Abstract
The results of an isothermal creep investigation of Zr52.5Ti5Cu17.9Ni14.6Al10 bulk metallic glass at temperatures below the glass transition temperature are presented. The long-time (t > (2–4) × 103 s) creep regularities were found to be the same as those known for ribbon metallic glasses, in spite of the pronounced difference in the production quenching rates. It is argued that creep behaviour of bulk metallic glass is determined by the rate of irreversible structural relaxation. The apparent activation energy spectrum reconstructed from isothermal creep measurements agrees well with that determined from linear heating creep data.
Acknowledgements
The research described in this publication was made possible in part by award RP1-2320-VO-02 from the US Civilian Research and Development Foundation for the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union and the Ministry of Education of Russia (grant E00-3.4-48). One of the authors (V.A.K) greatly acknowledges Professor H. Neuhäuser (Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany) and Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst for support.