The effect of cooling rate on the wear performance of a ZrCuAlAg bulk metallic glass

•The small BMG has larger free volume concentration due to faster cooling rate.•The wear performance changes dramatically with decreasing the sample size.•The variation in the wear performance is interpreted based on free volume theory.

In the present work, the local atomic ordering and the wear performance of ZrCuAlAg bulk metallic glass (BMG) samples with different diameters have been studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) plus autocorrelation function analysis, and pin-on-disc dry sliding wear experiments. Differential scanning calorimetry and TEM studies show that smaller diameter BMG sample has higher free volume and less local atomic ordering. The wear experiments demonstrate that with the same chemical composition, the smaller BMG sample exhibits higher coefficient of friction, higher wear rate, and rougher worn surface than those of the larger ones. Compared with larger BMG sample, the faster cooling rate of the smaller sample results in looser atomic configuration with more free volume, which facilitates the formation of the shear bands, and thus leads to larger plasticity and lower wear resistance. The results provide more quantitative understanding on the relationship among the cooling rate, the local atomic ordering, and the wear performance of BMGs.