Abstract
Mechanical relaxation and embrittlement of Zr52.5Cu17.9Ni14.6Al10Ti5 bulk metallic glasses were achieved rapidly by the direct current electropulsing treatment. The temperature profile was recorded by an infrared camera and it was found to be non-uniform in the treated specimen. Specifically, temperatures below the glass transition temperature, near and above the crystallization temperature could be ach- ieved, respectively, at different locations in the same treated specimen. Two sets of nanoindentation were conducted. While the first set investigated the mechanical properties of three individually elec- tropulsed specimens with different conditions, the second set indented a single treated specimen along its temperature gradient. Both sets of indentation revealed that by Joule heating to different tempera- tures, relaxation, embrittlement, and crystallization were significantly accelerated by electrical pulses. Results suggest that electropulsing provides an opportunity to simultaneously achieve plastic forming and mechanical property control of metallic glasses.