New amorphous alloys with high strength and good bend ductility in the MgNiNd system

A number of Mg-based alloys containing up to 20at%Ni and 15at%Nd were rapidly-solidified by chill-block melt-spinning to produce ribbons between 30 to 100μm in thickness. The amorphous status of the ribbons was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The measured tensile fracture strength and microhardness of these ribbons were found to be in the range 330 to 630MPa and 190 to 250 kg/mm² respectively which are significantly higher than for conventionally cast Mg alloys. The significance of these results for potential applications and the glass forming ability of these alloys are discussed.