Irreversible structural relaxation in a bulk Pd-Cu-Ni-P metallic glass

The evolution of the shear modulus and the damping decrement during irreversible structural relaxation in a bulk Pd₄₀Cu₃₀Ni₁₀P₂₀ metallic glass in a temperature range below the glass transition temperature has been studied with an inverse torsion pendulum at a frequency of ～25 Hz. It is shown that the irreversible relaxation can be recovered via quenching from temperatures above the glass transition temperature. The spectrum shape, the characteristic activation energies, and the attempt frequencies of the irreversible structural relaxation are estimated.     

Interactions between high-temperature deformation and crystallization in zirconium-based bulk metallic glasses

High-temperature deformation of a ZrTiCuNiBe bulk metallic glass (BMG) is investigated by compression tests in the supercooled liquid region. When the temperature is decreased or strain rate increased, the amorphous alloy exhibits the usual Newtonian/non-Newtonian transition behaviour. Using specific heat treatments, partially crystallized alloys are produced, the associated microstructures characterized and the volume fractions of the crystal measured. The interaction between high-temperature deformation and crystallization is investigated by appropriate mechanical testing. According to these measurements, partial crystallization is responsible for a significant increase in flow stress and the promotion of non-Newtonian behaviour. Deformation does not significantly change the volume fraction, composition or size of the crystal. The flow-stress increase with crystallization is analyzed under different hypotheses. We conclude that the flow-stress increase cannot be interpreted through a compositional change in the residual amorphous matrix, either by reinforcement due to hard crystallites or by connections between crystals. It appears that the effect is due to the nanometric size of the crystals alone.     

LaGa-based bulk metallic glasses

We report the formation of La Ga-based bulk metallic glasses. Ternary La–Ga–Cu glassy rods of 2–3 mm in diameter can be easily formed in a wide composition range by the conventional copper mold casting method. With minor addition of extra elements such as Co, Ni, Fe, Nb, Y, and Zr, the critical diameter of the full glassy rods of the La–Ga–Cu matrix can be markedly enhanced to at least 5 mm. The characteristics and properties of these new La Ga-based bulk metallic glasses with excellent glass formation ability and low glass transition temperature are model systems for fundamental issues investigation and could have some potential applications in micromachining field.     

Ni-based Ni-Fe-B-Si-Ta bulk metallic glasses

The glass-forming ability and properties of Ni-based Ni-Fe-B-Si-Ta bulk metallic glasses are explored in this work. The alloy compositions are determined by using a combination of the cluster line approach, the multi-alloying strategy and the substitutions of similar elements. Bulk metallic glasses with diameters of 3 mm take shape at compositions formulated under the clus- ter-plus-glue-atom model [M9B]B~[(Ni1-xFex)7.71(Si0.66Ta0.34)1.29B]B0.94=(Ni1-xFex)70.5B17.7Si7.8Ta4, x=0.35–0.45, where the bracketed part is the cluster and the unbracketed part is the glue atoms. These alloys exhibit good magnetic properties. The maximum Is is found in the (Ni0.55Fe0.45)70.5B17.7Si7.8Ta4 alloy which reaches 0.51 T, with its Hc as low as 8.5 A/m. Interestingly, these alloys display dual glass transitions at (Ni0.65Fe0.35)70.5B17.7Si7.8Ta4, (Ni0.60Fe0.4)70.5B17.7Si7.8Ta4 and (Ni0.55Fe0.45)70.5B17.7- Si7.8Ta4 as unveiled by Temperature-Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimetry.     

Developing aluminum-based bulk metallic glasses

This paper details a systematic investigation of the formation of Al-based bulk metallic glasses, expanding on an earlier brief report [Scripta Mater. 61 (2009) p.423]. We discuss an approach for designing and predicting the best glass-forming composition in the Al–TM–RE systems, based on the atomic cluster packing model for the internal structure of the glass. The effects of additional elements in quaternary and quinary systems on the glass-forming ability and thermal stability of the glasses are also discussed. Three new compositions, Al₈₆Ni₆Y_4.5Co₂La_1.5, Al₈₆Ni₇Y₅Co₁La₁ and Al₈₆Ni₇Y_4.5Co₁La_1.5, are capable of forming fully glassy rods of 1 mm in diameter; their glass transition and other thermal properties are systematically characterized.     

