High-entropy Alloys For Applications Research Articles

Effects of annealing on the structure and mechanical properties of FeCoCrNi high-entropy alloy fabricated via selective laser melting

To widen the applications of FeCoCrNi high-entropy alloys (HEAs) fabricated via selective laser melting, their mechanical properties must be improved, and annealing plays an important role in this regard. In this study, the microstructure, residual stress, and mechanical properties of the as-printed specimen and specimens annealed at 773–1573 K for 2 h were compared. As the annealing temperature increased, the specimen structure recrystallized from all columnar grains to equiaxial grains containing numerous annealing twins. The dislocation network, which formed during the solidification process under considerable shrinkage strain, decomposed into dislocations. The residual stress, yield strength, and hardness decreased, while the plasticity and impact toughness increased. During the deformation of as-printed and low-temperature-annealed specimens, the dislocation network remained unchanged and provided resistance to the dislocations moving within it, thus strengthening the specimen. The tensile strength remained largely unchanged owing to the reduction in the residual stress during low-temperature annealing, as well as the formation of the twinning network and dislocation wall under large deformation upon high-temperature annealing. Meanwhile, the ductility greatly increased, thus increasing the potential for industrial application of HEAs.

The low-temperature mechanical properties of the Fe40Mn40Co10Cr10 high-entropy alloy, the ductility of which is induced by twinning

In this work, we studied the low-temperature plasticity, elastic and dissipative characteristics, as well as the microstructural evolution of the Fe40Mn40Co10Cr10 high-entropy alloy in a wide temperature range of 300 - 0.5 K. The temperature dependences of yield strength, strain hardening, strength and ductility, as well as acoustic absorption and dynamic Young's modulus are obtained. It was found that the structure of Fe40Mn40Co10Cr10 alloy in the initial state is single-phase with fcc lattice, and in the deformed state at low temperatures it becomes two-phase due to the deformation-induced phase transition. In addition, EBSD analysis of the alloy structure revealed a change in grain morphology and the appearance of twin dislocations after plastic deformation at all investigatedtemperatures. Acoustic studies showed that the transition from the initial to the deformed state changes the character of the temperature dependence of the dynamic Young's modulus from almost linear to exponential, and reduces the absolute values. The Fe40Mn40Co10Cr10 alloy has excellent strength and ductility at a high strain hardening rate, which is explained by the significant contribution of the twinning process. With a decrease in temperature from 300 to 4.2 K, a strong temperature dependence of the yield strength is observed, which indicates the thermal activation of the nature of the plastic deformation of the alloys in this temperature range. In the temperature range of 0.5-4.2 K, an anomaly of the yield strength was observed, namely a decrease in the value of the yield strength with decreasing temperature from 4.2 K to 0.5 K. The anomalous dependence of the yield strength is due to a change in the mechanism of overcoming local barriers from thermoactivated to inertial one, when part of the local obstacles is overcome by dislocations without activation. This leads to a decrease in yield strength with decreasing temperature. At a temperature of 4.2 K and below, the smooth nature of the plastic deformation changes from smooth to serrated. The jumps begin immediately after the yield strength and gradually increase from 40 MPa to ~ 160 MPa. The results obtained are important for practical applications of high-entropy alloys at low temperatures.

Friction and wear behavior of single-phase high-entropy alloy FeCoNiCrMn under MoS2-oil lubrication

