Crack-tip strain field mapping and the toughness of metallic glasses

PLoS One. 2013 Dec 27;8(12):e83289. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0083289. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

We have used high-energy x-ray scattering to map the strain fields around crack tips in fracture specimens of a bulk metallic glass under load at room temperature and below. From the measured strain fields we can calculate the components of the stress tensor as a function of position and determine the size and shape of the plastic process zone around the crack tip. Specimens tested at room temperature develop substantial plastic zones and achieve high stress intensities ((K(If) = 76 MPa m(1/2)) prior to fracture. Specimens tested at cryogenic temperatures fail at reduced but still substantial stress intensities (K(If) = 39 MPa m(1/2)) and show only limited evidence of crack-tip plasticity. We propose that the difference in behavior is associated with changes in the flow stress and elastic constants, which influence the number density of shear bands in the plastic zone and thus the strain required to initiate fracture on an individual band. A secondary effect is a change in the triaxial state of stress around the crack tip due to the temperature dependence of Poisson's ratio. It is likely that this ability to map elastic strains on the microscale will be useful in other contexts, although interpreting shifts in the position of the scattering peaks in amorphous materials in terms of elastic strains must be done with caution.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Elasticity
  • Glass / chemistry*
  • Materials Testing
  • Metals / chemistry*
  • Shear Strength
  • Stress, Mechanical*
  • Surface Properties

Substances

  • Metals

Grants and funding

Funding from the National Science Foundation under grants 0705517, 1107838, 1066293 and the hospitality of the Aspen Center for Physics. Use of the Advanced Photon Source was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH1135. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.