Shear fracture of bulk metallic glasses with controlled applied normal stresses

The Mohr–Coulomb criterion has been invoked to characterize the dependence of shear fracture of bulk metallic glasses on the stress normal to the shear plane. However, systematic verification of its applicability is lacking. We use a unique test fixture that is capable of controlling (i) the location of shear fracture and (ii) the ratio of the normal to shear stress on the fracture plane to perform tests on bulk metallic glasses to examine the applicability of the Mohr–Coulomb criterion.