A series of rod samples with diameter of 3 mm（Zr0.55Al0.10Ni0.05Cu0.30）100-xFex（x=0,1,2,3,4） were prepared by magnetic suspend melting and copper mold suction casting method.The effects of a small amount of Fe on glass forming ability（GFA） and mechanical properties of Zr55Al10Ni5Cu30 bulk metallic glass（BMG） were investigated.The results show that the addition of an appropriate amount（less than 3%,mole fraction） of Fe enhances GFA,as indicated by the increase in the reduced glass transition temperature Trg（=Tg/Tl） and the parameter γ（=Tx/（Tg＋Tl）） with increasing Fe content,and GFA gets deteriorated by further Fe addition（4%）.The addition of Fe also effectively improves the compressive plasticity and increases the compressive fracture strength in these Zr-based BMGs.Compressive tests on BMG sample with 3 mm in diameter and 6 mm in length reveal work-hardening and a certain plastic strain in the alloy containing 2% Fe.The BMG composite containing 4% Fe also exhibits a high fracture strength along with significant plasticity.
