Stress-annealing induced quasistatic creep recovery in ZrCuAlNi metallic glass

The relationship between the structural relaxation of metallic glasses and their heterogeneous structure, characterized by a weakly bonded region and a strongly bonded region, remains ambiguous. Thus, our study aimed to explore the connection between the heterogeneous structure and structural relaxation by investigating the quasi-elastic and viscoelastic behavior of a Zr ₅₅Cu ₃₀Ni ₅Al ₁₀ metallic glass. Stress-annealing (SA) treatment was employed to retain elastic strain energy by subjecting the sample to constant stress and temperature. During the reheating of the SA-treated sample, we observed a unique shrinkage and elongation phenomenon in the glassy-solid region, known as creep recovery (CR). To qualitatively describe the mechanisms of elastic strain energy retention and release, we employed the Maxwell model, which accounts for the heterogeneous structure. The residual elastic strain energy was determined by the discrepancy in relaxation ability within the heterogeneous structure, and the shrinkage and elongation of the CR were associated with structural relaxation.