Severe deformation-induced microstructural heterogeneities in Cu64Zr36 metallic glass

Deformation-induced rejuvenation is a promising strategy to improve the macroscopic plasticity of metallic glasses (MGs). Here, molecular dynamics simulations are performed to investigate the rejuvenated MGs' atomic structure and mechanical behavior with high-pressure torsion (HPT) processing. The HPT induces the formation of soft and hard regions in MGs, which dramatically improves the microstructural heterogeneity. Potential energy, pair distribution function, short-range order, medium-range order, and vibrational behavior in HPT-deformed MGs are characterized. The microstructure of soft regions similar to the configuration slightly above the glass transition temperature can be adjusted by torsion angle, ultimately controlling the transformation of MGs from brittleness to ductility. These findings provide valuable guidelines for the design of MGs with enhanced deformability.

Automated summary

Deformation-induced rejuvenation is a promising strategy to improve the macroscopic plasticity of metallic glasses. In this study, molecular dynamics simulations are used to investigate the atomic structure and mechanical behavior of rejuvenated metallic glasses with high-pressure torsion processing. The results show that high-pressure torsion processing can improve the microstructural heterogeneity of metallic glasses and control their transition from brittleness to ductility.