Deformation behavior of bulk and nanostructured metallic glasses studied via molecular dynamics simulations

D Sopu and Y Ritter and H Gleiter and K Albe, PHYSICAL REVIEW B, 83, 100202 (2011).

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.83.100202

In this study, we characterize the mechanical properties of Cu(64)Zr(36) nanoglasses under tensile load by means of large-scale molecular dynamics simulations and compare the deformation behavior to the case of a homogeneous bulk glass. The simulations reveal that interfaces act as precursors for the formation of multiple shear bands. In contrast, a bulk metallic glass under uniaxial tension shows inhomogeneous plastic flow confined in one dominant shear band. The results suggest that controlling the microstructure of a nanoglass can pave the way for tuning the mechanical properties of glassy materials.

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