Elastic properties of the Ni-containing metallic glasses.*

Several different acoustic techniques can be used to determine the elastic constants of a material. We use resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) and acoustic pulse-echo (APE) to investigate the elastic properties of Ni_71.5Cr_5.6Nb_3.4P_16.5B₃, a bulk metallic glass alloy (Ni-BMG). The sample was made by a counter-gravity suction casting technique. Modeling of the measured spectrum of acoustic resonances for the sample in its cylindrical geometry was done with finite element analysis (FEA). FEA gives a longitudinal modulus (C11) of 300 GPa, and a Youngs modulus (C44) of 50 GPa (+/-5%). We compare these values with literature values for other Ni-bearing bulk metallic glass alloys.