Internal friction peaks and structural relaxation on some electroless deposited amorphous alloys

Internal friction and dynamic modulus measurements are carried out on amorphous electroless deposited Ni-B and Ni-P alloys with different metalloid concentration from room temperature up to the starting temperature of the crystallization processes. In this temperature range, characterized by 'structural relaxation' one or two anelastic peaks depending on the alloy composition are observed. The influence of annealing and quenching on these peaks is studied together with the evaluation of the activation energies and of the relaxation times. Some possible elementary mechanisms at the origin of these peaks are discussed, also in connection with models recently proposed to explain the nature of the anelastic and magnetic relaxation peaks observed by other authors, in the same temperature range, on different amorphous alloys obtained with other techniques. The correlation of the peaks observed with the structural relaxation processes is also examined. (author)