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Title: Inhomogeneous thermal expansion of metallic glasses in atomic-scale studied by in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction

Journal Article · · Journal of Applied Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4906552· OSTI ID:22413006
 [1];  [2];  [1]
  1. IFW Dresden, Institute for Complex Materials, Helmholtzstr. 20, 01069 Dresden (Germany)
  2. Photon Science DESY, Notkestraße 85, 22603 Hamburg (Germany)

Numerous investigations have demonstrated that the elastic strain in metallic glasses subjected to mechanical loading could be inhomogeneous in the atomic-scale and it increases with distance from an average atom and eventually reaches the macroscopic strain at larger inter-atomic distances. We have observed a similar behavior for the thermal strain imposed by heating of Co{sub 40}Fe{sub 22}Ta{sub 8}B{sub 30} glassy particles below the glass transition temperature by analysis of the scattering data obtained by in-situ high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results imply that the volumetric thermal strains calculated from the shift in position of the principal diffraction maximum and reduced pair correlation function (PDF) peaks are in good agreement for the length scales beyond 0.6 nm, corresponding to the atoms located over the third near-neighbor shell. However, smaller and even negative volumetric thermal strains have been calculated based on the shifts in the positions of the second and first PDF peaks, respectively. The structural changes of Co{sub 40}Fe{sub 22}Ta{sub 8}B{sub 30} glassy particles are accompanied by decreasing the average coordination number of the first near-neighbor shell, which manifests the occurrence of local changes in the short-range order upon heating. It is believed that the detected length-scale dependence of the volumetric thermal strain is correlated with the local atomic rearrangements taking place in the topologically unstable regions of the glass governed by variations in the atomic-level stresses.

OSTI ID:
22413006
Journal Information:
Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 117, Issue 4; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English