Rejuvenation of Zr-Based Bulk Metallic Glasses by Ultrasonic Vibration-Assisted Elastic Deformation

The rejuvenation of Zr(52.5)Cu(17.9)Ni(14.6)Al(10)Ti(5) bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) by ultrasonic vibration-assisted elastic deformation (UVEF) was studied herein. The UVEF-treated samples demonstrate an obvious rejuvenation and have a higher relaxation enthalpy and a smaller range of supercooled liquid regions than the as-cast samples. The fracture of the rejuvenated amorphous alloy is mainly ductile fracture, and shear deformation occurs in the deformation region. It is also found that as the amplitude increases, the free volume of the rejuvenated amorphous alloy increases, the yield strength and the elastic modulus decrease, and the formability increases. The free-volume content is used to characterize the degree of rejuvenation, and a mathematical model of the relationship between the ultrasonic amplitude and free volume is established. In addition, it is found that the ultrasonic vibration stress induces the additional free volume in the Zr-based bulk metallic glasses and improves the plasticizing behavior. The temperature rise caused by the ultrasonic thermal effect does not induce additional free volume.