Effect of crystalline phase on deformation behaviors of amorphous matrix in a metallic glass composite

In metallic glass composites (MGCs), the existence of crystalline phases causes the structures of amorphous matrix to become relatively heterogeneous near the crystalline phase, resulting in the difference of mechanical properties in micro- or nano-scale in amorphous matrix near crystalline/matrix interface. In this study, this difference was characterized by nanoindentation technology, and the pile-up height was quantitatively related to the activation volume of shear transformation zones (STZs). Molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to investigate the activation behaviors of STZs during nanoindentation process of amorphous matrix. The influences of crystalline phase on deformation behaviors of amorphous matrix near the interface in MGCs were analyzed in details.

Automated summary

In metallic glass composites (MGCs), the presence of crystalline phases leads to structural heterogeneity in the amorphous matrix near the crystalline phase, resulting in differences in mechanical properties at the micro- or nano-scale near the crystalline/matrix interface. This study quantitatively relates the pile-up height to the activation volume of shear transformation zones (STZs) to characterize this difference using nanoindentation technology. Molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to investigate the activation behaviors of STZs during the nanoindentation process of the amorphous matrix, and the influences of crystalline phases on the deformation behaviors of the amorphous matrix near the interface in MGCs were analyzed in detail.