Effect of Nb addition on the subsurface deformation behavior in Cu47Ti34Zr11Ni8 bulk metallic glasses through Vickers indentation

In this paper, 3 mm diameter (Cu₄₇Ti₃₄Zr₁₁Ni₈)_100−xNb_x (x = 0,1,2) glass forming alloys were fabricated by water-cooled copper mould cast. Microstructural characterization reveals that the monolithic Cu₄₇Ti₃₄Zr₁₁Ni₈ bulk metallic glass exhibits homogenous amorphous structure. While the alloys with Nb addition exhibit a composite structure. For alloys with x = 1, micro-scaled crystalline particles were found to distribute in the glassy matrix. For alloys with x = 2, the microstructure is dominated by a high density of dendritic phase embedded in the glassy matrix. Bonded interface technique was adopted to study the deformation behavior of the alloys underneath the Vickers indentation. It reveals that the subsurface shear patterns are significantly affected by the precipitated phases. The different deformation mechanism of the alloys resulted from the minor Nb addition was put forward and discussed.