Stress-induced structural inhomogeneity and plasticity of bulk metallic glasses

The correlation between stress-induced structural inhomogeneity and plasticity in bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) was studied. It was found that the structural inhomogeneity induced by an appropriate stress field can markedly enhance macroscopic compressive plasticity in various monolithic BMGs. The origin for the plasticization is correlated to the size of the plastic zone of BMGs. (C) 2009 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.