Plasticity enhancement in Zr based bulk metallic glass by sand blasting

In the present work, sand-blasting has successfully been used for inducing plasticity in as cast Zr58.3Cu18.8Al14.6Ni8.3 bulk metallic glass (BMG). The as-cast BMG sample was blasted for 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 min. A considerable large plasticity was achieved in the samples blasted for 4 and 5 min without loosing their intrinsic strength. It was observed that there exists a threshold amount of pre-straining required for the generation and intersection of multiple shear bands useful for enhancing plasticity.