Studies of Relaxation of Metallic Glasses by Dilatometry and Density Measurements

Abstract

ABSTRACTHigh-precision density measurements on coldrolled Pd77.5Cu6Si16.5 glass rods before and after relaxation anneals showed that 30 – 40% rolling leads to a density reduction of ∼0.14%, recoverable on subsequent annealing below Tg. This change is about half of the density increase attainable by recovery-annealing the as-quenched glass.Density changes in Fe40Ni40B20 glass ribbon, resulting from recovery-annealing, were studied indirectly by measuring isothermal length changes through dilatometry of foil sandwiches. The experimental conditions for reliable isothermal dilatometry, using a commercial instrument, are outlined. It was found that the kinetics of length change in the longitudinal and transverse directions were quite different, being faster in the former. Prolonged recovery-annealing prior to dilatometry removed this difference. The intermediate stage of each isotherm followed loqt kinetics.Experiments were performed with Fe40Ni40B20, Ni64Zr36 and Cu66Ti34 to search for a reversible component of length change during cyclic isothermal holds at two temperatures. Such a component probably exists but is extremely small, less than 1% of the limiting irreversible length change.The implications of the various findings are discussed in the light of recent literature.