Nanoscale Structure and Structural Relaxation in Zr50Cu45Al5 Bulk Metallic Glass

Authors

• Jinwoo Hwang, University of Wisconsin - Madison
• Z. H. Melgarejo, University of Wisconsin - Madison
• Y. E. Kalay, Ames Laboratory (DOE)
• I. Kalay, Ames Laboratory (DOE)
• Matthew J. Kramer, Ames Laboratory (DOE)Follow
• D. S. Stone, University of Wisconsin - MadisonFollow
• P. M. Voyles, University of Wisconsin - MadisonFollow

Date of this Version

2012

Citation

Physical Review Letters 108, 195505 (2012); DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.195505

Abstract

Hybrid reverse Monte Carlo simulations of the structure of Zr₅₀Cu₄₅Al₅ bulk metallic glass incorporating medium-range structure from fluctuation electron microscopy data and short-range structure from an embedded atom potential produce structures with significant fractions of icosahedral- and crystal-like atomic clusters. Similar clusters group together into nanometer-scale regions, and relaxation transforms crystal-like clusters into icosahedral clusters. A model refined against only the potential does not agree with the fluctuation microscopy data and contains few crystal-like clusters.