PurposeThe face-centered cubic structured single-phase FeCoNiCrMn high-entropy alloys (HEAs) were prepared to study the friction and wear behavior of HEAs under MoS2-oil lubrication.Design/methodology/approachFeCoNiCrMn alloys were subjected to ball-on-disc reciprocating sliding against the GCr15 ball. L25(56) orthogonal wear tests were designed for velocity Vrel (4.167-20.833 mm/s), load FN (10-50 N), temperature T (RT-140 °C) and time t (5-20 min). Based on orthogonal test results, multivariate repeated measures ANOVA was performed, and further comparative experiments were conducted for Vrel, FN and T. Energy dispersive spectrometer and scanning electron microscope were applied to characterize the surface morphology of wear scar and its element distribution.FindingsVrel, FN and t exerted the most significant influence (p < 0.01) on the average friction coefficient f. Vrel and FN were identified as the momentous effect (p < 0.01) on wear volume ΔV. T (≥50 °C) had positive correlation with f and ΔV, and both Vrel and FN correlated negatively with f. The dominant abrasive wear was attributed to the large hardness difference of the friction pair. Fatigue wear and delamination wear were experienced at higher speeds (Vrel ≥ 12.5 mm/s) and loading levels (FN ≥ 40 N). Elevated temperature weakens the lubrication effect of MoS2-oil and the mechanical properties of FeCoNiCrMn matrix, intensifying abrasive wear.Originality/valueThis study is expected to provide references for exploration on the wear behavior of single-phase HEAs under complex working conditions with lubrication and hence will help develop the application of HEAs in practical engineering.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-08-2019-0303

Swamps of hydrogen in equiatomic FeCuCrMnMo alloys: First-principles calculations

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) merit promising applications in nuclear reactors. A FeCuCrMnMo HEA with low activation under neutron irradiation was studied, which was first focused on the search of an equilibrium state by a hybrid method combining the Metropolis Monte Carlo method and density functional theory (DFT). As a transmutation byproduct in fission reactions or fuel for fusion reactions, the evolution of hydrogen, in the HEA was then investigated through a systematic analysis of H solution and diffusion using DFT and molecular dynamics simulations. Rooted in the unique distortion of HEA lattices, i.e., the destroyed translational symmetry of the energy landscape, tetrahedral and octahedral interstitial positions have no significant difference in the priority of H residing. Diffusion of H, as a guest atom, also presents a sluggish effect. The dramatic increases and decreases in potential energy generate a great number of insurmountable barriers pervading the matrix and largely suppressing the mobility of H. However, this effect originates not only from the difference between the potential energies of interstitial positions as observed with host atoms, which increases the fluctuation of migration barriers and decreases the effective atomic jump frequency, but also from the destabilization of interstitial positions for H residing. This blocks the diffusion channels of H and further decreases the atomic jump probability in Einstein's equation. The present investigation provides fundamental insight into H behavior in HEAs and clues for the application of HEAs as materials of tritium permeation barriers or resistance to hydrogen irradiation.

A strategy of designing high-entropy alloys with high-temperature shape memory effect

Shape memory effect, the ability to recover a pre-deformed shape on heating, results from a reversible martensitic transformation between austenite and martensite phases. Here, we demonstrate a strategy of designing high-entropy alloys (HEAs) with high-temperature shape memory effect in the CrMnFeCoNi alloy system. First, we calculate the difference in Gibbs free energy between face-centered-cubic (FCC) and hexagonal-close-packed (HCP) phases, and find a substantial increase in thermodynamic equilibrium temperature between the FCC and HCP phases through composition tuning, leading to thermally- and stress-induced martensitic transformations. As a consequence, the shape recovery temperature in non-equiatomic CrMnFeCoNi alloys can be increased to 698 K, which is much higher than that of conventional shape memory alloys (SMAs) and comparable to that of B2-based multi-component SMAs containing noble metals (Pd, Pt, etc.) or refractory metals (Zr, Hf, etc.). This result opens a vast field of applications of HEAs as a novel class of cost-effective high-temperature SMAs.

Development of a large size FCC high-entropy alloy with excellent mechanical properties

A large size 10 kg Fe40Mn40Co10Cr10 high-entropy alloy (HEA) with 3.3 at. % C-doped was prepared by electromagnetic levitation melting. The hot deformation behavior of the as-cast ingot was investigated to guide the hot forging process. Annealing was further conducted on the as-forged samples to obtain more optimized mechanical properties. The as-forged HEA had yield strength (YS) of 792 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 1055 MPa and a satisfactory fracture elongation (EL) of 22.6%. The YS of the HEA annealed at 1050 °C increased from 393 MPa to 512 MPa and EL from 26.5% to 55.3% in comparison with the as-cast HEA. It is suggested that the enhanced yield strength of the as annealed HEA was attributed to carbon interstitial solid solution strengthening, grain refining and precipitation of tiny carbides, and the improvement of ductility was due to the elimination of cast defects and twinning-induced plasticity. This work paved the way for the application of HEA as high performance structure materials.

