The Effect of Remelting Cycles and Its Carbon Content on the Glass Forming Ability and Mechanical Properties of the Zr-based Amorphous Alloy Return Scrap

A commercially used Zr-based amorphous alloy was recycled and the effects of introducing carbon during recycling on the glass forming ability and mechanical properties of the alloy were investigated. The initial carbon content used in this study was 229ppm. The carbon content was gradually increased as the number of recycling iterations was increased and after the 4 recycling it rapidly increased. As return scrap was recycled, polygonal particles precipitated, and they were identified as ZrC. The amount of the precipitates also increased with recycling. Tg, Tx and ∆T of the base alloy were 615 K, 696 K and 81 Kr respectively and they changed to 634 K, 706 K and 72 K after the 10 recycling. The decrease of the ∆T value indicates deterioration of the glass forming ability. Hardness was not changed during three iterations of recycling but after the 4 recycling it significantly increased. This is ascribed to an increase of amount of the hard particles, namely ZrC.