Method of making dense composites of bulk-solidifying amorphous alloys and articles thereof

A method of forming a dense reinforcement-containing bulk solidifying amorphous alloy-matrix composite material comprising:

• providing a feedstock of a bulk solidifying amorphous alloy having the capability of retaining an amorphous state when cooled from above its melting temperature at a critical cooling rate of no more than about 500° C./s;
• dispersing a plurality of pieces of a reinforcement material throughout the bulk solidifying amorphous alloy feedstock to form a mixture of reinforcement material and bulk solidifying amorphous alloy feedstock;
• densifying the mixture by applying a force to the mixture at a temperature above the melting temperature of the bulk solidifying amorphous alloy;
• cooling the densified mixture below the glass transition temperature of the bulk solidifying amorphous alloy to form a solidified composite material;
• reheating the solidified composite mixture to a forming temperature;
• forming the reheated composite mixture into a desired shape at the forming temperature;
• and
• quenching the reheated mixture to an ambient temperature to form an amorphous alloy-matrix composite material.