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Thermomechanical processing of metallic glasses: extending the range of the glassy state

Nature Reviews Materials volume 1, Article number: 16039 (2016) Cite this article

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Abstract

For crystalline metals, the science, technology and application of thermomechanical processing are established, but this is not true for glasses. Metallic glasses — because they can be plastically deformed — offer a unique opportunity to study the effects of thermomechanical treatments on the structure and properties of glasses. Depending on the rate of cooling, various glassy states can form from a liquid. Slower cooling gives states of lower enthalpy and smaller volume; such states might also be reached by annealing, which induces structural ‘relaxation’. A reduction in the degree of relaxation, or ‘rejuvenation’, is achievable through processes such as irradiation and mechanical deformation. In this Review, we explore the extent of relaxation and rejuvenation induced by thermomechanical processing (that is, elastic and plastic deformation, including cold and hot working, and cyclic loading). The issues that remain to be investigated and the prospects for further progress are discussed.

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Figure 1: The deformation of metallic glasses.
Figure 2: Cold-working methods that permit heavy plastic deformation of metallic glasses at room temperature.
Figure 3: Relative enthalpies of deformed metallic states at room temperature.
Figure 4: Relaxation and rejuvenation.
Figure 5: Anisotropy induced by homogeneous flow.

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Acknowledgements

Y.H.S. is supported by a China Scholarship Council (CSC) scholarship, and A.L.G. by the Engineering and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, UK, and the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI), MEXT, Japan. Please note that no new data were created in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 0FS, UK

    Yonghao Sun & A. Lindsay Greer

  2. Thermal Spray Centre (CPT), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, 08028, Spain

    Amadeu Concustell

  3. WPI Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980–8577, Japan

    A. Lindsay Greer

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  1. Yonghao Sun
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Correspondence to A. Lindsay Greer.

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Sun, Y., Concustell, A. & Greer, A. Thermomechanical processing of metallic glasses: extending the range of the glassy state. Nat Rev Mater 1, 16039 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/natrevmats.2016.39

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