Effects of microscopic boundary conditions on the deformation behavior of small-volume metallic glasses (original) (raw)
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2016
Metallic glasses (MGs) exhibit both high yield stresses and elastic strain limits owing to their metallic bonding character and lack of long-range order. Yet the structural state (i.e. local atomic packing), and the corresponding elastic and plastic mechanical response, of MGs is nuanced and dependent on processing history. Moreover, the interplay between small length scales and glass processing routes have produced seemingly conflicting results. Here, the influence of processing on MG mechanical behavior at sub-micron length scales is explored, revealing extreme sensitivity to ion irradiation, enhanced control over the mechanical response, and an underpinning of yield strength in thermodynamic properties. Using in situ testing methods, the deformation response of individual thermoplastically molded MG nanowires is studied. In contrast with previous literature reports the nanowire behavior is observed to be consistent with bulk deformation, exhibiting brittle fracture and shear band...
Signature of local stress states in the deformation behavior of metallic glasses
NPG Asia Materials, 2020
The design of ductile heterogeneous metallic glasses (MGs) with enhanced deformability by purposely controlling the shear-band dynamics via modulation of the atomic-scale structures and local stress states remains a significant challenge. Here, we correlate the changes in the local atomic structure when cooling to cryogenic temperature with the observed improved shear stability. The enhanced atomic-level structural and elastic heterogeneities related to the nonaffine thermal contraction of the short-range order (SRO) and medium-range order (MRO) change the characteristics of the activation process of the shear transformation zones (STZs). The experimental observations corroborated by Eshelby inclusion analysis and molecular dynamics simulations disclose the correlation between the structural fluctuations and the change in the stress field around the STZ. The variations in the inclination axes of the STZs alter their percolation mechanism, affect the shear-band dynamics and kinetics,...
Acta Materialia, 2012
The great technological potential for bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) arises primarily because of their superior mechanical properties. To realize this potential, it is essential to overcome the severe ductility limitations of BMGs which are generally attributed to shear localization and strain softening. Despite much international effort, progress in improving the ductility of BMGs has been limited to certain alloys with specific compositions. Here, we report that severe plastic deformation of a quasi-constrained volume, which prevents brittle materials from fracture during the plastic deformation, can be used to induce strain hardening and to reduce shear localization in BMGs, thereby giving a significant enhancement in their ductility. Structural characterizations reveal the increased free volume and nanoscale heterogeneity induced by severe plastic deformation are responsible for the improved ductility. This finding opens a new and important pathway towards enhanced ductility of BMGs.
Spatial correlation of elastic heterogeneity tunes the deformation behavior of metallic glasses
Metallic glasses (MGs) possess remarkably high strength but often display only minimal tensile ductility due to the formation of catastrophic shear bands. Purposely enhancing the inherent heterogeneity to promote distributed flow offers new possibilities in improving the ductility of monolithic MGs. Here, we report the effect of the spatial heterogeneity of elasticity, resulting from the inherently inhomogeneous amorphous structures, on the deformation behavior of MGs, specifically focusing on the ductility using multiscale modeling methods. A highly heterogeneous, Gaussian-type shear modulus distribution at the nanoscale is revealed by atomistic simulations in Cu 64 Zr 36 MGs, in which the soft population of the distribution exhibits a marked propensity to undergo the inelastic shear transformation. By employing a mesoscale shear transformation zone dynamics model, we find that the organization of such nanometer-scale shear transformation events into shear-band patterns is dependent on the spatial heterogeneity of the local shear moduli. A critical spatial correlation length of elastic heterogeneity is identified for the simulated MGs to achieve the best tensile ductility, which is associated with a transition of shear-band formation mechanisms, from stress-dictated nucleation and growth to structure-dictated strain percolation, as well as a saturation of elastically soft sites participating in the plastic flow. This discovery is important for the fundamental understanding of the role of spatial heterogeneity in influencing the deformation behavior of MGs. We believe that this can facilitate the design and development of new ductile monolithic MGs by a process of tuning the inherent heterogeneity to achieve enhanced ductility in these high-strength metallic alloys.
Physical Review B, 2011
In this study, we characterize the mechanical properties of Cu 64 Zr 36 nanoglasses under tensile load by means of large-scale molecular dynamics simulations and compare the deformation behavior to the case of a homogeneous bulk glass. The simulations reveal that interfaces act as precursors for the formation of multiple shear bands. In contrast, a bulk metallic glass under uniaxial tension shows inhomogeneous plastic flow confined in one dominant shear band. The results suggest that controlling the microstructure of a nanoglass can pave the way for tuning the mechanical properties of glassy materials.
International Journal of Plasticity, 2019
Structural heterogeneities in monolithic metallic glasses, i.e. free volume variations or stress/strain fields, are known to be pivotal for their plasticity but the mechanisms how they affect irreversible deformation remain poorly understood. We show that flash-annealing is a capable tool for modifying the free volume content and its distribution, which creates non-affine stress fields in a monolithic CuZr-based bulk metallic glass. Rather than the overall free volume, µm-scale regions of relaxed and rejuvenated glass govern plastic deformation. Complementary molecular dynamics simulations underpin the importance of the interfaces between relaxed and rejuvenated volumes for shear band proliferation. Not only can we reach unmatched states of metastability in metallic glasses with the present approach but also better understand the mechanisms underlying plasticity in monolithic but structurally heterogeneous metallic glasses.
Mechanics of Materials, 2013
We investigate the influence of various microstructural features on the deformation behavior of binary Cu 64 Zr 36 glasses by molecular dynamics computer simulations and discuss how and why the very same modifications established for enhancing the strengths of crystalline materials, namely the insertion of solutes, precipitates and grain boundaries, can be used for tuning the mechanical properties of metallic glasses. First, by testing bulk samples with and without open surfaces under tensile load, we show that the condensation of shear transformation zones into shear bands can occur as heterogeneous but also as a homogeneous nucleation process. Then, the influence of crystalline nanoprecipitates on shear band nucleation and propagation is investigated. Finally, we study the effect of grain size and composition on the deformation behavior of nanoglasses and nanoglass composites. The results reveal that glass-glass interfaces act as structural heterogeneities ,which promote shear band formation and prevent strain localization.
Nonaffine Strains Control Ductility of Metallic Glasses
Physical Review Letters
The origin of limited plasticity in metallic glasses is elusive, with no apparent link to their atomic structure. We propose that the response of the glassy structure to applied stress, not the original structure itself, provides a gauge to predict the degree of plasticity. We carried out high-energy x-ray diffraction on various bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) under uniaxial compression within the elastic limit and evaluated the anisotropic pair distribution function. We show that the extent of local deviation from the affine (uniform) deformation in the elastic regime is strongly correlated with the plastic behavior of BMGs beyond yield, across chemical compositions and sample history. The results suggest that the propensity for collective local atomic rearrangements under stress promotes plasticity.
Mechanics of Materials, 2008
Recently a finite-deformation and coupled thermo-mechanically-based theory for metallic glasses has been developed by Thamburaja and Ekambaram [Thamburaja, P., Ekambaram, R., 2007. Coupled thermo-mechanical modelling of bulk-metallic glasses: theory, finite-element simulations and experimental verification. J. Mech. Phys. Solids 55, 1236-1273], and implemented in the ABAQUS/Explicit (2007) finite-element program. In this work, we use the aforementioned constitutive model and its numerical algorithm to study the deformation behavior of a Pd-based metallic glass near its glass transition temperature. At a temperature of 564 K, the material parameters in the constitutive model were fit to the simple tension stress-strain curves and the steady-state free volume concentrations data for a variety of applied strain-rates obtained from De Hey et al.