Isomechanical groups in bulk metallic glasses

Isomechanical groups are, as defined by Frost and Ashby [H.J. Frost and M.F. Ashby, Deformation–Mechanism Maps, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1982], separate classes of materials that exhibit similar deformation and transport properties when normalised by an appropriate parameter. Fundamentally, this separation results from significant differences in material structure and bonding. Here, such an analysis is applied to 40 bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) grouped into three classes according to their Poisson's ratio, which is known to be an indicator of intrinsic toughness. Through rigorous statistical analysis, it is found that isomechanical groups are present and that they may result from (1) variation in the tendency for directional bonding, and (2) how liquid-like the structure is, which may be characterised by a quantification of local volumetric strain. These results suggest that, although experimentally observed properties from BMGs in different isomechanical groups are all typically considered within the same framework, differences in atomic packing and inter-atomic bonding mean that they should in fact be treated separately. These fundamental differences in bonding and structure may explain the known large variation in the tendency for toughness and plasticity in BMGs.     

金属玻璃的热塑性成型

金属玻璃在其过冷液相区内表现出随着温度升高黏度逐渐降低的特性,因此可以对其进行热塑性加工.该性质颠覆了传统金属的加工成型方式,使得其在远低于传统金属材料加工的温度和应力作用下可以按照人们的要求进行成型.因此,一些具有低玻璃转变温度的金属玻璃又被称作金属塑料.另外,由于金属玻璃是一种无序结构材料,不存在位错、晶界等晶体缺陷,且热膨胀系数小,在热塑性成型中具有优异的尺寸精度,因此被认为是理想的微成型材料,有广阔的应用前景.本文系统介绍了金属玻璃的热塑性成型性质及其应用,从热塑性成型的基本概念出发,阐述了金属玻璃热塑性成型能力的评估指标、热塑性成型技术、热塑性微成型及其理论、热塑性微成型的应用等,对认识金属玻璃的热塑性及扩展其应用有重要的意义.     

Internal friction peaks in metallic glasses

Low-temperature, thermally-activated internal friction peaks have been observed in three binary metallic glasses containing only metallic components: Cu₅₀Zr₅₀, Co₃₅Y₆₅ and Co₃₅Dy₆₅. The magnitudes of the activation energies and the characteristic relaxation times obtained for these materials as well as the sharpness of the peaks point to process involving either atomic jumps of a specific nature or similar localized reordering. Possible local structural configurations with built-in, non-uniform stress distributions that could lead to such relaxation effects are discussed.     

超高强块体非晶合金的研究进展

研制具有极限力学性能的金属材料一直是材料研究人员的梦想.超高强块体非晶合金是一类具有极高断裂强度(4 GPa)、高热稳定性(玻璃化转变温度通常高于800 K)和高硬度(通常高于12 GPa)的新型先进金属材料,其代表合金材料Co-Ta-B的断裂强度可达6 GPa,为目前公开报道的块体金属材料的强度记录值.本文系统地综述了该类超高强度块体非晶合金的组分、热学性能、弹性模量及力学性能,阐述了该类材料的研发历程;以弹性模量为联系桥梁,阐明了该类超高强块体非晶合金材料各物理性能的关联性,并揭示了其高强度、高硬度的价键本质.相关内容对于材料工作者了解该类超高强度金属材料的性能和特点,并推进该类材料在航空航天先进制造、超持久部件、机械加工等领域的实际应用有着重要意义.     

Extraordinary plasticity of ductile bulk metallic glasses

Shear bands generally initiate strain softening and result in low ductility of metallic glasses. In this Letter, we report high-resolution electron microscope observations of shear bands in a ductile metallic glass. Strain softening caused by localized shearing was found to be effectively prevented by nanocrystallization that is in situ produced by plastic flow within the shear bands, leading to large plasticity and strain hardening. These atomic-scale observations not only well explain the extraordinary plasticity that was recently observed in some bulk metallic glasses, but also reveal a novel deformation mechanism that can effectively improve the ductility of monolithic metallic glasses.     

