Tribology of Zr-Cu based bulk metallic glasses: current issues and outlooks

Details

Supervisors

Idrissi, Hosni

Faculty

Ecole polytechnique de Louvain

Degree label

Master [120] : ingénieur civil en chimie et science des matériaux

Abstract

Amorphous materials are known since the beginning of humanity. For long long-time mankind has been using silica oxide (which is the glass commonly used for the any window). But only during the last century, scientists started focusing on amorphous metallic alloys. Even if they are made of the same materials as classical crystalline metals, metallic glasses exhibit very different properties arising from the lack of order. Indeed, their mechanical properties such as yield strength are far better than their crystalline counterparts. Nevertheless, the surface properties (wear resistance, bio-compatibility, etc) are not as known as the mechanical properties of the bulk. For example, it is nearly impossible to predict the wear behaviour and so, the lifetime which is directly linked to the wear loss of a metallic glass sample. In this report, after presenting some generalities of the metallic glasses and the means necessary to understand them, characterisation techniques and primary results are presented, and finally the current issues concerning the tribological behaviour and more precisely the wear resistance are exposed, taking a closer look at the surface aspects linked with the chemistry, the topology and the partial crystallization