Mechanisms of Electropulsing Joining in Zr35Ti30Cu7.5Be27.5 Bulk Metallic Glass

YANG Yang; YANG Hui; WU Jianzhou; FENG Bin; LUO Renzhi; LIU Ping

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-6457.2026.09.019

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Journal of Netshape Forming Engineering ›› 2026, Vol. 18 ›› Issue (9) : 184-192. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-6457.2026.09.019

High-Entropy Alloy and Amorphous Alloy Forming

Mechanisms of Electropulsing Joining in Zr₃₅Ti₃₀Cu_7.5Be_27.5 Bulk Metallic Glass

YANG Yang^1,2, YANG Hui¹, WU Jianzhou², FENG Bin², LUO Renzhi², LIU Ping^2,*

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Abstract

The work aims to investigate the physical mechanism of millisecond-scale metallurgical bonding of the bulk metallic glass achieved by electropulsing joining technology under atmospheric conditions, and elucidate the formation mechanism for element enrichment characteristics at the joint cross-section. With Zr₃₅Ti₃₀Cu_7.5Be_27.5 metallic glass as the research object, the heating‑rate dependence of characteristic temperatures was combined with the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann rheology model to describe the time-history evolution law of viscosity in the joint region under millisecond electropulsing conditions. A parallel‑plate mechanics model was established to evaluate the tensile stress within the oxide film induced by interfacial flow and describe its fracture behavior. Furthermore, an electromigration model based on effective charge was introduced to calculate the direction and magnitude of the electron wind force acting on Zr and Ti under pulsed current, followed by a correlation analysis with the elemental distribution at the interface. Millisecond electropulsing enabled the joint region to enter a low-viscosity supercooled liquid state within an extremely short time, triggering intense interfacial flow. The parallel-plate rheology model revealed that the tensile stress inside the oxide film induced by such flow ranged from 7.6 to 10.3 GPa, which was substantially higher than the fracture strength of typical metal oxides. This led to oxide film rupture and achieved atomic-scale physical joining between the base materials on both sides. Electromigration analysis further demonstrated that Zr and Ti might undergo either reverse or co-directional electromigration under pulsed current. The migration intensities differed by orders of magnitude, resulting in localized enrichment of Zr and Ti elements at the joint cross-section. During electropulsing joining, the synergistic effect of three factors, including low-viscosity flow of the supercooled liquid induced by rapid heating, oxide film fracture driven by interfacial stress, and elemental electromigration under pulsed current, collectively achieves rapid metallurgical joining. This work provides a theoretical basis for in-depth understanding of the electropulsing joining mechanism of amorphous alloys and process optimization.

Key words

bulk metallic glass / electropulsing / joining mechanism / oxide film fracture / electromigration

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YANG Yang, YANG Hui, WU Jianzhou, FENG Bin, LUO Renzhi, LIU Ping. Mechanisms of Electropulsing Joining in Zr₃₅Ti₃₀Cu_7.5Be_27.5 Bulk Metallic Glass[J]. Journal of Netshape Forming Engineering. 2026, 18(9): 184-192 https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1674-6457.2026.09.019

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