Welding of High Entropy Alloys-A Review.

High-entropy alloy (HEA) offers great flexibility in materials design with 3–5 principal elements and a range of unique advantages such as good microstructure stability, mechanical strength over a broad range of temperatures and corrosion resistance, etc. Welding of high entropy alloy, as a key joining method, is an important emerging area with significant potential impact to future application-oriented research and technological developments in HEAs. The selection of feasible welding processes with optimized parameters is essential to enhance the applications of HEAs. However, the structure of the welded joints varies with material systems, welding methods and parameters. A systemic understanding of the structures and properties of the weldment is directly relevant to the application of HEAs as well as managing the effect of welding on situations such as corrosion that are known to be a service life limiting factor of welded structures in conditions such as marine environments. In this paper, key recent work on welding of HEAs is reviewed in detail focusing on the research of main HEA systems when applying different welding techniques. The experimental details including sample preparation, sample size (thickness) and welding conditions reflecting energy input are summarized and key issues are highlighted. The microstructures and properties of different welding zones, in particular the fusion zone (FZ) and the heat affected zones (HAZ), formed with different welding methods are compared and presented in details and the structure-property relationships are discussed. The work shows that the weldability of HEAs varies with the HEA composition groups and the welding method employed. Arc and laser welding of AlCoCrFeNi HEAs results in lower hardness in the FZ and HAZ and reduced overall strength. Friction stir welding results in higher hardness in the FZ and achieves comparable/higher strength of the welded joints in tensile tests. The welded HEAs are capable of maintaining a reasonable proportion of the ductility. The key structure changes including element distribution, the volume fraction of face centered cubic (FCC) and body centered cubic (BCC) phase as well as reported changes in the lattice constants are summarized and analyzed. Detailed mechanisms governing the mechanical properties including the grain size-property/hardness relationship in the form of Hall–Petch (H–P) effect for both bulk and welded structure of HEAs are compared. Finally, future challenges and main areas to research are highlighted.

Effect of the addition of Mg, Ti, Ni on the decoloration performance of AlCrFeMn high entropy alloy

Due to the excellent mechanical properties of high entropy alloys (HEAs), they have attracted wide attention of materials researchers, but their functional properties have rarely been reported. In order to study the functional properties of HEAs, the decoloration of azo dye Direct Blue 6 (DB6) using equiatomic AlCrFeMn and AlCrFeMnM (M = Mg, Ti, Ni) HEAs synthesized by mechanical alloying was reported in this work. The decoloration rate of DB6 by ball-milled (BM) AlCrFeMn was about 3 times faster than that of by BM MgZn-based amorphous alloy, which was the best one reported in the metallic glasses so far. In order to further improve the decoloration efficiency, we considered adding the fifth elements (Mg or Ti or Ni) to AlCrFeMn. Both of Mg and Ti could improve the decoloration performance of AlCrFeMn, but Ni played a negative role. The reaction activity of AlCrFeMnMg and AlCrFeMnTi was more than 2 and 1.2 times faster than that of AlCrFeMn. The effects of initial pH, temperatures and dye concentration on the decoloration efficiency of AlCrFeMnMg during reactions were systematically investigated. The reaction activity of AlCrFeMnMg in alkaline and acidic azo dye solution was about 37.5 and 16.6 times faster than that of neutral solution, respectively. This work had implications in reaching an attractive, low cost and efficient method for functional applications of HEAs.

