Applicability of Pre-Plastic Deformation Method for Improving Mechanical Properties of Bulk Metallic Glasses

Abstract

Pre-plastic deformation (PPD) treatments on bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) have previously been shown to be helpful in producing multiple shear bands. In this work, the applicability of the PPD approach on BMGs with different Poisson’s ratios was validated based on experimental and simulation observations. It was found that for BMGs with high Poisson’s ratios (HBMGs, e.g., Zr56Co28Al16 and Zr46Cu46Al8), the PPD treatment can easily trigger a pair of large plastic deformation zones consisting of multiple shear bands. These PPD-treated HBMGs clearly display improved strength and compressive plasticity. On the other hand, the mechanical properties of BMGs with low Poisson’s ratios (LBMG, e.g., Fe48Cr15Mo14Y2C15B6) become worse due to a few shear bands and micro-cracks in extremely small plastic deformation zones. Additionally, for the PPD-treated HBMGs with similar high Poisson’s ratios, the Zr56Co28Al16 BMG exhibits much larger plasticity than the Zr46Cu46Al8 BMG. This phenomenon is mainly due to more defective icosahedral clusters in the Zr56Co28Al16 BMG, which can serve as nucleation sites for shear transformation zones (STZs) during subsequent deformation. The present study may provide a basis for understanding the plastic deformation mechanism of BMGs.

Effect of cyclic compression on the micromechanical properties of a Zr-based metallic glass

“…This ultimately manifested in an enhanced macro-plasticity in the MGs. Zhou et al reported that pre-plastic deformation (PPD) improved the mechanical properties of MGs (Zhou et al, 2022). This enhancement was related to Poisson's ratio, where PPD treatment in MGs with a high Poisson's ratio triggered the generation of multiple shear bands and enhanced their compression plasticity, while those with a low Poisson's ratio showed worse performance after PPD treatment.…”