Deformation Morphology underneath the Vickers Indent in Bulk Metallic Glasses

Plastic deformation behaviour of Zr52.5Al10Ni10Cu15Be12.5 and Mg65Cu25Gd10 bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) is studied by using the depth-sensing nanoindentation and microindentation. The subsurface plastic deformation zone of the BMGs is investigated using the bonded interface technique. Both the BMGs exhibit the serrated flow depending on the loading rate in the loading process of indentation. Slow indentation rates promote more conspicuous serrations, and rapid indentations suppress the serrated flow. Mg-based BMG shows a much higher critical loading rate for the disappearance of the serration than that in Zr-based BMG. The significant difference in the shear band pattern in the subsurface plastic deformation zone is responsible for the different deformation behaviour between the two BMGs. Increase of the loading rate can lead to the increase of the density of shear bands. However, there is no distinct change in the character of shear bands at the loading rate of as high as1000 nm/s.     

Dynamic characteristics of nanoindentation in Ni:A molecular dynamics simulation study

In this work,three-dimensional molecular dynamics simulation is carried out to elucidate the nanoindentation behaviour of single crystal Ni.The substrate indenter system is modelled using hybrid interatomic potentials including the manybody potential(embedded atom method) and two-body Morse potential.The spherical indenter is chosen,and the simulation is performed for different loading rates from 10 m/s to 200 m/s.Results show that the maximum indentation load and hardness of the system increase with the increase of velocity.The effect of indenter size on the nanoindentation response is also analysed.It is found that the maximum indentation load is higher for the large indenter whereas the hardness is higher for the smaller indenter.Dynamic nanoindentation is carried out to investigate the behaviour of Ni substrate to multiple loading-unloading cycles.It is observed from the results that the increase in the number of loading unloading cycles reduces the maximum load and hardness of the Ni substrate.This is attributed to the decrease in recovery force due to defects and dislocations produced after each indentation cycle.     

A Free-Volume Model for Thermal Expansion of Metallic Glass

Many mechanical,thermal and transport behaviors of polymers and metallic glasses are interpreted by the freevolume model,whereas their applications on thermal expansion behaviors of glasses is rarely seen.Metallic glass has a range of glassy states depending on cooling rate,making their coefficients of thermal expansion vary with the glassy states.Anharmonicity in the interatomic potential is often used to explain different coefficients of thermal expansion in crystalline metals or in different ...     

Serrated Plastic Flow in a Zr-based Bulk Metallic Glass During Nanoindentation

We investigate plastic deformation of Zr41.2Ti13.8 Cu12.sNi10Be22.5 bulk metallic glass using depth sensing nanoindentation. Numerous serrations in the load-displacement curves during indentation, shear bands and pile-ups around the indent were observed. The results revealed that the serrated plastic flow behaviour in this alloy depends strongly on the indentation strain rate.     

Effects of the laser surface treatment on the mechanical properties of CuZr-based bulk metallic glasses

Surfaces of three types of CuZr-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) were modified by laser surface treatment (LST), and the influence of the treatment on structure and mechanical properties of these alloys was investigated. The phase structure of as-cast and laser-treated samples was characterized by XRD and the morphology of the alloys after fracture was examined by SEM. The compressive plasticity of treated Cu47.5Zr47.5Al5 and Cu46.5Zr47.5Al5Co1 BMGs can be improved from 0.5% to 2.0% and from 1.2% to 5.7% respectively compared with the as-cast ones, while (Cu0.55Zr0.40Al0.05)99Er1 BMG shows insignificant change of plasticity. The improvement in plasticity is attributed to induced crystallization of B2 CuZr phase in the treated surface zone of selected metallic glasses.     

Molecular dynamics study of the mechanical characteristics of Ni/Cu bilayer using nanoindentation

<正>In the present work,a three-dimensional molecular dynamics simulation is carried out to perform the nanoindentation experiment on Ni single crystal.The substrate indenter system is modeled using hybrid interatomic potentials including the many-body potential embedded atom method(EAM),and two-body morse potential.To simulate the indentation process,a spherical indenter(diameter = 80 A,1 A=0.1 nm) is chosen.The results show that the mechanical behaviour of a monolithic Ni is not affected by crystalline orientation.To elucidate the effect of a heterogeneous interface, three bilayer interface systems are constructed,namely Ni(100)/Cu(111),Ni(110)/Cu(111),and Ni(111)/Cu(111).The simulations along these systems clearly describe that mechanical behaviour directly depends on the lattice mismatch. The interface with the smaller mismatch between the specified crystal planes is proved to be harder and vice versa.To describe the relationship between film thickness and interface effect,we choose various values of film thickness ranging from 20 A to 50 A to perform the nanoindentation experiment.It is observed that the interface is significant only for the relatively small thickness of film and the separation between interface and the indenter tip.It is shown that with the increase in film thickness,the mechanical behaviour of the film shifts more toward that of monolithic material.     

