  The icosahedral-like polyhedral fraction (ICO-like fraction) has been studied
as a criterion for predicting the glass-forming ability of bulk ternary
metallic glasses, Al90Sm8X2 (X = Al (binary), Cu, Ag, Au), using ab initio
molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations. We found that the ICO-like fraction can
be determined with adequate precision to explore correlations with AIMD
simulations. We then demonstrated that ICO-like fraction correlates with the
critical cooling rate, which is a widely used intrinsic measure of glass
forming ability. These results suggest that the ICO-like fraction from AIMD
simulations may offer a useful guide for searching and screening for good glass
formers.
