Tetrachiral nanostructured metallic glasses with mechanically tunable performance

YH Zhang and JJ Li and QS Zhang and SH Ding and WW Wu and R Xia, MATERIALS CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS, 276, 125315 (2022).

DOI: 10.1016/j.matchemphys.2021.125315

Making use of the size effect of mechanical properties at the nanoscale and rational structural design, topological design of Cu50Zr50 tetrachiral nanostructured metallic glasses (CNMGs) is proposed. Molecular dynamics simulations of uniaxial tension are performed to explore the robust mechanical performances of the CNMGs, focusing on the effects of geometric characteristics such as ligament thickness, ligament length, and cavity radius on their mechanical behaviors. Our results show that tetrachiral structure can be employed for designing nanostructured metallic glasses (MGs) with remarkably improved elastic limit, excellent auxeticity, and enhanced ductility. A superior combination of high strength, remarkable ductility, and lightweight is observed for CNMGs with large cavity radii, which is different from traditional nanoporous materials. The coupling effects of the rotation and deformation of nodes, bending and stretching of ligaments lead to these superior mechanical properties. Our work not only offers a practical pathway to improve the ductility of MGs, but also reveals that the combination of lightweight, superior auxeticity, elevated ductility, and high strength can be concurrently obtained via nanostructural design.

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