A new parameter to evaluate the glass-forming ability of bulk metallic glasses

Abstract Based on the consideration of the liquid phase stability, the resistance to crystallization and the glass transition enthalpy, a new criterion Q , defined as (( T g  +  T x )/ T l )·(Δ E /Δ H ), where the T g , T x , T l , Δ E and Δ H are the glass transition temperature, the onset crystallization temperature, the liquidus temperature, the crystalline enthalpy and the fusion enthalpy, respectively, has been proposed for evaluating the glass-forming ability of bulk metallic glasses. The new criterion Q exhibits better correlation with the maximum cross section thickness ( D m ) for glass formation compared with γ (= T x /( T l  +  T g )), T rg (= T g / T l ) and Δ T x (= T x  −  T g ) respectively. The available data from literatures and experiments have confirmed the effectiveness of the newly developed criterion.