Newtonian Flow in Bulk Amorphous Alloys

Bulk amorphous alloys have many unique properties, e.g., superior strength and hardness, excellent corrosion resistance, reduced sliding friction and improved wear resistance, and easy formability in a viscous state. These properties, and particularly easy formability, are expected to lead to applications in the fields of near-net-shape fabrication of structural components. Whereas large tensile ductility has generally been observed in the supercooled liquid region in metallic glasses, the exact deformation mechanism, and in particular whether such alloys deform by Newtonian viscous flow, remains a controversial issue. In this paper, existing data are analyzed and an interpretation for the apparent controversy is offered. In addition, new results obtained from an amorphous alloy (composition: Zr-10Al-5TI-17.9Cu-14.6Ni, in at. %) are presented. Structural evolution during plastic deformation is particularly characterized. It is suggested that the appearance of non-Newtonian behavior is a result of the concurrent crystallization of the amorphous structure during deformation