Special Issue "New Insights in Metallic Glasses and Composites"

Dear Colleagues,

Bulk metallic glass (BMG) is a new class of advanced material which requires rapid cooling and the avoidance of crystallization from metallic melts. Due to the extremely rapid cooling rate during the solidification process, the inner metallic atoms cannot be rearranged in the way of long-range order (LRO), but exhibit short-range order (SRO) or medium-range order (MRO). Moreover, BMG with metallic luster can be simply processed like traditional window glass above the initial softening temperature. Additionally, with the existing SRO (or MRO) and lack of imperfection in crystalline metals, this alloy inherently has higher strength (over 1 GPa), hardness, and elastic limit. It also has better thermoplastic formability, corrosion resistance, and friction properties. BMGs have become one of the most promising new materials, and many scientists, such as Jan Schroers in Yale and Akihisa Inoue in Tohoku, have devoted themselves to this research frontier and the industrialization of these alloys.

During the last several decades, with the rapid development in aerospace, life science and information technology, the demand for precision miniature parts has increased dramatically. Generally speaking, precision parts with a size of several micrometers or millimeters necessarily possess excellent properties satisfying specific needs as well as a high-quality surface finish, thus posing a challenge for workability and forming precision. When choosing a traditional crystalline alloy as the candidate material for microparts, it is necessary to take the anisotropy behavior and the significant impacts of grain boundaries into consideration. Even though high-accuracy microparts with complex geometries can be technically obtained by powder injection molding (PIM, near-net-shape process), which requires the blending of powder and succedent sintering, the surface accuracy of the final product is restricted and grain size effects still remain. In addition, as a result of the cooling requirement and the high flow velocities required to fill the mold cavity, small-scale complex microparts with reliable mechanical properties are difficult to obtain by die casting. Therefore, suitable candidate materials and forming processes for precise miniature parts are key factors.

Prof. Dr. Jian Kong
Prof. Dr. Kewei Dong
Guest Editors

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• metallic glasses and composites
• superplasticity
• thermoplastic forming
• 3D printing
• welding