Serrated magnetic properties in metallic glass by thermal cycle

Fe-based metallic glasses（MGs） with excellent soft magnetic properties are applicable in a wide range of electronic industry. We show that the cryogenic thermal cycle has a sensitive effect on soft magnetic properties of Fe78Si9B13 glassy ribbon. The values of magnetic induction（or magnetic flux density） B and Hc coercivity c show fluctuation with increasing number of thermal cycles. This phenomenon is explained as thermal-cycle-induced stochastically structural aging or rejuvenation which randomly fluctuates magnetic anisotropy and, consequently, the magnetic induction and coercivity. Overall,increasing the number of thermal cycles improves the soft magnetic properties of the ribbon. The results could help understand the relationship between relaxation and magnetic property, and the thermal cycle could provide an effective approach to improving performances of metallic glasses in industry.

Nanoscopic tribological characteristics of a cryogenically cycled Zr-based metallic glass

Optimized macroscopic tribological behavior can be anticipated in metallic glasses(MGs)by cryogenic cycling treatment(CCT),which is attributed to enhanced plasticity.However,the intrinsic friction mechanisms of MGs induced by cryogenic rejuvenation are still poorly understood.In the present study,nanoscopic wear tests were conducted on the Zr-based MGs surface with different CCT cycles using atomic force microscopy(AFM).After CCT treatment with 100 cycles,the MG displays the highest adhesion and ploughing frictions,but significantly improved anti-wear properties.Adhesion tests and molecular dynamics simulations disclose that the increased adhesion is attributed to the dominance of liquid-like regions in the CCT-treated MGs,and the impact of reduced hardness and weak elastic recovery results in the deteriorated ploughing friction.The enhanced plasticity effectively dissipates the strain from the AFM tip through multiple shear bands and weakens the adhesion during deformation,giving rise to excellent wear resistance.This study elucidates the promoting effect of CCT on the outstanding antiwear performance of MGs,and is helpful for the development of novel alloys.

Efficient rejuvenation of heterogeneous{[(Fe_(0.5)Co_(0.5))_(0.75)B_(0.2)Si_(0.05)]_(96)Nb_(4)}_(99.9)Cu_(0.1) bulk metallic glass upon cryogenic cycling treatment

The effects of cryogenic thermal cycling on deformation behaviour and structural variation of{[(Fe_(0.5)Co_(0.5))_(0.75)B_(0.2)Si_(0.05)]_(96)Nb_(4)}_(99.9)Cu_(0.1) bulk metallic glass(BMG)were studied and compared with Cufree[(Fe_(0.5)Co_(0.5))_(0.75)B_(0.2)Si_(0.05)]_(96)Nb_(4) BMG.After thermal-cycled treatment between 393 K and cryogenic temperature,the{[(Fe_(0.5)Co_(0.5))_(0.75)B_(0.2)Si_(0.05)]_(96)Nb_(4)}_(99.9)Cu_(0.1)BMG obtained a plastic strain of 7.4%combined with a high yield strength of 4350 MPa.The excellent soft magnetic properties were maintained after CTC treatment.The minor addition of Cu element results in an initial nano-sized heterogeneity in the matrix,which facilitates the rejuvenation process during thermal cycling,and brings to a low optimal thermal temperature of 393 K,making the{[(Fe_(0.5)Co_(0.5))_(0.75)B_(0.2)Si_(0.05)]_(96)Nb_(4)}_(99.9)Cu_(0.1) BMG more attractive in industrial application.During thermal cycling,the formation of more soft regions leads to the increase of structural heterogeneities,which is beneficial to the initiation of shear transition zones and the formation of multiple shear bands,and thus results in the enhancement of plasticity.This study links the subtle variation of specific structure with macroscopic mechanical properties,and provides a new insight of composition selection for cryogenic thermal cycling treatment.

Influence of cryogenic thermal cycling treatment on the thermophysical properties of carbon/carbon composites between room temperature and 1900℃

Influence of cryogenic thermal cycling treatment （from -120 ℃ to 120 ℃ at 1.3 × 10^-3 Pa） on the thermo- physical properties including thermal conductivity （TC）, thermal diffusivity （TD）, specific heat （SH） and coefficient of thermal expansion （CTE） ranging from room temperature to 1900 ℃ of carbon/carbon （C/C） composites in x-y and z directions were studied. Test results showed that fiber/matrix interracial debonding, fiber pull-out and microcracks occurred after the cryogenic thermal treatment and they increased significantly with the cycle number increasing, while cycled more than 30 times, the space ofmicrodefects reduced obviously due to the accumulation of cyclic thermal stress. TC, TD, SH and CTE of the cryogenic thermal cycling treated C/C composites were first decreased and then increased in both directions （x-y and z directions） with the increase of thermal cycles. A model regarding the heat conduction in cryogenic thermal cycling treated C/C composites was proposed.

