Bulk glass formation in the Pd-Ni-P system

Bulk amorphous Pd-Ni-P rods with diameters ranging from 10 to 25 mm were prepared by a fluxing technique over a wide composition range. For most bulk glassy alloys studied, the difference between the glass transition temperature and the crystallization temperature, T-x-T-g, is larger than 90 K. Of all the alloy compositions examined, Pd40Ni40P20 has the highest glass formability, and 300-g bulk amorphous cylinders, 25 mm in diameter and 50 mm in length, were easily and repeatedly formed. This size, however, is not an upper limit. The elastic properties of these bulk amorphous alloys were determined by a resonant ultrasound spectroscopy technique.