Notched fatigue of Zr-based bulk metallic glass

In the present study, fatigue tests of sharp-notched Zr-based bulk metallic glass (BGM), were conducted under fully reversed cyclic bending, and the fatigue crack initiation mechanisms were clarified by using AFM. The fracture surface was also observed to examine the crack propagation mechanism. The fatigue notch factor was 2.0, while the elastic stress concentration factor is 2.7. From the macroscopic observations of fractured specimen, either tension mode or shear mode fracture morphologies were observed. Either in smooth specimens or notched specimens, no prodigious sign of crack initiation were observed, i.e., fatigue cracks were initiated from shear bands those were formed just before the crack initiation.