Effect of stress gradient on the deformation behavior of a bulk metallic glass under uniaxial tension

In the present study, the stress gradient is shown to significantly affect the deformation behavior of a monolithic bulk metallic glass (BMG) at room temperature under tensile loading. It is demonstrated that the stress concentration areas of the BMG specimens facilitate the formation of shear bands, and the presence of “soft” and “hard” regions due to the stress gradient confines the propagation. With these stress gradients, brittle monolithic BMGs exhibit plastic deformation at the stress concentration areas under tensile loading, and higher orders of stress gradient result in larger confinement for the propagation of shear bands. The findings are significant in controlling the plastic deformation behavior of BMGs and in understanding the deformation mechanisms of monolithic BMGs under complex stress states, which is important for potential engineering applications.