Deformation behavior of metallic glasses with shear band like atomic structure: a molecular dynamics study

Molecular dynamics simulations were employed to investigate the plastic deformation within the shear bands in three different metallic glasses (MGs). To mimic shear bands, MG specimens were first deformed until flow localization occurs, and then the volume of the material within the localized regions was extracted and replicated. Homogeneous deformation that is independent of the size of the specimen was observed in specimens with shear band like structure, even at a temperature that is far below the glass transition temperature. Structural relaxation and rapid cooling were employed to examine the effect of free volume content on the deformation behavior. This was followed by detailed atomic structure analyses, employing the concepts of Voronoi polyhedra and “liquid-like” regions that contain high fraction of sub-atomic size open volumes. Results suggest that the total fraction of atoms in liquid-like regions is a key parameter that controls the plastic deformation in MGs. These are discussed in the context of reported experimental results and possible strategies for synthesizing monolithic amorphous materials that can accommodate large tensile plasticity are suggested.