Glass formability of W-based alloys through thermodynamic modeling: W-Fe-Hf-Pd-Ta and W-Fe-Si-C

Computational thermodynamics, based on the CALculation of PHAse Diagram (CALPHAD) method, can be an efficient way to predict phase stabilities in multi-component engineering materials. By calculating the stability of the liquid phase at low temperatures, this method could be a useful and cost-effective tool for the design of bulk metallic glasses. Based on the thermodynamic modeling of the constituent binary and ternary systems of W with Fe, Hf, Pd, Ta, Si, or C, thermodynamic databases are built to search for W-based metallic glasses in these alloying systems. Modeling of intermetallic phases combines input from first-principles total energy calculations and predictions of finite temperature properties from the Debye-Grüneisen model. Several plausible W-rich glass-forming alloys are identified in the W-Fe-Si-C quaternary system.