The kinetics of irreversible structural relaxation and rheological behavior of metallic glasses under quasi-static loading

It is shown that the directional structural relaxation (DSR) model supplemented by the Maxwell rheological model allows the derivation of a set of simple equations that describe within a common framework a number of mechanical relaxation phenomena induced by irreversible structural relaxation of metallic glasses under quasi-static loading. A comparison of the model predictions with literature experimental data is made. It is concluded that the equations derived are supported by available experimental findings. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.