  We performed molecular dynamics simulations of Zr$_{50}$Cu$_{50}$ metallic
glass samples submitted to mechanical deformation at different strain rates.
The simultaneous measurements of the stress-strain curve, and of the
temperature evolution during the cyclic mechanical load, are used to determine
the thermo-mechanical constitutive laws at the continuum scale. It is shown
that plastic deformation acts as a heat source, but strong finite size effects
affect the unfolding of shear bands and its related dissipation rate. Finally,
a thermo-mechanical constitutive law is proposed to reproduce quantitavely
self-heating processes at different scales.