Microstructure and enhanced strength of laser aided additive manufactured CoCrFeNiMn high entropy alloy

The CoCrFeNiMn high entropy alloy (HEA) bulk alloy was successfully manufactured using laser aided additive manufacturing (LAAM). The microstructure and mechanical behaviors of the as-fabricated HEAs were investigated. The as-built HEAs exhibit directional solidification at regions close to the melt-pool boundaries, forming dendritic columnar grains and transiting to equiaxed grains further away from the boundaries. Compared with the conventionally cast HEAs, the CoCrFeNiMn fabricated using LAAM possesses significantly higher yield strength (518 MPa) and ultimate tensile strength (660 MPa). The strengthening effect is attributed to finer grains and could be explained quantitatively through grain boundary strengthening. The as-built HEA shows a simultaneous enhancement in yield strength and ductility with decreasing testing temperature. The improved low temperature tensile properties could be ascribed to the formation of deformation twins at low temperature, which results in a steady strain hardening behavior. This work demonstrates the potential of using LAAM technology to extend the application of HEAs with fabrication of larger and more complex parts with good mechanical properties.

Ultrahigh cryogenic strength and exceptional ductility in ultrafine-grained CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy with fully recrystallized structure

Similar to the conventional alloys, attaining excellent combination of high strength and ductility is still challenging in the high-entropy alloys (HEAs). In this work, a fully recrystallized ultrafine-grained (UFG) microstructure was introduced into the single-phase CoCrFeMnNi HEA via cold rolling and annealing process. The UFG HEA displays ultrahigh yield and ultimate tensile strengths of 1.24 GPa and 1.46 GPa, respectively, and excellent ductility with a uniform elongation of 41% at 77 K. The exceptional strength-ductility combination in the UFG CoCrFeMnNi HEA surpasses those of all existing HEAs and other advanced engineering alloys. Such unparalleled mechanical properties stem from the fully recrystallized ultrafine grains that significantly strengthen the material and simultaneously provide high strain-hardening capability and the activations of multiple deformation mechanisms consisting of prominent dislocation activities, profuse stacking faults, and deformation twins. The fully recrystallized UFG microstructures do not only shed light on the design and development of HEAs with superior mechanical properties, but also enrich the potential applications of HEAs at the cryogenic environment.

Properties and Preparation of High Entropy Alloys

As a consequence of multi-components, the high entropy alloys embodied serious cocktail party effect and lattice distortion. So high entropy alloys have high strength and hardness possess many comprehensive properties such as thermostability and corrosion resistance. Because of excellent mechanical properties and chemical properties, high entropy alloys have immeasurable potential of development. This paper mainly introduces the properties, preparations and applications of high entropy alloys, and finally summarizes them.

Properties and Preparation of High Entropy Alloys

As a consequence of multi-components, the high entropy alloys embodied serious cocktail party effect and lattice distortion. So high entropy alloys have high strength and hardness possess many comprehensive properties such as thermostability and corrosion resistance. Because of excellent mechanical properties and chemical properties, high entropy alloys have immeasurable potential of development. This paper mainly introduces the properties, preparations and applications of high entropy alloys, and finally summarizes them.

Production of AlCrNbTaTi High Entropy Alloy via Electro-Deoxidation of Metal Oxides

High entropy alloys (HEAs) have attracted increasing attention because of their outstanding properties for various applications. During the preparation of HEAs, however, high-purity metals are usually used as raw material, which limits the large-scale application of HEAs. In this work, a simple electrochemical method is demonstrated to achieve homogeneous AlCrNbTaTi HEAs directly from metal oxide mixtures, and meanwhile the cathodic reduction mechanism is discussed. The patterns of both X-ray diffraction and selected area electron diffraction show that the as-prepared AlCrNbTaTi HEAs present body centered cubic structure. Upon electrolysis for 12 h, the oxygen content of the product is ∼0.6 wt% and the cathodic current efficiency is ∼46.7%. The results also suggest that the cathodic reduction process obeys a three-phase interline propagation mechanism, with the pellet surface initially metallized.

Equilibrium high entropy alloy phase stability from experiments and thermodynamic modeling

Long-term stability of high entropy alloys (HEAs) is a critical consideration for the design and practical application of HEAs. It has long been assumed that many HEAs are a kinetically-stabilized metastable structure, and recent experiments have confirmed this hypothesis by observing HEA decomposition after long-term equilibration. In the present work, we demonstrate the use of the CALculation of PHAse Diagrams (CALPHAD) approach to predict HEA stability and processing parameters, comparing experimental long-term annealing observations to CALPHAD phase diagrams from a commercially-available HEA database. We find good agreement between single- and multi-phase predictions and experiments.

