Cavity nucleation in single-component homogeneous amorphous solids under negative pressure.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Computational Materials Science
• Solid State Physics

Background:

• Cavity formation and growth mechanisms are crucial for understanding material properties.
• Amorphous metallic alloys present unique challenges for studying defect formation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the homogeneous formation of nanosized cavities in amorphous metallic alloys.
• To characterize the mechanisms governing cavity nucleation and growth.

Main Methods:

• Utilized molecular dynamics simulations to model cavity formation.
• Developed an original method for identifying and sizing cavities using virtual particles.
• Applied mean first-passage time analysis to understand the kinetics of cavity formation.

Main Results:

• Cavity formation in amorphous metallic melts was identified as an activation-type process.
• The process aligns with classical nucleation theory, typically used for first-order phase transitions.
• Calculated key parameters including activation energy, critical size, and nucleation rate for cavities.

Conclusions:

• The findings suggest a unified theoretical framework for understanding both crystal and cavity nucleation in amorphous systems.
• The developed virtual particle method offers a new tool for analyzing nanoscale defects.
• This research provides fundamental insights into the mechanical behavior and stability of amorphous alloys.