Low temperature uniform plastic deformation of metallic glasses during elastic iteration

Molecular dynamics simulations and dynamic mechanical analysis experiments were employed to investigate the mechanical behavior of metallic glasses subjected to iteration deformation in a nominally elastic region. It was found that cyclic deformation leads to the formation of irreversible shear transformation zones (STZs) and a permanent uniform strain. The initiation of STZs is directly correlated with the atomic heterogeneity of the metallic glass and the accumulated permanent strain has a linear relation with the number of STZs. This study reveals a new deformation mode and offers insights into the atomic mechanisms of STZ formation and low temperature uniform plastic deformation of metallic glasses. (C) 2012 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.