Devitrification of Zr55Cu30Al15Ni5Bulk Metallic Glass under Heating and HPT Deformation

Abstract

The nanocrystal formation in Zr55Cu30Al15Ni5 bulk metallic glass was studied under heat treatment and deformation. The activation energy of crystallization under heating is 278 kJ/mol. Different crystalline phases were found to be formed during crystallization under heating and deformation. At the first crystallization stage, the metastable phase with a hexagonal structure (lattice of space group P63/mmc with the parameters a = 8.66 Å, c = 14.99 Å) is formed under heat treatment. When the temperature rises, the metastable phase decays with the formation of stable crystalline phases. The crystalline Zr2Cu phase with the lattice of space group Fd3m is formed during crystallization under the action of deformation. It was determined that during deformation nanocrystals are formed primarily in the subsurface regions of the samples.