On the differences in shear band characteristics between a binary Pd-Si metallic and nanoglass

Abstract

Shear band morphology of a binary Pd80Si20 nanoglass (NG) and metallic glass (MG) was investigated using bonded interface indentation technique. The results clearly indicate that the plastic strain in the subsurface deformation zone in NG is accommodated by very fine secondary shear bands in addition to a fewer primary shear bands while in MG it is mainly by primary shear bands. Furthermore, at any given indentation load, the size of the normalized subsurface deformation zone, χ, is found to be higher for NG compared to MG suggesting that the deformation of Pd80Si20 NG is more pressure sensitive and softer than MG. These differences in deformation characteristics between the NG and MG closely related to the intrinsic differences in the glass structure.