“Defect”-induced heat flow and shear modulus relaxation in a metallic glass

•Calorimetric and shear modulus measurements on bulk glassy Pd40Ni40P20 are performed.•This data is used for the calculation of heat flow within the framework of the Interstitialcy theory.•A good correspondence between the experiment and calculation is found.

Calorimetric and shear modulus measurements on bulk glassy Pd40Ni40P20 are performed. The obtained data is used for the calculation of structural relaxation-induced heat flow within the framework of the Interstitialcy theory. A good correspondence between the calculated and experimental heat release and absorption both below and above Tg is found. It is concluded that a description based on the population of “defect” states that are similar to dumbbell interstitials is capable to correctly describe the observed heat flow.