Enhancement of plasticity by cryogenic thermal cycling on Fe80P13C7 bulk amorphous alloy

The effect of cryogenic thermal cycling on the plasticity of Fe80P13C7 bulk amorphous alloy was investigated. The plastic strain increases from 1.7% of the as-cast samples to 5.4% of the cryogenic thermal cycling treated ones, while the yielding strength does not have an obvious deterioration. The enhancement of plasticity can be ascribed to the rejuvenation induced more disordered high-energy states in structure, which corresponds to a creation of excess free volume and therefore helps to the formation of multiple shear bands. This work provides an effective method for the modification of plasticity of Fe-based bulk amorphous alloys.