The Zr-based bulk metallic glasses, developed since the late 1980s, have very interesting mechanical properties, which can be considered for many applications including working under oxidizing atmosphere conditions at high temperatures. It is therefore interesting to study their oxidation resistance and to characterize the oxide scale formed on alloys’ surface. The fundamental objective of this thesis is to enhance the understanding of the role of various thermodynamic and chemistry parameters on the oxidation behaviour of the Zr-based bulk metallic glasses at high temperature under dry air, to determine the residual stresses in the oxide layer, in comparison with their crystalline alloys with the same chemical composition after an annealing treatment. The oxidation kinetics of these glasses and the crystalline structure of oxide scale ZrO2 depend on the temperature and the oxidation duration: for short periods of oxidation or at a temperature below Tg, the kinetics follows a parabolic law, whereas, if the sample is oxidized at T > Tg, the kinetics can be divided into two parts. The crystalline counterparts are oxidized by a parabolic rule whatever the temperature; for long oxidation duration at a temperature close to Tg, the kinetics becomes more complex because of the crystallisation of the glasses during the oxidation tests. Also the crystalline structure of the oxide layers depends on the oxidation temperature: the oxide layer consists only in tetragonal Zirconia at T < Tg, while monoclinic Zirconia was formed at higher temperature. The mechanism of the formation of the oxide scale is due to both the interior diffusion of Oxygen ions and the external diffusion of Zirconium ions. However the diffusion of Zirconium ions slows gradually during the crystallisation process of the glass matrix. When the crystallisation is completed, the formation of Zirconia is controlled by only the internal diffusion of oxygen ions. The corresponding residual stresses existing in the oxide layer are compressive, both for the metallic glass and counterpart, and they increase linearly with the thickness of the oxide layer. The growth and residual stresses are strongly influenced by the phase transition of Zirconia during oxidation process.
