. The first stage of transformation corresponded to the formation of a metastable phase followed by cfc-Al precipitation, while in the second stage, exothermic transformations led to the formation of complex and unidentified Mm(Cu, Ni) and MmAl(Cu, Ni) phases. The transformation curves recorded from isothermal treatments at 226 °C and 232 °C indicated that crystallization occurred through nucleation and growth, with diffusion-controlled growth occurring in the first crystallization stage. The supercooled liquid region, ∆Tx, at 40 K/min was ~80 K. This value was obtained by the substitution of Mm (=Ce + La + Nd + Pr) for La or Ce, saving chemical element-related costs.

The effect of minor additions of Gd and Sm on the glass-forming ability (GFA) of Cu-Zr-Al alloys is investigated here. The rationale for these additions is the fact that the atomic size distribution can increase GFA by changing the topology of the alloy as a function of cluster stability, which is tied to the electronegativity and ionic and covalent nature of alloys. Ingots with nominal compositions of Cu40Zr49Al10.5Gd0.5, Cu40Zr49Al10.5Sm0.5 and Cu39Zr50Al9Gd2 were prepared by arc-melting and rapidly quenched ribbons were produced by the melt-spinning technique. Bulk samples with a thickness of up to 10 mm were also produced by casting, using a wedge-shaped copper mold. The samples were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy. The three compositions showed a fully amorphous structure in the ribbons and a predominantly homogeneous amorphous structure with a thickness of up to 10 mm, although some gadolinium oxide crystals as well as samarium compounds were found to be scattered in the amorphous matrix in 5-mm-thick samples. The amorphous phases in the alloys showed high thermal stability with a supercooled liquid region (ΔTx) of about 70 K.