Application of phase-field modeling to deformation of metallic glasses

Metallic glass or amorphous alloy is a new class of metallic materials with unique mechanical deformation mechanisms. In the past decade, the encouraging progress has been made on revealing the deformation mechanisms and mechanical behaviors of metallic glasses using various theoretical and computational methods. In this review, the application of the recently developed phase-field method to deformation of metallic glasses is emphasized. We first briefly introduce the features of deformation of metallic glasses, following by a review on the modeling methods that are based on kinetic theory or thermodynamics of the deformation defects. Then we focus our attentions on the phase-field modeling which typically treats the localized plastic flow or shear banding as the collective behaviors of structural transformation of the deformation defects. Application of the phase-field modeling to shear banding, local heating, shear band instability in metallic glasses and metallic-glass–matrix composites are discussed. We also highlight the research directions and challenges of phase-field modeling on the deformation of metallic glasses.

Research highlights
► Phase-field modeling of deformation behaviors of metallic glasses.
► Phenomenological models for atomistic deformation defects are developed.
► Shear banding is described as structural transformation of the deformation defects.