Amorphous metallic alloys, relative newcomers to the world of glasses, have properties that are unusual for solid metals. The metallic glasses, which exist in a very wide variety of compositions, combine fundamental interest with practical applications. They also serve as precursors for exciting new nanocrystalline materials. Their magnetic (soft and hard) and mechanical properties are of particular interest.

A review of measurements and atomistic modeling shows that shear bands in metallic glasses have a characteristic thickness of ∼10nm. Such extreme localization of plastic deformation, within a thicker liquidlike layer implied by fracture-surface morphology, cannot have a thermal origin. By analogy with granular materials, the thickness is linked to the local structural rearrangements required to generate dilatation. This analysis suggests that first-coordination-shell clusters may be significant structural units in metallic glasses.

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Scanning electron microscopy observations of shear steps on Zr-based bulk metallic glasses show direct evidence of shear band melting due to heat generated by elastic energy release. The estimated range of attained temperatures and the observed morphologies are consistent with shear steps forming at a subsonic speed limited by a required redistribution of local microscopic stresses. The calculations indicate that a 0.2μm layer melts in the vicinity of a shear band forming a 1μm shear step. The plastic part of the stress strain curve is serrated but a majority of shear events are not associated to serrations.

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