Prediction Of Shear-Band Thickness In Metallic Glasses

We derive an explicit expression for predicting the thicknesses of shear bands in metallic glasses. The model demonstrates that the shear-band thickness is mainly dominated by the activation size of the shear transformation zone (STZ) and its activation free volume concentration. The predicted thicknesses agree well with the results of measurements and simulations. The underlying physics is attributed to the local topological instability of the activated STZ. The result is of significance in understanding the origin of inhomogeneous flow in metallic glasses. (C) 2009 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization Of Shear Bands In Two Bulk Metallic Glasses With Different Inherent Plasticity

Shear banding characterization of Zr64.13Cu15.75Ni10.12Al10 and Zr65Cu15Ni10Al10 bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) with significant difference in inherent plasticity and quite similar chemical composition was studied by depth sensitive macroindentaion tests with conical indenter. Well-developed shear band pattern can be found for both BMGs after indentation. Distinct difference in the shear band spacing, scale of plastic deformation region and the shear band branching in the two BMGs account for the different plasticity.

Intrinsic correlation between fragility and bulk modulus in metallic glasses

A systematic study on the available data of 26 metallic glasses shows that there is an intrinsic correlation between fragility of a liquid and bulk modulus of its glass. The underlying physics can be rationalized within the formalism of potential energy landscape thermodynamics. It is surprising to find that the linear correlation between the fragility and the bulk-shear modulus ratio exists strictly at either absolute zero temperature or very high frequency. Further analyses indicate that a real flow event in bulk metallic glasses is shear dominant, and fragility is in inverse proportion to shear-induced bulk dilatation. Finally, extension of these findings to nonmetallic glasses is discussed.

On the origin of shear banding instability in metallic glasses

To uncover the physical origin of shear-banding instability in metallic glass (MG), a theoretical description of thermo-mechanical deformation of MG undergoing one-dimensional simple shearing is presented. The coupled thermo-mechanical model takes into account the momentum balance, the energy balance and the dynamics of free volume. The interplay between free-volume production and temperature increase being two potential causes for shear-banding instability is examined on the basis of the homogeneous solution. It is found that the free-volume production facilitates the sudden increase in the temperature before instability and vice versa. A rigorous linear perturbation analysis is used to examine the inhomogeneous deformation, during which the onset criteria and the internal length and time scales for three types of instabilities, namely free-volume softening, thermal softening and coupling softening, are clearly revealed. The shear-banding instability originating from sole free-volume softening takes place easier and faster than that due to sole thermal softening, and dominates in the coupling softening. Furthermore, the coupled thermo-mechanical shear-band analysis does show that an initial slight distribution of local free volume can incur significant strain localization, producing a shear band. During such a localization process, the local free-volume creation occurs indeed prior to the increase in local temperature, indicating that the former is the cause of shear localization, whereas the latter is its consequence. Finally, extension of the above model to include the shear-induced dilatation shows that such dilatation facilitates the shear instability in metallic glasses.

Intrinsic correlation between dilatation and pressure sensitivity of plastic flow in metallic glasses

Taking shear-induced dilatation into consideration in shear transformation zone (STZ) operations, we derive a new yield criterion that reflects the pressure sensitivity in plastic flow in metallic glasses (MGs), which agrees well with experiments. Furthermore, an intrinsic theoretical correlation between the pressure sensitivity coefficient and the dilatation factor is revealed. It is found that the pressure sensitivity of plastic flow of MGs originates in the dilatation of microscale STZs.

Interactions of a femtosecond intense laser with rare gas clusters in a dense jet\

A study on the interactions of high intensity (similar to 10(16) W/cm(2)) femtosecond laser pulses with rare gas clusters in a dense jet is performed. Energy absorption by Ar and Xe clusters is measured and it can be as high as 90%. Very energetic ions produced in the laser interaction with a dense cluster jet are detected by time-of-flight spectrometry and the maximum ion energy of Xe is up to 1.3 MeV. The average ion energies are found to increase with increasing cluster size and get saturated gradually. The average ion energies also show a strong directionality and the average ion energy in the direction parallel to the laser polarization vector is 40% higher than that perpendicular to it. The findings are discussed in terms of a model of charge-dependent ion acceleration.

I. Spectroscopic evidence for slow vibrational relaxation in excited electronic states of diatomics in rare gas solids. II. Static crystal field effects in the electronic spectra of isotopically mixed benzene crystals

Part I

Studies of vibrational relaxation in excited electronic states of simple diatomic molecules trapped in solid rare-gas matrices at low temperatures are reported. The relaxation is investigated by monitoring the emission intensity from vibrational levels of the excited electronic state to vibrational levels of the ground electronic state. The emission was in all cases excited by bombardment of the doped rare-gas solid with X-rays.

The diatomics studied and the band systems seen are: N₂, Vegard-Kaplan and Second Positive systems; O₂, Herzberg system; OH and OD, A ²Σ⁺ - X²II_i system. The latter has been investigated only in solid Ne, where both emission and absorption spectra were recorded; observed fine structure has been partly interpreted in terms of slightly perturbed rotational motion in the solid. For N₂, OH, and OD emission occurred from v' > 0, establishing a vibrational relaxation time in the excited electronic state of the order, of longer than, the electronic radiative lifetime. The relative emission intensity and decay times for different v' progressions in the Vegard-Kaplan system are found to depend on the rare-gas host and the N₂ concentration, but are independent of temperature in the range 1.7°K to 30°K.

Part II

Static crystal field effects on the absorption, fluorescence, and phosphorescence spectra of isotopically mixed benzene crystals were investigated. Evidence is presented which demonstrate that in the crystal the ground, lowest excited singlet, and lowest triplet states of the guest deviate from hexagonal symmetry. The deviation appears largest in the lowest triplet state and may be due to an intrinsic instability of the ³B_1u state. High resolution absorption and phospho- rescence spectra are reported and analyzed in terms of site-splitting of degenerate vibrations and orientational effects. The guest phosphorescence lifetime for various benzene isotopes in C₆D₆ and sym-C₆H₃D₃ hosts is presented and discussed.

Flowering in British Lemna: A rare, cyclic or simply overlooked phenomenon?

It is largely presumed that reproduction in British Lemna, as in other British Lemnaceae, is almost entirely asexual, with new daughter fronds being produced from the side pouches of older mother fronds. Sexual reproduction is considered to be a rather rare event or even absent and because of this rarity the sexual features of Lemna, such as anthers and fruit, are often considered to be of little taxonomic value. It was with some surprise, therefore, that widespread flowering was observed in all British Lemna during the summer of 1995. Initial observations in Shropshire during June recorded flowers in minor and trisulca, with fruit production in trisulca. L.gibba, minor and minuta were noted as being in flower on several occasions in Kent, during July and August, probably fruit production occurring in both species. To what extent these events are truly representative of the sexual reproduction rate of British Lemna on a year-to-year basis, or simply reflect the unusually high summer temperatures of 1995, is unclear.