Advancing the development of high-performance alloys
Mattias Tidefelt.
Enhancing our understanding of crystallisation in metallic glass through the study of various alloy systems has the potential to contribute to the green transition as well as provide high performing mechanical components, finds a Malmö University researcher.
Metallic glass is produced by rapidly cooling a liquid to a solid, amorphous state. ‘Amorphous’ means that the material’s structure is disordered and somewhat haphazard. It is this disorder that gives the alloy its unique properties, such as extremely high hardness and yield strength, as well as excellent corrosion resistance.
“These alloys are extremely sensitive to cooling rates, so very high cooling rates are required to achieve the desired glass structure. And the best way to understand what you want to avoid – namely crystallisation – is to study when glass metals crystallise during heating, which is a process that is easier to control,” explains Mattias Tidefelt, a PhD student at the Department of Materials Science and Applied Mathematics at Malmö University.
In his thesis, Temperature-induced phase evolution in metallic glasses, Tidefelt has primarily investigated alloys that are Zr-based (zirconium) and Fe-based (iron).
According to Tidefelt, both are alloys with interesting and promising commercial applications: Zr-based alloys are designed to be 3D-printed into larger glass components. And many Fe-based alloys have been developed to function as soft magnetic nanocomposites used in applications such as electric motors.
“Fe-based alloys are extremely interesting for the green transition, as the aim is to achieve more efficient and resource-efficient components. 3D printing of metallic components is also a method that is generally gaining ground. I know that both Saab and the company GKN Aerospace have interesting projects involving 3D printing of metals,” concludes Tidefelt.
