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 and blending a plurality of pieces of a reinforcement material with the bulk solidifying amorphous alloy feedstock under vacuum to form a blended mixture of reinforcement material and bulk solidifying amorphous alloy feedstock having a packing density of at least 30% prior to densification;
• heating the mixture to a densification temperature above the melting temperature of the bulk solidifying amorphous alloy and below the melting temperature of the reinforcement material;
• densifying the mixture by applying a force to the mixture at the densification temperature for a specified densification time;
• 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 for a period of time less than the densification time, wherein said forming temperature is at least 50° C. higher than the densification 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.