Soft modes in glasses: chemical control of relaxation and mechanical response. The unusual dynamical and mechanical properties of viscous liquids and glasses underpins many existing and emerging technologies, from lubrication to the strength and fragility of bulk metallic glasses. An improved understanding of how macroscopic properties such as viscous flow, ductility and fracture emerge from the microscopic interactions between atoms and molecules will provide the enabling scientific knowledge f ....Soft modes in glasses: chemical control of relaxation and mechanical response. The unusual dynamical and mechanical properties of viscous liquids and glasses underpins many existing and emerging technologies, from lubrication to the strength and fragility of bulk metallic glasses. An improved understanding of how macroscopic properties such as viscous flow, ductility and fracture emerge from the microscopic interactions between atoms and molecules will provide the enabling scientific knowledge for exploiting the properties of such materials on the nanoscale. National expertise in this area will help establish and strengthen international collaboration with leading research institutes in the field.Read moreRead less
THE STABILITY OF GLASS-FORMING ALLOYS: SIMULATION STUDIES. Many of the properties that make common glass so valuable as a material can also be achieved in amorphous metals. The 'trick' is to avoid crystallization as the molten state is cooled. Recently, novel combinations of metals have been found to slow down crystallization enough to produce stable amorphous alloys. Developing these new materials depends on an accurate atomic level understanding of how crystallization is frustrated in glass-fo ....THE STABILITY OF GLASS-FORMING ALLOYS: SIMULATION STUDIES. Many of the properties that make common glass so valuable as a material can also be achieved in amorphous metals. The 'trick' is to avoid crystallization as the molten state is cooled. Recently, novel combinations of metals have been found to slow down crystallization enough to produce stable amorphous alloys. Developing these new materials depends on an accurate atomic level understanding of how crystallization is frustrated in glass-forming alloys. This project's aim is to use computer simulations to provide the first microscopic picture of the atomic order that stabilzes the amorphous alloys with regards to both crystallization and mechanical stress.Read moreRead less