Plasticity in bulk metallic glasses investigated via the strain distribution

We measured the atomic-scale elastic strain in order to investigate the yielding of Zr55Cu20Ni10Al10Ti5 and Cu47.5Zr47.5Al5 bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) by x-ray synchrotron radiation at room temperature. High resolution strain scanning reveals a deviation from the linear stress-strain relationship at the onset of macroplastic flow. Similar to polycrystalline metals, a saturation of the elastic strain components has been revealed in the case of the plastic Cu47.5Zr47.5Al5 BMG. The results show that the atomic-level elastic strains of the plastic Cu47.5Zr47.5Al5 BMG are more homogeneous compared to the brittle Zr55Cu20Ni10Al10Ti5 glass.