The mechanical behavior of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) was investigated by nanoindentation with a spherical indenter. The transition from perfectly elastic behavior to plastic deformation was clearly observed as a pop-in event (sudden displacement excursion) on the load-displacement curves. Hertzian stress analysis was used to describe fully the load-displacement behavior during elastic deformation and to determine the theoretical shear strengths of the BMGs.

Glass transition and crystallization behavior of Mg75Ni10Nd15 metallic glass has been studied by a temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimeter (TMDSC) and a normal differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The truly vitreous state of the as-spun Mg75Ni10Nd15 alloy was confirmed by the direct observation of the glass transition through TMDSC measurements, which was not perceptible in the normal DSC heating scans. It was concluded that the glass transition signal was concealed by the relatively strong concurrent signal of the primary crystallization. This was further confirmed by the fact that the glass transition was revealed by both TMDSC and DSC for the samples with negligible heat release from the primary crystallization.