The size-dependent non-localized deformation in a metallic alloy

The tensile behaviors of Cu50Zr50 metallic glass (MG) films with the same cooling history as a function of film thickness are systematically studied by molecular dynamics simulations. It clearly reveals that with decreasing film thickness, a transition from the localized deformation to the non-localized deformation indeed occurs in Cu50Zr50 MG films, which might be a general phenomenon for all MGs. The thickness-dependent deformation mode change observed here, is then reasonably explained by the Griffith crack-propagation criterion.