Influence of Size and Number of Nanocrystals on Shear Band Formation in Amorphous Alloys

Abstract

In this study, binary (copper and zirconium) amorphous metals with embedded nanosized crystal structures are subjected to uniaxial tension using molecular dynamics simulations to reveal the mechanism of shear band structure formation. The number and the size of the nanocrystals are chosen as the study parameters. The number of nanocrystals affects the stress-strain curve and shear band formation while the size of the nanocrystals does not significantly affect the results. As reported in the experimental work published so far, under tension coalescent voids are found in the shear bands or at the interface between crystalline and amorphous materials. The simulation results show that the number of shear bands under compressive loading is much larger than that under tensile loading. We also found that, even under compressive loading, the shear bands started from regions with enough free volume.