Project Description
Project Overview: There has been a growing interest in the machining of amorphous metallic alloys, which are also called bulk metallic glasses (BMGs). These materials differ from common polycrystalline metallic alloys, because their atoms do not assemble on a crystalline lattice, and as a result, they have unique physical, mechanical, and chemical properties. Metallic glasses lack long range order they do not sustain dislocations like those found in crystalline solids. Instead, plastic deformation is believed to be mediated by nm-scale clusters of atoms called shear transformation zones (STZs). At a larger length scales the STZs organize into sharply delineated shear bands, the propagation of which results in loss of ductility, thereby limiting the usefulness of metallic glasses for structural applications. The objective and goal of this project is to study patterns of shear bands and to characterize plastic deformation in BMGs. The team will utilize SEM, Nano and micro indenters, atom probe to characterize density, intensity, and change in atom mobility resulting from deformation inside the shear band.
Client: Dr. Don Stone, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Student Team: Johnathon Brehm, Alex Bickelhaupt
