We report a composite material consisting of precipitated micron-scale Ta-rich solid solution particles distributed in a bulk metallic glass matrix. The reinforcing ductile particles are precipitated during melting of the master alloy of glass-forming (Zr70Ni10Cu20)82Ta8Al10, by using previously prepared metastable Zr–Ta solid solution binary ingots. Upon cooling from the melt, the matrix undergoes a glass transition to produce an amorphous phase while the particles of precipitated Ta solid solution are distributed in the glass matrix. The resulting material not only shows high strength (∼2.1 GPa), but also has dramatically enhanced plastic strain to failure in uniaxial compression relative to single-phase bulk metallic glasses. The composite also displays limited tensile ductility.

Bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) possess a combination of many unique properties, including ultrahigh strength, superelasticity, high resistance to corrosion, and good fatigue characteristics. [1][2][3][4][5] Some of these materials exhibit superconductivity at low temperatures, [6] as well as show good magnetic properties. [7] Therefore, BMGs have a wide range of promising applications and have attracted considerable scientific and technological interest over the last few decades. [8][9][10][11][12][13] At present, studies of the mechanical properties of these materials in the literature are generally confined to mechanical tests at room temperature or above. [1][2][3][4][5][8][9][10][11][12][13] The mechanical behavior of BMGs at cryogenic temperatures is yet to be investigated in detail. The aim of this communication is to study the compressive behavior of a Zr-based metallic glass at 77 K. The amorphous state of the as-cast Zr 57.4 Cu 17.9 Ni 13.4 -Al 10.3 Nb 1 alloy was verified using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The compressive stressstrain curves for this alloy at 298 and 77 K are shown in Figure 1, and the compressive properties are summarized in Table 1. This material exhibits typical BMG features of high strength and low global plasticity. Interestingly, a comparison of curves A and B demonstrates that at the same strain rate of 2 × 10 -4 s -1 both the strength and plasticity increase at 77 K.Moreover, at 77 K, the strength increases upon increasing the strain rate, which is quite different from previously reported results that have suggested the absence of a strong strength dependence on the strain rate at room temperature. [5,14] Due to the absence of any lattice order, the dislocation-mediated deformation mechanism seen in crystalline materials is not applicable in BMGs. In the vicinity of the glass-transition temperature, T g , the deformation of the BMGs is homogeneous, while at temperatures lower than T g , the plastic deformation becomes inhomogeneous, with highly localized shear bands. [1,15] The material starts yielding at the onset of shearband formation. Although this shear localization has often been observed experimentally, the physical mechanisms related to the initiation of the shear band are still not well established. Simulation and modeling results suggest that the shearband nucleation is associated with an excess free volume and that it starts around the region of free-volume concentration with a scale of several atomic diameters. [15][16][17][18] In as-cast metallic glasses, there is plenty of non-equilibrium atomic-scale free volume, caused by the quenching process. [19] Such free volume can also be generated by the applied stresses, by squeezing atoms into spaces smaller than themselves.[20] Concentration of the free-volume zones can lead to a local increase in the inelastic strain and energy, as well as cause a concentration of the local shear stress. [16] Furthermore, changes in the free-volume concentration are determined by a diffusion-like equation...

Mechanical properties of bulk Zr60Cu20Pd10Al10 nanocrystalline composite and Zr55Ni5Cu30Al10 metallic glass were measured by compression tests at room temperature. The Zr60Cu20Pd10Al10 as-quenched alloy obviously exhibits plastic strain while no distinct plastic deformation is recognized in the Zr55Ni5Cu30Al10 metallic glass. Moreover, the plastic strain increased by increasing the volume fraction of nanocrystals and achieved maximum value in the early stage of the nanocrystallization. High-resolution electron microscopy showed that, different from the microstructure of Zr55Ni5Cu30Al10 metallic glass, nanocrystals with main grain sizes of about 2 nm were embedded in the amorphous matrix of the bulk Zr60Cu20Pd10Al10 alloy which showed the maximum plastic strain.

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