Hole punching onto the Zr65Al10Ni10CU15BMG sheet fabricated by squeeze casting

Bulk metallic glass Zr65Al10Ni10Cu15 was fabricated in a sheet form with thickness 1.5 mm by a squeeze casting method. The structure of the as-cast Zr65Al10Ni10Cu15 sheet was confirmed to be fully amorphous. The sheet was punched into a blank under high hydrostatic pressure at room temperature. A round hole was created with a possible evidence for plastic-like deformation along the edge of rim. No visible cracks were observed around the hole. This result indicates that bulk metallic glasses, which are known to be very brittle at room temperature, can be deformed in a ductile mode under hydrostatic pressure condition. Hydrostatic pressure may suppress the formation and development of micro defects leading to ductile fracture.