Aging and structural relaxation of hyper-quenched Mg65Cu25Y10 metallic glass

The structural relaxation, glass transition and crystallization processes of Mg65Cu25Y10 metallic glass are studied by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Mechanical spectroscopy. The relaxation model derived from the mechanical measurements is compared with the kinetics of these transformations obtained from the DSC curves. The structural relaxation kinetics is found to be controlled by the glassy dynamics following an Adams-Gibbs-Vogel function. The glass transition and crystallization kinetics are controlled by the dynamics of the supercooled melt following a Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann behaviour. The results suggest that the microscopic processes responsible of structural relaxation and aging below the glass transition correspond to the same processes generating the α-relaxation peak.