Investigation of free-volume changes in metallic glasses

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Abstract
When metallic glasses are annealed the free volume is reduced and the sample contracts. A modification to a thermal dilatation apparatus is described which enables these free-volume changes to be measured at constant temperature. The equipment must meet the following requirements: (a) the sample must be heated to the desired temperature in a short time; (b) errors due to the expansion of the sample holders must be eliminated; (c) the temperature must remain stable during the experiment. It is shown that the apparatus described here meets all these requirements and the free-volume changes of amorphous Ni64Zr36 are described.