Structural features of plastic deformation in bulk metallic glasses

Spatially resolved strain maps of a plastically deformed bulk metallic glass (BMG) have been created by using high-energy X-ray diffraction. The results reveal that plastic deformation creates a spatially heterogeneous atomic arrangement, consisting of strong compressive and tensile strain fields. In addition, significant shear strain is introduced in the samples. The analysis of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the strain tensor indicates that considerable structural anisotropy occurs in both the magnitude and direction of the strain. These features are in contrast to the behavior observed in elastically deformed BMGs and represent a distinctive structural sign of plastic deformation in metallic glasses.