Shear-induced disordering of an intermetallic compound

Numerical simulations have been employed to study the shear-induced amorphization of the NiZr2 intermetallic compound. The application of a shear stress generates an increasing distortion of atomic coordination shells and the consequent formation of defectively coordinated atoms. Structural and chemical disordering take place concurrently, determining the appearance of an amorphous layer. It grows at a rate dependent on the shearing rate and according to a mechanism involving ballistic atomic displacement rather then conventional thermal diffusion.