Deformation behaviors of a TiZrNiCuBe bulk metallic glass under shock loading

In the present work, the shock responses of Ti40Zr25Ni3Cu12Be20 bulk metallic glass (BMG) were investigated by using a planar impact technique on an electrical explosion of conductor (EEC) installation. The spallation occurs even if the stress behind the shock front is less than the Hogoniot elastic limit (HEL) stress of the Ti-based BMG. When the velocity of aluminum flyer with thickness of 1.7 mm is 570 m/s, the spall strength of the alloy sample is 2.9 GPa while the stress, strain and particle velocity behind the shock front are 4.3 GPa, 2.8% and 150 m/s, respectively. The calculated yield strength for the alloy upon the dynamic loading is much larger than that under the quasistatic compressive loading. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation indicates that, after dynamic loading, the free surface of the sample forms a lot of shear bands and cracks. Optical microscope (OM) shows that cracks and microvoids, which cause the occurrence of the spallation of the sample, are distributed on the cross-section of the recovered Ti-based BMG sample.