Cold welding of ultrathin metallic glass nanowires with side-to-side contact using molecular dynamics simulations

YH Zhang and JF Xu and YQ Hu and SH Ding and R Xia, MATERIALS TODAY COMMUNICATIONS, 32, 103937 (2022).

DOI: 10.1016/j.mtcomm.2022.103937

Cold welding can effectively join a wide variety of components, forming high quality assemblies. In this work, the cold welding behaviors of Cu- Zr metallic glass nanowires (MGNWs) in the form of side-to-side contact are investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. The mechanical performance of the welded MGNW is inspected by uniaxial tensile tests. Cold welding processes of MGNWs with various sizes and under different welding conditions are explored. Our results show that the strength of the welded MGNW at 50 K is less than 60% of that of the crude nanowire. At the same welding velocity, the change of welding time within a certain range does not influence the welding quality obviously. The increase in overlap width makes the welded MGNW stronger. The enhancement of welding temperature facilitates the atom diffusion activity, and thus strengthens the contact regions, improving the welding quality. We also compare the side-to-side contact and head-to- head contact cold welding. It is found that the former endows the welded MGNW with lower strength but better plasticity. This work provides a preliminary theoretical guideline on the cold welding of MGNWs for further experiments and to facilitate the engineering practice of cold welding.

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