Dual-phase high-entropy alloys for high-temperature structural applications

The dual-phase AlCoCrFeNi alloy exhibits excellent specific strength in the 773–873 K temperature range. However, the phase transformation taking place above 773 K hinders its structural use at higher temperatures. In the present study, the temperature dependence of the specific strength of the AlCoCrFeNi alloy has been examined from a microstructural point of view. One of the key findings of this work is that the high-temperature phase stability of the dual-phase alloy is strongly affected by its microstructural morphology; this finding provides new insights into the application of high-entropy alloys as high-temperature structural materials, for instance in aerospace engine components.

Secondary phases in AlxCoCrFeNi high-entropy alloys: An in-situ TEM heating study and thermodynamic appraisal

Secondary phases, either introduced by alloying or heat treatment, are commonly present in most high-entropy alloys (HEAs). Understanding the formation of secondary phases at high temperatures, and their effect on mechanical properties, is a critical issue that is undertaken in the present study, using the AlxCoCrFeNi (x = 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7) as a model alloy. The in-situ transmission-electron-microscopy (TEM) heating observation, an atom-probe-tomography (APT) study for the reference starting materials (Al0.3 and Al0.5 alloys), and thermodynamic calculations for all three alloys, are performed to investigate (1) the aluminum effect on the secondary-phase fractions, (2) the annealing-twinning formation in the face-centered-cubic (FCC) matrix, (3) the strengthening effect of the secondary ordered body-centered-cubic (B2) phase, and (4) the nucleation path of the σ secondary phase thoroughly. The present work will substantially optimize the alloy design of HEAs and facilitate applications of HEAs to a wide temperature range.

In situ mechanical characterization of CoCrCuFeNi high-entropy alloy micro/nano-pillars for their size-dependent mechanical behavior

High entropy alloys (HEAs), as a new kind of alloys with equi- or near equi-atomic alloy compositions, have recently received increased interest, but their mechanical properties at micro- and nanoscales are less studied, which could hinder their structural/functional applications in the small scales. In this work, the mechanical responses of single crystalline FCC-structured CoCrCuFeNi HEA micro- and nano-pillars were systematically investigated by an in situ SEM nanoindenter. The yield strengths of the HEA micro-/nano-pillars under uniaxial compression appear to be size-dependent (with the m value of ∼0.46 in the Hall-Petch law relationship), but less sensitive when compared to typical metal/alloy micro- and nano-structures (e.g. with the m values of 0.6–0.9 for FCC metals). We also observed and analyzed the slip systems of the plastically deformed micro-/nano-pillars, and discussed their deformation mechanisms together with the Young’s modulus by multiple loading/unloading compressions experiments. Our results could provide useful insights in the design and application of HEA for functional micro- and nano-devices.

High-entropy Alloys with High Saturation Magnetization, Electrical Resistivity and Malleability

Soft magnetic materials (SMMs) find important applications in a number of areas. The diverse requirements for these applications are often demanding and challenging for the design and fabrication of SMMs. Here we report a new class of FeCoNi(AlSi)x (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.8 in molar ratio) SMMs based on high-entropy alloys (HEAs). It is found that with the compositional and structural changes, the optimal balance of magnetic, electrical, and mechanical properties is achieved at x = 0.2, for which the combination of saturation magnetization (1.15 T), coercivity (1,400 A/m), electrical resistivity (69.5 μΩ·cm), yield strength (342 MPa), and strain without fracture (50%) makes the alloy an excellent SMM. Ab initio calculations are used to explain the high magnetic saturation of the present HEAs and the effects of compositional structures on magnetic characteristics. The HEA-based SMMs point to new directions in both the application of HEAs and the search for novel SMMs.

Recent Patents on High-Entropy Alloy

Although high-entropy alloys were not reported in a scientific journal till 2003, the alloys had been investigated in (Taiwan) National Tsing Hua University in 1995. In more than ten years, the synthesization and application of highentropy alloys have been widely patented. In this paper, we review the recent developments in the technology of highentropy alloys and the patent literature in this area. Keywords: High-entropy alloy, synthesization, application