Int ernational Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy a nd Materials
Volume20 ,Number5 ,May2013,Page456
DOI: 10.1007/s12613-013-0751-2
Coating thickness control in continuously fabricating metallic
glass-coated composite wires
Bao-yu Zhang, Xiao-hua Chen, Zhao-ping Lu, and Xi-dong Hui
State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
(Received: 7 May 2012; revised: 16 September 2012; accepted: 6 November 2012)
Abstract: A continuous production process was developed for coating bulk metallic glasses on the metallic wire surface.
The effects of processing parameters, including the drawing velocity and coating temperature, on the coating thickness
were investigated. It is found that the coating thickness increases with the increase in drawing velocity but decreases with
the increase in coating temperature. A fluid mechanical model was developed to quantify the coating thickness under
various processing conditions. By using this theoretical model, the coating thickness was calculated, and the calculated
values are in good agreement with the experimental data.
Keywords: composite materials; metallic glass; coatings; thickness control
1. Introduction
Since metallic glasses (MGs) were first synthesized
through rapid quenching of the melt by Klement et al. [1],
they have been attracting great attention because of
their excellent mechanical, physical, and chemical prop-
erties [2-5]. Compared with their crystalline counterparts,
bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) usually have higher fracture
strength, lower Young’s modulus, higher elastic limit, and
better corrosion resistance. However, monolithic BMGs
usually form highly localized shear bands, resulting in
catastrophic fracture along the main shear band [6-8]. The
room temperature brittleness has become an obstacle for
the application of BMGs as engineering structural mate-
rials. Then again, the shear fracture feature is beneficial
for the improvement of the penetrating ability of armor-
piercing bullets. Rong et al. [9] performed ballistic tests
using tungsten fiber-reinforced Zr-based BMG composites
and found that the penetrator made of BMG matrix com-
posites exhibited a higher penetrating efficiency than the
one made of tungsten heavy alloys. BMGs are also promis-
ing to be potential coating materials due to their excellent
corrosion resistance [10-11]. Therefore, it is of significance
to develop a valid process for the fabrication of BMG-based
composites.
Tungsten fiber-reinforced BMG matrix composites are
usually synthesized by melt infiltration casting, which is
not suitable for the continuous manufacture of large-sized
BMG composites [12-13]. This kind of process also de-
pends on the glass-forming ability of BMGs, which limits
the critical size of composites. To overcome this draw-
back, we have developed a continuous production process
of BMG-coated composite wires [14-15], as shown in Fig. 1.
The continuous production system consists of a vacuum
chamber and a crucible surrounded with a heater. The
wire bundles, which were fed continuously from a bob-
bin, passed through the preheating unit first and then im-
mersed into molten metal for infiltration. After the infil-
tration, the wire bundles passed through the argon cooling
unit that offered sufficient cooling capacity. Finally, the
BMG coating was successfully produced. It was found that
Zr
41
Ti
14
Cu
12.5
Ni
10
Be
22.5
(Vit 1, at%) BMG-coated tung-
sten composite wires produced by this process possessed
comparable ultimate strength and ductility with the bare
tungsten wire under tensile loading [15]. Process parame-
ters such as the wire drawing speed, infiltration time, and
melt temperature can be controlled through setting a se-
ries of controlling programs. The coating thickness plays
an important role in the mechanical properties and cor-
rosion resistance of BMG-coated composite wires. In this
work, the effects of processing parameters, that is, wire
Corresponding author: Xiao-hua Chen, Xi-dong Hui E-mail: chenxh@skl.ustb.edu.cn, xdhui@ustb.edu.cn
c
〇 University of Science and Technology Beijing and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013