Work hardening and homogeneous elongation in metallic glass matrix composite at cryogenic temperature

Tensile work-hardening ability (~1.8%) was firstly obtained in an in-situ metallic glass matrix composite (MGMCs) at cryogenic temperature (77 K). It is interesting that stress-induced martensitic (SIM) transformation occurs at 77 K, but not at 298 K within dendrites. It is owning to the change of the competitive relationship between the dislocation slips and SIM transformation from 298 to 77 K. The formation of martensite and the special morphology formed by its segmentation effectively improve the hardening ability. The retardation of the propagating shear bands and the formation of multiple shear bands effectively decrease the softening rate. [Display omitted] •The formation of martensite improve the hardening ability within dendrites at 77 K.•The high work-hardening ability is attributed to phase transformation and inhibition of softening.•The retardation of the propagating shear bands and the formation of multiple shear bands decrease the softening rate.