Deformation-induced martensitic transformation in Cu–Zr–(Al,Ti) bulk metallic glass composites

Plastic deformation of Cu–Zr–(Al,Ti) bulk metallic glass (BMG) composites induces a martensitic phase transformation from the B2 to the B19′ CuZr phase. Addition of Ti to binary Cu–Zr increases the temperature above which the B2 CuZr phase becomes stable. This affects the phase formation upon quenching in Cu–Zr–Ti BMG composites. The deformation-induced martensitic transformation is believed to cause the strong work hardening and to contribute to the large compressive deformability with plastic strains up to 15%.