High-temperature deformation behavior and formability of a Zr-Cu-Al-Ni bulk metallic glass

The deformation behavior of a monolithic Zr55Cu30Al10Ni5 (at. pet) bulk metallic glass (BMG) fabricated by suction casting has been investigated at elevated temperatures in this study. A series of compression tests has been performed in the supercooled liquid temperature region. In the homogeneous flow regime, this alloy exhibited a transition from the Newtonian to non-Newtonian flow depending upon both the strain rate and the temperature. These two flow modes were then described by applying the Newtonian viscous flow theory and the transition state theory, respectively. On the basis of a dynamic materials model (DMM), a processing map could successfully be constructed to estimate the feasible forming conditions for this BMG alloy. Imaginary laboratory-scale extrusion tests were also performed to determine solid-to-solid formability, and the results from both the finite element method (FEM)-based simulation and processing map were then compared and discussed.