Promising Ballistic Behavior of CoCrFeMnNi High Entropy Alloy

Abstract

The development of high entropy alloys led to a great scientific interest owing to the fact that these alloys are responsible for presenting previously unexplored possibilities. Not only the breakdown of the classical paradigm of metal alloying development, but also the infinite possibilities on compositions and the unique properties exhibited, attracted the attention of a number of researchers since the "discovery" of high entropy alloys in 2004. Recently, it was suggested that some of these alloys could be suitable for ballistic application. This works aims to study the behavior of a CoCrFeMnNi high entropy alloy against a 271 m/s lean projectile. It is shown for the first time that high entropy alloys might provide a substantial protection against this ammunition threat. Furthermore, the results suggested that this specific alloy could be strengthen by shock-wave propagation and that the main ballistic energy absorption mechanism was the spalling of surfaces.