The influence of Pd on tension–tension fatigue behavior of Zr-based bulk-metallic glasses

Zr-based bulk-metallic glasses (BMGs) are being studied widely because Zr-based BMGs exhibit good glass-forming abilities and excellent properties, such as material strengths. In the current paper, the fatigue behaviors of Zr50Cu40−xAl10Pdx [x: 0–7 atomic percent (at.%)] BMGs were investigated. The uniaxial tension–tension fatigue experiments were performed on the button-head rod fatigue specimens. The test environment was air at room temperature. The fatigue limit of Zr50Cu37Al10Pd3 was found to be the highest with a value of 945 MPa among the BMGs studied. A mechanistic understanding of the fatigue behavior of these Zr-based BMGs is suggested. The effect of the Pd content on the fatigue behavior was analyzed. A possible relationship between the fatigue limit (or the fatigue ratio) and the volume change, which probably corresponds to excessive free volume, was developed.