Magnetic properties of Sm-based bulk metallic glasses

We perform detailed investigation on the magnetization and specific heat of Sm-based ternary bulk metallic glasses with different Co contents at low temperature. A low temperature cluster spin-glass phase below T_f ∼25 K is evidenced for all samples. This cluster spin-glass behavior is ascribed to competition among the multi-fold magnetic interactions and the intrinsic structural inhomogeneity. The magnetic relaxation behavior of the spin-glass phase can be well described using the stretched exponential dynamics. The magnetic hysteresis under field-cooling condition and spin dynamics further demonstrate the low temperature cluster spin-glass behavior. It is revealed that the Co atoms play an important role in modulating the physical properties of the present Sm-based ternary metallic glasses.     

Collective dynamics of Zr-based bulk metallic glasses

The collective dynamics for the longitudinal as well as the transverse modes of the phonon eigenfrequencies are carried out for three Zr-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) in the present paper by employing pseudopotential theory. The theoretical phonon models proposed by Hubbard-Beeby (HB), Takeno-Goda (TG) and Bhatia-Singh (BS) are used to generate the phonon dispersion curves (PDC). The elastic and thermodynamic properties have also been investigated for the said BMGs by using the elastic limit of the phonon dispersion curves. The screening impact was also observed by using five different forms of local field functions due to Hartree (H), Taylor (T), Ichimaru and Utsumi (IU), Faridet al. (F) and Sarkaret al. (S) for the aforesaid properties. The derived results are seen to be in qualitative agreement with the available experimental and theoretically calculated data, as they confirm the applicability of Shaw's constant core model potential and self-consistent phonon theory for such studies.     

Thermodynamical properties of Zr-based bulk metallic glasses

The temperature dependence of Gibb's free energy difference (ΔG), entropy difference (ΔS) and enthalpy difference (ΔH) between the undercooled melt and the corresponding equilibrium solid phases of bulk metallic glass (BMG) forming melts has been proved to be very useful in the study of their thermodynamical behavior. The present study is made by calculating ΔG, ΔS and ΔH in the entire temperature range T_m (melting temperature) to T_g (glass transition temperature) for three Zr-based samples of BMGs: Zr₅₇Cu_15.4Ni_12.6Al₁₀Nb₅, Zr_41.2Ti_13.8Ni₁₀Cu_12.5Be_22.5 and Zr_58.5Cu_15.6Ni_12.8Al_10.3Nb_2.8. The study is made on the basis of Taylor's series expansion and a comparative study is also performed between the present result and the result obtained in the framework of expansions proposed by earlier workers, and also with the experimental results. An attempt has also been made to study the glass forming ability for BMGs.     

Mechanisms of inelastic deformation in metallic glasses

The phenomenology of inelastic deformation in metallic glasses is briefly reviewed. This is followed by a short review of methods used to characterize the glassy structure. Considerable emphasis is put on the amorphous soap bubble raft as a two-dimensional analog medium that can give quantitatively accurate simulations of both the structural properties ofmetallic glasses and the mechanisms of their inelastic deformation. Analysis of such sheared bubble rafts has established that the basic ingredient of inelastic deformation in these materials is shear transformations occurring in small, atomic size volume elements that are only weakly interacting. Through the use of an inter-bubble potential, the changes in energy of these shear transformations can be analyzed in great detail. This has disclosed a remarkable capability in the model to parallel and predict complex relaxation phenomena in metallic glasses down to the detail of simulating the distributed nature of the structure and the free energies for transformation. This has led further to a very satisfactory model for the kinetics of anelastic and viscoplastic response of the structure for processes on shear localization, and nas led even to a semi-quantitative model for embrittlement resulting from physical ageing.     

