Search for the Microscopic Origin of Defects and Shear Localization in Metallic Glasses

摘要

This proposed research addresses one of the long outstanding fundamental problems in materials science, the mechanisms of deformation in amorphous metals. Due to the lack of long-range translational order, details of structural defects and their behaviors in metallic glasses have not been accessible in experiments. In addition, the small dimensions of the amorphous alloys made early by rapid quenching impose severe limit on many standard mechanical and microscopy testing. As a result, the microscopic mechanism of deformation in the amorphous materials has not been established. The recent success in synthesis of bulk metallic glass overcomes the difficulty in standard testing$ but the barrier for understanding the defect process and microscopic mechanisms of deformation still remains. Amorphous metals deform in a unique way by shear banding. As a result, there is no work hardening, little macroscopic plasticity, and catastrophic failure. To retain and improve the inherent high strength, large elastic strain, and high toughness in amorphous metals, a variety of synthesis activities are currently underway including making metallic glass matrix composites. These new explorations call for a quantitative understanding of deformation mechanisms in both the monolithic metallic glasses as well as their composites.