Effect of the cooling rate on plastic deformability of a Zr-based bulk metallic glass

The present work found the plastic deformability of Zr65Cu17.5Ni10Al7.5 BMG dependent on the cooling rate during the formation from the molten state alloy. The deformation behavior in the compression test of φ 2 mm Zr65Cu17.5Ni10Al7.5 BMGs as-cast or lathed from different sizes as-cast samples was characterized, and they exhibited different plastic strains. The compressive plastic strain increases with the decreasing diameter of the as-cast specimens, i.e. with increasing the cooling rate. It is suggested that free volume content in the BMGs, which is related to the cooling rate during the rapid solidification, could play an important role in the deformation process of the BMGs.     

Molecular Dynamics Study of Icosahedral Clusters in Ni-Zr Amorphous Alloys

Formation of icosahedral dusters in rapidly solidified binary amorphous NixZr100-x （x = 15, 33.3, 50, 66.7, 85） is studied by using molecular dynamics simulation methods. A large number of icosahedral dusters with 13 atoms （Ih13） were observed in NixZr100-x alloys, and most of them, even those in Zr-rich alloys, are found to be Ni-centred. Studies on the structures of Ni33.3Z66.7 obtained at different cooling rates demonstrate that most of iscosahedral dusters enhanced by decreasing cooling rates are also Ni-centred, The essentials of Ni atoms preferring to be the core of icosahedral clusters are illustrated with the criterion of energy minimization and the equilibrium interatomic distances between different atoms.     

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).     

Mechanical Behavior of Nanometer Ni by Simulating Nanoindentation

An indentation simulation of the crystal Ni is carried out by a molecular dynamics technique （MD） to study the mechanical behavior at nanometer scales. Indenter tips with both sphere shape and conical shape with 60° cone angle are used, and simulation samples with different crystal orientations are adopted. Some defects such as dislocations and point defects are observed. It is found that nucleated defects （dislocations, amorphous atoms） are from the local region near the pin tip or the sample surface. The temperature distribution of the local region is analyzed and it can explain our MD simulation results.     

Structural and Dynamic Properties of Amorphous Silicon： Tight-Binding Molecular Dynamics Simulation

The tight-binding molecular dynamics simulation has been performed to study structural and dynamical properties of amorphous silicon. It is found that the radial distribution function and static structure factor are in good agreement with the experimental measurements. The bond order parameters Q1 are sensitive to the structure change at different quenching rates. For the dynamical properties, we have calculated the vibration and electronic density of states. The simulation results show that the transverse acoustic is in good agreement with the experimental data, and the high frequency transverse optical (TO) peak shifts to the right of the experimental TO peak.     

High-Pressure Annealing Effect on Glass Transformation Temperature of Zr41Ti14Cu12.5Ni10Be22.5 Bulk Metallic Glass

Zr41 Ti14 Cu12.5Ni10Be22.5 bulk metallic glasses （BMG） are annealed at a temperature of 603 K under ambient and high pressures in the range of 3-6 GPa. The effect of high pressure annealing on the nanocrystallization process of compressed specimens is investigated by x-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and transmission electron microscopy. Experimental results show that the grain size of the crystalline phase decreases with the increasing pressure. For the Zr41Ti14Cu12.5Nil0Be22.5 BMG annealing at 603K in the pressure range of 0- 6 GPa, the activation energy 159.68 kJ/mol and the activation volume △V＊ =0.94 cm^3/mol are determined. The mechanism for the effects of the high pressure on the nanocrystallization process of the BMG is discussed.     

Improvement of Plasticity of Ti-Based Bulk Metallic Glasses by Addition of Nb

Ti-based bulk metallic glasses （Ti40Zr25Cu9NisBe18 ）100-x Nbx with x = 0 to 5 at. % are prepared by copper-mold casting. The glass formation ability is almost unchanged by addition of Nb. The compression plasticity is, however, apparently changed, from 3% at x = 0 to 13% at x = 3, about 330% increases at the strain rate of 1 × 10^-4 8^-1. The increment of the plasticity can be attributed to the segregation of Nb in the area of shear bands during the compression processing. An effective way to increase the plasticity of Ti-based bulk metallic glasses is thus proposed.     

