Four-point-bending-fatigue behavior of the Zr-based Vitreloy 105 bulk metallic glass

The purpose of this study was to make a direct comparison between four-point-bending and uniaxial fatigue tests with the Zr52.5Cu17.9Ni14.6Al10.0Ti5.0 (at.%) BMG alloy (Vitreloy 105). The fatigue lifetimes in four-point bending were found to be greater than those reported in uniaxial testing. However, the fatigue-endurance limit found in four-point bending was slightly less than that reported for uniaxial fatigue. Thus, the significant differences between fatigue studies in the literature are not likely due to this difference in testing geometry. On the contrary, the fatigue lifetimes were found to be highly dependent upon surface defects and material quality.The four-point-bending-fatigue performance of the Vit 105 alloy was found to be greater than most BMGs and similar to the 300 M high-strength steel and other crystalline alloys in spite of not being ‘perfectly amorphous.’ Due to the detrimental effects of these inhomogeneities and wear at the supporting pins, this fatigue behavior can be assumed to be a conservative estimate of the potential fatigue performance of a perfectly amorphous and homogeneous BMG.