About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Theory and Design of Metallic Glasses
|
| Presentation Title |
Influence of Glass-Glass Interfaces on the Potential-Energy Landscape of Cu-Zr Nanoglasses |
| Author(s) |
Aoyan Liang, Emily Gurniak, Paulo Branicio |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Paulo Branicio |
| Abstract Scope |
Nanoglasses (NGs), assemblies of nanometer-sized amorphous domains separated by glass-glass interfaces (GGIs), offer a compelling route to overcome the limited ductility of monolithic metallic glasses. While experiments show GGIs in CuZr NGs are Cu-enriched and less dense, their role in mechanical response remains poorly quantified. Here, we combine molecular dynamics with activation-relaxation technique sampling to map the potential-energy landscape of model Cu64Zr36 NGs under uniaxial compression and tension. By constructing architectures with explicitly defined interfaces, we measure activation-energy distributions for irreversible rearrangements in both GGIs and bulk-like regions. Our findings reveal that GGIs markedly reduce activation energy barriers for atomic rearrangements compared to glassy cores, triggering earlier and more localized shear transformations. As a result, NGs with high interfacial volume fractions exhibit virtually no clear elastic regime and deform heterogeneously. These findings clarify the origin of NG’s plasticity and establish GGIs as tunable structural motifs for ductile, damage-tolerant metallic glasses. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |