Three-point bending fracture characteristics of bulk metallic glasses

This paper presents the SEM micrographs for the three-point bending fracture surfaces of Zr-based, Ce-based and Mg-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs), which show the dimple structures in the three kinds of BMGs. The shapes of the giant plastic deformation domain on the fracture surface are similar but the sizes are different. The fracture toughness KC and the dimple structure size of the Zr-based BMG are both the largest, and those of the Mg-based BMG are the smallest. The fracture toughness KC and the dimple structure size of the Ce-based BMG are between those of the Zr-based and the Mg-based BMG. Through analyzing the data of different fracture toughnesses of the BMGs, we find that the plastic zone width follows w = (KC/σY)2/(6π).