Effect of spatial heterogeneity on level of rejuvenation in Ni₈₀P₂₀ metallic glass

Abstract

Understanding the relation between spatial heterogeneity and structural rejuvenation is one of the hottest topics in the field of metallic glasses (MGs). In this work, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was implemented to discover the effects of initial spatial heterogeneity on the level of rejuvenation in the Ni80P20 MGs. For this purpose, the samples were prepared with cooling rates of 1010-1012 K/s to make glassy alloys with different atomic configurations. Firstly, it was found that the increase in the cooling rate leads to the widening of Gaussian-type shear modulus distribution, indicating the aggregation in both elastically soft and hard regions. After the primary evaluations, the elastostatic loading was also applied to induce structural rejuvenation into the atomic configurations. The results indicated that the sample with intermediate structural heterogeneity, i.e. prepared with 1011 K/s, exhibited the maximum structural rejuvenation. This event is due to the fact that the atomic configuration in an intermediate structure contains more potential sites for generating the maximum atomic rearrangement and loosely packed regions under an external excitation. The features of atomic rearrangement and structural changes under the rejuvenation process are discussed in details.

An investigation on plastic deformation and nanomechanical properties of Cu60Zr40/ Ni80P20 amorphous nanolaminates

“…32 It is reported that the P atoms act as the solute constitute, prohibiting the significant formation of P-P bonds in the atomic configuration. 32 As can be observed, the main MRO peak is created in the range of 0. After the initial characterization of monolithic samples, the nanomechanical behavior of MG nanolaminates was studied.…”

“…For monolithic Ni 80 P 20 MG, the Ni-P (0.215 nm) and Ni-Ni (0.262 nm) pairs are responsible for the formation of SRO peak in the PDF analysis. 32 It is reported that the P atoms act as the solute constitute, prohibiting the significant formation of P-P bonds in the atomic configuration. 32 As can be observed, the main MRO peak is created in the range of 0.39–0.64 nm, showing that the variety of connection type of SRO clusters is much higher than that detected in Cu 60 Zr 40 MG.…”

“…32 It is reported that the P atoms act as the solute constitute, prohibiting the significant formation of P-P bonds in the atomic configuration. 32 As can be observed, the main MRO peak is created in the range of 0.39–0.64 nm, showing that the variety of connection type of SRO clusters is much higher than that detected in Cu 60 Zr 40 MG. Moreover, the SRO and MRO peak intensities in the Ni 80 P 20 MG are considerably less than the Cu 60 Zr 40 alloy.…”