Abstract
A brief feasibility study was performed to produce thermal spray coatings using gas atomized powders of Cu47Ti34-xZr11Ni8Six, where x=0 and 1. These alloys have previously been shown to be capable of forming metallic glasses having thick (1-2 cm) cross sections because they can be cooled from the melt at relatively low cooling rates (e.g., 100-102Ks-1). The properties of these metallic glasses include high strength, high elasticity and high fracture toughness. Amorphous plasma arc sprayed coatings were produced which were close in composition to the starting powders, and exhibited comparable glass transition and crystallization behavior. The amorphous structure of the as-sprayed coatings was used as a source for forming a range of partially devitrified and fully crystallized structures. The average hardness of the coatings increased from around 6 GPa to near 10 GPa as the degree of crystallization increased.