Effect of cryogenic cycling on mechanical properties of ZrTiCuNiBe bulk metallic glass

The effect of deep cryogenic cycle treatment(DCT)on Zr_(41.2)Ti_(13.8)Cu_(12.5)Ni_(10)Be_(22.5)(Vit-1)bulk metallic glass(BMG)prepared from high-purity raw materials was investigated.After DCT,no obvious rejuvenation of the samples was detected.With an increasing number of cryogenic cycles,the hardness of the samples first decreased and then increased,the room-temperature compression plasticity first increased and then generally remained unchanged,and the impact toughness underwent almost no obvious change.The absence of rejuvenation was attributed to the high fragility index(47-50)and high glass forming ability(GFA)of the material.As lower purity of the raw materials is expected in practical applications,DCT of Vit-1 BMG prepared from low-purity raw materials was also performed.After DCT,the samples prepared with the lower-purity raw materials were clearly rejuvenated,and the room-temperature mechanical properties improved significantly.Both the compression plasticity and impact toughness reached peak values after 5 cryogenic cycles.The initial impurities(including Y and O)had a complex and comprehensive effect on the deformation mechanism of the BMG during DCT.Our findings indicate that the structural heterogeneity,fragility index,and GFA of the BMG alter the effect of DCT.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of sand-cast Mg-6Gd-3Y-0.5Zr alloy subject to thermal cycling treatment

This work was undertaken to investigate the microstructural evolution, mechanical properties and fracture behavior of sand-cast Mg-6 Gd-3 Y-0.5 Zr(GW63) alloy subject to thermal cycling treatment. In order to simulate the thermal cycling under extreme service conditions(space or moon environments), the sand-cast and T6 treated GW63 alloys were subjected to thermal cycling treatment which consists of deep cryogenic-elevated temperature cycling treatment(DCET) and deep cryogenic cycling treatment(DCT). Results indicate that there are significant gains in yield strength(YS) and ultimate tensile strength(UTS) of the sand-cast GW63 alloy after DCET, whereas the T6 state alloy undergoes a different variation in mechanical properties. However, no appreciable influence is revealed on the mechanical properties of the tested GW63 alloys after DCT. Meanwhile, the DCT and DCET have no obvious effects on the fracture morphology. The DCT enhances the precipitation kinetics via providing favorable nucleation sites for the precipitation of second phases. The elevated temperature process of DCET plays a crucial role in improving the aging-hardening responses and releasing the stress concentration brought by DCT to a great extent, leading to overcome the obstacle of essential phase transformation. The changes in mechanical properties are primarily attributed to the phase transformation of the studied alloys during DCET.

Improving plasticity of the Zr46Cu46Al8 bulk metallic glass via thermal rejuvenation

In this paper, effects of cryogenic thermal cycling on deformation behavior and thermal stability of the Zr46Cu46AI8 bulk metallic glass （BMG） were studied. The results show that with the increase of the number of cryogenic thermal cycles （CTC）, thermal stability remains almost unchanged, while the plasticity is increased, indicating that the cryogenic thermal cyclic treatment is an effective way to improve plasticity of metallic glasses without distinctly deteriorating thermal stability. Our analysis suggests that the increase in the defect density resulted from the cryogenic thermal treatments are responsible for the plasticity increment. Variation of yield strength can be well interpreted from microstructural percolation which affected by both density and characteristic volume of the defect sites.

Tailoring mechanical heterogeneity,nanoscale creep deformation and optical properties of nanostructured Zr-based metallic glass

Metallic glasses are spatially heterogeneous at the nanometer scale.However,the effects of external excitation on their structural and mechanical heterogeneity and the correlation to their properties are still unresolved.Nanoindentation,atomic force microscopy(AFM) and high-resolution transmis sion elec tron micro scopy(HRTEM) were carried out to explore the effects of cryogenic thermal cycling(CTC) on mechanical/structural heterogeneity,nano sc ale creep deformation and optical properties of nano structured metallic glass thin films(MGTFs).The results indicate that CTC treatment alters the distribution fluctuations of hardness/modulus and energy dissipation and results in an increase-then-decrease variation in mechanical heterogeneity.By applying Maxwell-Voigt model,it can be shown that CTC treatment results in a remarkable activation of more defects with longer relaxation time in soft regions but has only a slight effect on defects in hard regions.In addition,CTC treatment increases the transition time from primary-state stage to steady-state stage during creep deformation.The enhanced optical reflectivity of the MGTFs after 15 thermal cycles can be attributed to increased aggregation of Cu and Ni elements.The results of this study shed new light on understanding mechanical/structural heterogeneity and its influence on nanoscale creep deformation and optical characteristics of nanostructured MGTFs,and facilitate the design of high-performance nanostructured MGTFs.