Atomic structure and physical properties of Ni-Nb amorphous alloys determined by an n-body potential

An n-body Ni-Nb potential is constructed under an embedded-atom method, whi ch can reproduce some intrinsic properties of the alloy phases of the syste m. Employing the potential, a molecular-dynamics simulation is performed to derive the characteristics of the atomic structure of the Ni-Nb amorphous state, such as the pair correlation functions, structure parameters and bon d angle distributions. The calculated results are compatible with those obt ained from experiments and other simulations. In addition, the cohesive ene rgy, the molar volume and the heat of formation of Ni-Nb amorphous alloys w ere also computed, and an apparent dependence of those physical properties on the alloy compositions were observed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.