Micromechanical modeling of tungsten-based bulk metallic glass matrix composites

Micromechanics models are developed for tungsten (W)-based bulk metallic glass (BMG) matrix composites employing the Voronoi tessellation technique and the finite element (FE) method. The simulation results indicate that the computed elastic moduli are close to those measured in the experiments. The predicted stress–strain curves agree well with their experimentally obtained counterparts in the early stage of the plastic deformation. An increase in the W volume fraction leads to a decrease in the yield stress and an increase in the Young's modulus of the composite. In addition, contours of equivalent plastic strain for increasing applied strains provide an explanation why shear bands were observed in the glassy phase, along the W/BMG interface, and in the W phase of failed W/BMG composite specimens.