Degradation of the mechanical properties of NbMoTaW refractory high-entropy alloy in tension

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The mechanical properties of the bcc refractory high-entropy alloy (RHEA) NbMoTaW with columnar and equiaxed microstructures and a nanoscale metal oxide layer on the grain boundaries are investigated at ambient temperatures (RT) to 1200 °C. Under compression, the alloy shows a yield strength, σy, of ⁓1390 ± 20 MPa at RT and retains a high yield strength, σy, of ⁓301.5 MPa at 1200 °C. However, in tension, the fracture strengths, σf, of both columnar and equiaxed microstructures are far lower - below 70 MPa - and the material fails in the elastic regime without showing any measurable ductility at all temperatures. The fracture mechanisms in tension transition from transgranular cleavage at RT to a mixture of transgranular and intergranular fracture at 800 °C to a complete intergranular fracture at 1200 °C due to selective weakening of the metal oxide layer on the grain boundaries driven by a structural change. The transition in the fracture mechanism in the equiaxed microstructure promotes extrinsic toughening at higher temperatures, resulting in a ⁓6.4 times higher fracture toughness (KIc ⁓10.3 MPa√m) at 1200 °C compared to that at RT. NbMoTaW is a well-known RHEA, but the poor tensile strength and fracture toughness measured in this study highlight the critical importance of investigating the mechanical properties of these high-temperature RHEAs in tension.