Structural disordering process of an amorphous alloy driven by the elastostatic compression at room temperature

This study demonstrates that permanent deformation results when an amorphous alloy is subjected to a stress below yield at room temperature. The resultant deformation was observed to be homogeneous and is thought to occur as a result of the structural disordering, in which densely packed short-range ordered clusters break down to form new, loosely packed ones. It was found that this disordering process is irreversible even if the applied stress is removed, resulting in the creation of excess free volume. These findings were analyzed using the molecular dynamics simulations in the light of atomic-scale structural changes.