In-Situ Fracture Observation and Fracture Toughness Analysis of Zr-Based Amorphous Alloys Containing Ductile Dendrites

Abstract

Effects of dendrite size on fracture properties of Zr-based amorphous alloys containing ductile β dendrites were explained by directly observing microfracture processes using an in-situ loading stage installed inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM) chamber. Three amorphous alloy plates having different thicknesses were fabricated by varying cooling rates after vacuum arc melting. The effective size of β dendrites was varied from 14.7 to 30.1 μm in the alloy plates, while their volume fraction was almost constant. According to microfracture observation of the alloy containing fine β dendrites, shear bands initiated at the amorphous matrix were connected with the notch tip as they were deepened through dendrites, which led to abrupt crack propagation. In the alloy containing coarser β dendrites, shear bands were initiated at the amorphous matrix to form a crack near the notch tip region and were expanded over large matrix areas. The crack propagation was frequently blocked by β dendrites, and many shear bands are formed near or in front of the propagating crack, thereby resulting in stable crack growth, which could be confirmed by the fracture resistance curve (R-curve) behavior. This increase in fracture resistance with increasing crack length could be explained by mechanisms of blocking of crack growth, multiple shear band formation, and crack blunting.