Mesoscale modeling of amorphous metals by shear transformation zone dynamics

A new mesoscale modeling technique for the thermo-mechanical behavior of metallic glasses is proposed. The modeling framework considers the shear transformation zone (STZ) as the fundamental unit of deformation, and coarse-grains an amorphous collection of atoms into an ensemble of STZs on a mesh. By employing finite element analysis and a kinetic Monte Carlo algorithm, the modeling technique is capable of simulating glass processing and deformation on time and length scales greater than those usually attainable by atomistic modeling. A thorough explanation of the framework is presented, along with a specific two-dimensional implementation for a model metallic glass. The model is shown to capture the basic behaviors of metallic glasses, including high-temperature homogeneous flow following the expected constitutive law, and low-temperature strain localization into shear bands. Details of the effects of processing and thermal history on the glass structure and properties are also discussed. (C) 2009 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.