Production of Metallic Glass Powder by Gas-atomization Process and its Consolidation

Since metallic glasses do not require so rapid cooling in their formation as conventional amorphous materials do, they have fewer restrictions in manufacturing processes and product dimensions. The metallic glasses are more promising materials for industrial production and applications. Gas atomization process seems to be suitable for the mass production of metallic glass powders, where the cooling rate during solidification is much higher than that of conventional casting, although it is lower than that required by melt-spun amorphous ribbons. Fe – based and Ni – based alloys were chosen from the viewpoint of industrial applications. Feasibility of the application of gas atomization for their glass powder production and subsequent consolidation processes were discussed in this paper.