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Atomistic basis for the plastic yield criterion of metallic glass

Nature Materials volume 2, pages 449–452 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Because of their disordered atomic structure, amorphous metals (termed metallic glasses) have fundamentally different deformation mechanisms compared with polycrystalline metals. These different mechanisms give metallic glasses high strength, but the extent to which they affect other macroscopic deformation properties is uncertain. For example, the nature of the plastic-yield criterion is a point of contention, with some studies reporting yield behaviour roughly in line with that of polycrystalline metals, and others indicating strong fundamental differences. In particular, it is unclear whether pressure- or normal stress-dependence needs to be included in the plastic-yield criterion of metallic glasses, and how such a dependence could arise from their disordered structure1,2,3,4. In this work we provide an atomic-level explanation for pressure-dependent yield in amorphous metals, based on an elementary unit of deformation. This simple model compares favourably with new atomistic simulations of metallic glasses, as well as existing experimental data.

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Figure 1: Shear transformation zones in metallic glasses.
Figure 2: Fundamental yield criterion for an elementary shear transformation zone.
Figure 3: Yield surface of a metallic glass.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially supported by the Defense University Research Initiative on NanoTechnology (DURINT) on damage and failure resistant nanostructured materials, which is funded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology by the US Office of Naval Research, Grant No. N00014-01-1-0808.

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  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, 02139, Massachusetts, USA

    Christopher A. Schuh & Alan C. Lund

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  1. Christopher A. Schuh
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Correspondence to Christopher A. Schuh.

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Schuh, C., Lund, A. Atomistic basis for the plastic yield criterion of metallic glass. Nature Mater 2, 449–452 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat918

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