Effect of Structural Relaxation on Deformation Behaviour of Zr-Based Metallic Glass

Structural relaxation through isothermal annealing at temperature below glass transition is conducted on Zr46.75 Ti8.25 CU7.5Ni11Be27.5 （Vitreloy-4） bulk metallic glass. Defect concentration is correlated with the annealing time t according to differential scanning calorimetry thermalgrams. The effects of structural relaxation on mechanical properties and deformation behaviour are investigated by using instrumented nanoindentation. It is found that the as-cast alloy exhibits pronounced serration flow during the loading process of nanoindentation, and the size and number of the serrations decrease with the annealing time. The change of the deformation behaviour with structural relaxation is explained using a free volume model.     

High-zirconium bulk metallic glasses with high strength and large ductility

In this paper,high-zirconium Zr66+2xAl9-x(Ni1/3Cu2/3) 25-x(x=0,1,2 at.%) bulk metallic glasses with high strength and large ductility were fabricated by copper mould casting.The effects of zirconium content on the glass-forming ability(GFA),thermal properties and mechanical properties were investigated using X-ray diffractometer(XRD),differential scanning calorimeter(DSC),and mechanical testing system in compressive and three-point bending modes,respectively.The high-zirconium BMGs show the critical diameters of 3-5 mm,the supercooled liquid region ranging from 70 K to 99 K,and the yield strength of over 1700 MPa.The Zr 70 Al 7(Ni1/3Cu2/3) 23 BMG exhibits a large compressive plastic strain up to 21% and a high notch toughness value of 60.6 MPa m 1/2.The increase in Zr content results in the decrease in GFA and thermostability,and in the improvement of plasticity under compressive and three-point bending conditions.The superior plasticity of high-zirconium BMGs is attributed to their high Poisson’s ratio and small elastic modulus ratio /B.     

Kinetics of the glass Transition of the Zr41Ti14Cu12.5Ni10Be22.5 Alloy Solidified in a Drop Tube

Droplets of Zr41Ti14Cu12.5Ni10Be22.5 glass-forming alloy with different sizes are solidified in a drop tube containerless process.The glass transition temperature Tg of Zr41Ti14Cu12.5Ni10Be22.5 glassy spheres solidified with different cooling rates is investigated by using a differential scanning calorimeter.It was found that all the amor phous spheres show an increase of Tg with the heating rate.The glassy spheres have a unique value for the glass transition activation energy Eg=435.50kJ/mol,which is independent of cooling rate q.The insensitivity of Tg to q is interpreted by an extension of the free volume model for flow.     

Ti-Zr-Be-Fe quaternary bulk metallic glasses designed by Fe alloying

A series of Ti-Zr-Be-Fe bulk metallic glasses(BMGs)with good glass-forming ability(GFA)and high specific strength have been developed.With different alloying routes and content of Fe,it is found that these alloys exhibit different GFA and mechanical properties.The effects of Fe addition on the GFA and mechanical properties of Ti-Zr-Be alloy are systemically investigated.The possible mechanisms for the improvement or damage to the GFA by addition of Fe can be interpreted in view of the mixing enthalpy,atomic size differences and electronegativity differences of the alloys,while the mechanical properties strongly depend on the Poisson’s ratio and free volume concentration.The experimental results also show that alloying technology is an effective method to improve the GFA and mechanical properties of Ti-Zr-Be glassy alloy.     

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.     

A Modified Free Volume Model for Characterizing of Rate Effect in Bulk Metallic Glasses

We investigate the plastic deformation and constitutive behaviour of bulk metallic glasses （BMGs）. A dimensionless Deborah number DeiD = tr/ti is proposed to characterize the rate effect in BMGs, where tr is the structural relaxing characteristic time of BMGs under shear load, ti is the macroscopic imposed characteristic time of applied stress or the characteristic time of macroscopic deformation. The results demonstrate that the modified free volume model can characterize the strain rate effect in BMGs effectively.     

Surface behaviour and undercooling in the liquid Ga—Bi binary system detected by optical second harmonic generation

We employ an optical second harmonic generation(SHG) technique to investigate the surface behaviours at the liquid(solid)/vapour interface of the Ga-Bi binary metallic system. In a heating and cooling cycle between 280℃ and room temperature, there is no change of the SH-intensity in the heating process, whereas there exists an abrupt and abnormal change of the SH-intensity in the cooling process. It is interesting to find that a macroscopic Bi-rich solid layer is floating on the surface of the Ga-rich liquid phase just below the monotectic temperature (222℃±2℃) in the cooling process, in spite of the Bi-rich phase being heavier than the Ga-rich phase. On the other hand, different undercooling behaviours are observed at the surface and in the bulk. The behaviours of surface solidification and surface melting are different from those in the bulk.