Fe-B-Y-Nb bulk metallic glasses in relation to clusters

Bulk metallic glass formations in the Fe-B-Y-Nb quaternary alloy system were investigated by using the cluster line rule in combination with the minor alloying principle. The Fe-B-Y ternary system was selected as the basic system and the intersections of cluster lines were taken as the basic ternary compositions. The basic compositions were further alloyed with minor amounts of Nb. After 3–5 at.% Nb was added, the basic composition Fe_68.6B_25.7Y_5.7, which was developed from the most densely packed cluster Fe₈B₃, formed 3 mm bulk metallic glasses. These quaternary bulk metallic glasses (Fe_68.6B_25.7Y_5.7)_100−x Nb _x (x = 3–5 at.%) are expressed approximately with a unified simple composition formula: (Fe₈B₃)₁(Y, Nb)₁. The (Fe_68.6B_25.7Y_5.7)₉₇Nb₃ bulk metallic glass has the largest glass forming ability with the following characteristic parameters T _g = 907 K, T _x = 1006 K, T _g/T _l = 0.644, γ = 0.434, and longness t = 22 mm. The combination of the cluster line rule and the minor-alloying principle is a promising new route towards the quantitative composition design of multi-component metallic glasses. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 50671018, 50631010 and 50401020) and the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2007CB613902)     

Cu-Zr-Ti系Cu基块体非晶合金的形成和成分优化

利用与团簇相关的变电子浓度判据研究了过渡金属Cu-Zr-Ti系中Cu基块体非晶合金的形成区域和成分特征.据此判据在Cu-Zr-Ti系相图中确定出三条特殊的成分线，(Cu_9／13Zr_4／13)_100-xTi_x，(Cu_0.618Zr_0.382)_100-xTi_x和(Cu_0.56Zr_0.44)关键词： 块体非晶合金 Cu-Zr-Ti合金 原子团簇 电子浓度     

非晶塑性变形机理研究新进展

非晶合金的塑性变形机理一直是材料科学和凝聚态物理研究的热点问题之一.文章简单介绍了近来中国科学院物理研究所在非晶合金塑性机理研究方面的最新进展,介绍了玻璃转变和塑性变形机制之间的关联性及最新的实验证据,以及从非平衡态统计力学角度对非晶塑性变形机制的理解,指出非晶合金的塑性和剪切带的动力学状态密切相关,发现韧性非晶合金在变形过程中可以演化到自组织临界状态.这对认识非晶合金的形成本质,探索具有实际应用价值的非晶合金具有重要意义.     

非晶塑性变形机理研究新进展

非晶合金的塑性变形机理一直是材料科学和凝聚态物理研究的热点问题之一.文章简单介绍了近来中国科学院物理研究所在非晶合金塑性机理研究方面的最新进展,介绍了玻璃转变和塑性变形机制之间的关联性及最新的实验证据,以及从非平衡态统计力学角度对非晶塑性变形机制的理解,指出非晶合金的塑性和剪切带的动力学状态密切相关,发现韧性非晶合金在变形过程中可以演化到自组织临界状态.这对认识非晶合金的形成本质,探索具有实际应用价值的非晶合金具有重要意义.     

Three-point bending fracture characteristics of bulk metallic glasses

This paper presents the SEM micrographs for the three-point bending fracture surfaces of Zr-based, Ce-based and Mg-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs), which show the dimple structures in the three kinds of BMGs. The shapes of the giant plastic deformation domain on the fracture surface are similar but the sizes are different. The fracture toughness KC and the dimple structure size of the Zr-based BMG are both the largest, and those of the Mg-based BMG are the smallest. The fracture toughness KC and the dimple structure size of the Ce-based BMG are between those of the Zr-based and the Mg-based BMG. Through analyzing the data of different fracture toughnesses of the BMGs, we find that the plastic zone width follows w = (KC/σY)2/(6π).     

Structural signature of plastic deformation in metallic glasses

The structure feature of a model CuZr metallic glass during deformation is investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. A spatially heterogeneous irreversible rearrangement is observed in terms of nonaffine displacement. We find that regions with smaller nonaffine displacement have more Voronoi pentagons, while in those with larger nonaffine displacement other types of faces are more populated. We use the degree of local fivefold symmetry (LFFS) as the structural indicator to predict plastic deformation of local structures and find that the plastic events prefer to be initiated in regions with a lower degree of LFFS and propagate toward regions with a higher degree of LFFS.