Effect of the amount of SiC particles on the microstructure, mechanical and wear properties of FeMnCoCr high entropy alloy composites

Abstract

Ceramic particle reinforced high entropy (HEA) alloy composites have attracted considerable attention due to their excellent combination of strength, ductility, and wear resistance. In this work, the high entropy alloy composites (Fe 50 Mn 30 Co 10 Cr 10 matrix) with the different SiC contents (0.1, 0.5, 1, and 3 vol%) were fabricated by arc melting. The effect of SiC content on microstructure characteristics, mechanical and wear properties of Fe 50 Mn 30 Co 10 Cr 10 composites were studied. The results showed that SiC stabilized the γ phase and refined the grain sizes. In addition, the number of ε variants were decreased with refined grain sizes. The composite with 1 vol% SiC optimized the combination of ultimate tensile strength and ductility, which is attributed to grain-boundary strengthening, twin boundary strengthening, dispersion strengthening and load-bearing strengthening. Simultaneously, the optimized composite with 1 vol% SiC displayed the best wear friction ability, in which the proper SiC content played a key role in carrying load during friction. • Fe 50 Mn 30 Co 10 Cr 10 with four different SiC contents (0.1, 0.5, 1, and 3 vol%) are prepared by the arc-melting. • SiC particles promote phase transformation from ε to γ, refine the grain sizes and decrease the number of ε variants. • Fe 49 Mn 30 Co 10 Cr 10 SiC 1 composite optimizes the combination of ultimate tensile strength and ductility. • Fe 49 Mn 30 Co 10 Cr 10 SiC 1 composite displays the best wear friction ability.