STUDIES ON PRIMARY CRYSTALLIZATION OF RAPIDLY QUENCHED Al-Ni-Cu-Nd METALLIC GLASS BY USING HIGH RESOLUTION TRASMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY

Rapidly solidified Al87Ni7Cu3Nd3 metallic glasses, prepared by using melt spinning,were treated under both isothermal and non-isothermal regime. The amorphous ribbon and the annealed samples were closely examined by means of differential scanning calorimetric, conventional X-ray diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy with selected-area electron diffraction, with special interest in primary crystallization into α-Al nanocrystalline particles, in order to understand structural characteristics of Al-based amorphous/nanocrystalline alloys, and nucleation and grain growth mechanism on the nanometer scale during primary crystallization.The results show that, the as-prepared ribbons are fully amorphous and homogeneous in the micron scale, but contain high density of quenched-in clusters or crystallite embryos. Primary crystallization mainly leads to formation of two-phase mixture of α-Al crystal and residual amorphous phase. The annealed ribbons exposed isothermally at 110℃f or 5, 130 minutes and heated continuously up to less than 310℃ at 40℃/min consist of large amount of α-Al fcc crystal nanoparticles dispersed uniformly in an amorphous matrix. However, a very little amount of finer orthorhombie Al3Ni intermetalics particles exist in the annealed ribbons heated up to 310℃. During primary crystallization, the leading kinetic mechanics to impede growth of the α-Al crystal is soft impingement, instead of geometrie impingement.