Articles you may be interested inUnderstanding the correlations between Poisson's ratio and plasticity based on microscopic flow units in metallic glasses Low beryllium content Zr-based bulk metallic glass composite with plasticity and work hardenability J. Appl. Phys. 115, 043519 (2014); 10.1063/1.4863454 Symmetry breaking and other nonlinear elastic responses of metallic glasses subject to uniaxial loading

We characterize the evolution of flow units associated with the flow “defects” in metallic glass by monitoring the fictive temperature change of a typical metallic glass upon isothermal annealing below its glass transition temperature. The correlations between the fictive temperature Tf, enthalpy change, and the concentration of flow units have been obtained. Such correlations help in understanding the evolution process of flow units, structural feature, and structural relaxation behaviors in metallic glasses, and can rationalize effects of the cooling rate, aging, and annealing on properties and structure of metallic glasses.

The β relaxation is a crucial feature in metallic glasses (MGs). However, its structural origin is not fully elucidated. Using a contact resonance atomic force microscope, we investigated the local structural heterogeneity of MGs and its correlation with β relaxations. It was found that MGs have various degrees of the heterogeneity, resulting in different intensities of β relaxations. Local zones with a prominent heterogeneity lead to a broad energy state distribution and more pronounced β relaxation. Our results provide a direct experimental evidence to clarify the mechanism of the β relaxations, suggesting a guideline for controlling β relaxations of MGs. IMPACT STATEMENT The structural origin of β relaxations is correlated with structural heterogeneity in metallic glasses. The zones with prominent structural heterogeneity cause a broad energy state distribution and pronounced β relaxations.

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