Shear stability of metallic glasses

The effect of sample size on the shear deformation and compressive plasticity of different metallic glasses were investigated. The experimental results showed that the deformation and fracture behaviors of samples prepared from chemically identical Zr-, Ti-, Fe-, or Mg-based metallic glass ingots were strongly dependent on the sample size and machine stiffness, and a super-high compressive plasticity was achieved in the Zr-based metallic glasses with sample size of 1.0 mm in width. It is also found that the sample size can significantly influence the density of elastic energy dissipated in the shear band: with sample size decreasing and machine stiffness increasing, the density of the elastic energy dissipated in the shear band of metallic glasses is prominently decreased, thus the shear deformation turns to be more stable, resulting in the improvement of plasticity in ductile metallic glasses and the transition from fragmentation fracture to shear fracture in brittle metallic glasses. This finding is important for the potential applications of the present metallic glasses and for designing new metallic glasses with better mechanical properties.