Mechanical Properties of Neutron Irradiated Zr-Based Bulk Metallic Glasses

Neutron irradiation embrittlement behaviors of some Zr-Cu-Al and Zr-Cu-Ni-Al BMGs with various Zr-contents have been examined by Charpy impact tests under neutron fluences of 1~2 x 1024 n/m2 at relatively low and high temperatures of about 325 K and 550 K, respectively. In the case of the irradiation at 325 K, Charpy impact strength of Zr45Cu45Al10 BMG increased from 59 kJ/m2 up to 92 kJ/m2 accompanied with decreasing the hardness. In the Zr-rich BMGs of Zr50Cu40Al10, Zr55Cu30Ni5Al10, Zr59Cu31Al10, Zr65Cu20Ni5Al10 and Zr65Cu18Ni7Al10, impact strengths decreased from about 90 kJ/m2 down to about 30 kJ/m2 with decreasing the hardness. In the case of the irradiation at 550 K, impact strengths of the Zr-rich BMGs maintained relatively high values of about 60 ~ 90 kJ/m2. These results may be explained by amounts of excess free-volume in the neutron irradiated Zr-based BMGs. © 2023 The Society of Materials Science, Japan.