Strengthening in multi-principal element alloys with local-chemical-order roughened dislocation pathways

Qing-Jie Li,Howard Sheng,Evan Ma

doi:10.1038/s41467-019-11464-7

Qing-Jie Li, Howard Sheng + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11464-7

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Journal: Nature Communications	Publication Date: Aug 8, 2019
Citations: 403	License type: open-access

Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University

Abstract

High-entropy and medium-entropy alloys are presumed to have a configurational entropy as high as that of an ideally mixed solid solution (SS) of multiple elements in near-equal proportions. However, enthalpic interactions inevitably render such chemically disordered SSs rare and metastable, except at very high temperatures. Here we highlight the wide variety of local chemical ordering (LCO) that sets these concentrated SSs apart from traditional solvent-solute ones. Using atomistic simulations, we reveal that the LCO of the multi-principal-element NiCoCr SS changes with alloy processing conditions, producing a wide range of generalized planar fault energies. We show that the LCO heightens the ruggedness of the energy landscape and raises activation barriers governing dislocation activities. This influences the selection of dislocation pathways in slip, faulting, and twinning, and increases the lattice friction to dislocation motion via a nanoscale segment detrapping mechanism. In contrast, severe plastic deformation reduces the LCO towards random SS.

Highlights

High-entropy and medium-entropy alloys are presumed to have a configurational entropy as high as that of an ideally mixed solid solution (SS) of multiple elements in near-equal proportions
In what follows we systematically demonstrate, using an atomistic model that mimics the face-centered cubic (FCC) NiCoCr medium-entropy alloy (MEA), the new features rendered by the concentrated compositions: complex stacking fault (CSF) energy (CSFE) that is varying spatially and with processing conditions, local antiphase boundary (APB) energy, unconventional twin boundary energy and martensite phase boundary energy, and elevated lattice resistance to dislocation motion because of the rugged energy landscape
We chose the FCC MEA NiCoCr as a model because it is a representative of multi-principal element systems and its mechanical properties are typical of other quaternary and quinary HEAs16,28

Summary

Introduction

High-entropy and medium-entropy alloys are presumed to have a configurational entropy as high as that of an ideally mixed solid solution (SS) of multiple elements in near-equal proportions. Multi-principal element materials, with compositions in the central region of the multicomponent phase diagram, are currently dubbed as high-entropy alloys (HEAs). P(ScN)[1], i1⁄41 with a xilnðxiÞ for ideal solutions, where R is the gas constant and xi is the molar fraction of the ith component As of today, such a random SS (RSS) picture remains a common assumption in the HEA community. This RSS state is possible only at very high temperatures, where the degree of local chemical order (LCO) is negligible and the entropy term predominates the free energy reduction to dictate ideal mixing.

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