Elevated temperature deformation behavior of Zr-based bulk metallic glasses

The deformation mechanism of Zr-based bulk metallic glasses (BMG) was investigated. The Zr-based bulk glass-forming alloys exhibit an extraordinary thermal stability allowing for processing them at conventional formal rate conditions in the supercooled liquid without ensuing crystallization. The Zr-based BMG's at temperatures around the glass transition show superplastic deformation behavior at strain rates up to 10-2 s-1 with a strain rate sensitivity of m equal to unity. The results show that the viscosity of BMG's was constant and the deformation mechanism was homogeneous Newtonian-viscous flow.