Progress in studying the fatigue behavior of Zr-based bulk-metallic glasses and their composites

Zr-based amorphous alloys with a high glass-forming ability and thermal stability were discovered in 1990. In the following years, the alloy design increased the critical casting thickness to several centimeters, and a homogeneous dispersion of nanoscale particles was found to improve the ductility. Therefore, Zr-based bulk-metallic glasses (BMGs) are being studied widely because of their potential as structural materials. The fatigue behavior is an important characteristic of structural materials. The current review documents the fatigue studies of Zr-based BMGs and their composites. The fatigue characteristics of these alloys in different loading conditions and environments are summarized and compared in this paper. The factors affecting the fatigue behavior of the Zr-based BMGs and their composites are discussed. The mechanisms of fatigue-crack initiation and propagation in BMGs are addressed in this review. In order to broaden the scope of applications of BMGs, a fundamental understanding of the fatigue behavior is important for the design of new alloy systems and the development of the processing techniques. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.