Abstract
Zr70Ni16Cu6Al8 bulk metallic glass (BMG) exhibited clear tensile plastic deformation at room temperature. The tensile plastic deformation was induced by the specimen sliding along one main shear band, which completely penetrated the specimen. Also, it was surmised that there is a viscous medium in a main shear band. Therefore, it can be considered that the viscous medium in the shear band plays an important role in the mechanical properties of the BMG under tensile loading. In this study, tensile tests of the Zr70Ni16Cu6Al8 BMG were carried out at the temperatures of 293 and 133 K to investigate the effect of the viscous medium in the shear band on the mechanical properties of the BMG. As the results, it was found that the strength of the BMG at 133 K was 21% higher than that at 293 K. Furthermore, at 133 K, highly denser, longer, and many branching and curving shear bands were observed over a wide area of the specimen surface in comparison with those at 293 K. In addition, at 133 K, a few main shear bands were observed on the fracture surface.
