Multiplication of shear bands and ductility of metallic glass

The authors find that metallic glass can be controlled to create regularly arrayed fine multiple shear bands under small punch test, indicating that metallic glass essentially has a good plastic deformation ability and thus high ductility under suitable loading condition. The current findings imply that the initiation and propagation of shear bands in metallic glass strongly depends on the stress state and the small punch test can also be regarded as an effective method to characterize the shear deformation ability and distinguish ductile-brittle transition of different metallic glasses.