Digital Commons Network^™

The Effect Of Cryogenic Thermal Cycling On Aging, Rejuvenation, And Mechanical Properties Of Metallic Glasses, Nikolai V. Priezjev

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

The structural relaxation, potential energy states, and mechanical properties of a model glass subjected to thermal cycling are investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. We study a non-additive binary mixture which is annealed with different cooling rates from the liquid phase to a low temperature well below the glass transition. The thermal treatment is applied by repeatedly heating and cooling the system at constant pressure, thus temporarily inducing internal stresses upon thermal expansion. We find that poorly annealed glasses are relocated to progressively lower levels of potential energy over consecutive cycles, whereas well annealed glasses can be rejuvenated at sufficiently large …