Deformation and Failure of Zr₅₇Ti₅Cu₂₀Ni₈Al₁₀ Bulk Metallic Glass Under Quasi-static and Dynamic Compression

We have examined the mechanical behavior of Zr₅₇Ti₅Cu₂₀Ni₈Al₁₀ bulk metallic glass under uniaxial compression at strain rates from 10⁻⁴to 3 × 10^{3 s−1}. The failure stress decreases with increasing strain rate, and shear-band formation remains the dominant deformation mechanism. A consideration of basic properties of adiabatic shear bands makes it appear unlikely that shear bands formed under quasi-static loading are adiabatic; in the dynamic case, the time scales of deformation and thermal conduction are similar, indicating that a more sophisticated calculation is required. In the dynamic tests, however, high-speed cinematography reveals evidence that the mechanism of failure involves an adiabatic component.