Strengthening of high-entropy alloys via modulation of cryo-pre-straining-induced defects

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2022.04.055

Abstract

Abstract:

Owing to their attractive structure and mechanical properties, high-entropy alloys (HEAs) and medium-entropy alloys (MEAs) have attracted considerable research interest. The strength of HEAs/MEAs with a single face-centered cubic (FCC) phase, on the other hand, requires improvement. Therefore, in this study, we demonstrate a strategy for increasing the room-temperature strength of FCC-phase HEAs/MEAs by tuning cryo-pre-straining-induced crystal defects via the temperature-dependent stacking fault energy-regulated plasticity mechanism. Through neutron diffraction line profile analysis and electron microscope observation, the effect of the tuned defects on the tensile strength was clarified. Due to the cryo-rolling-induced high dislocation density, mechanical twins, and stacking faults, the room-temperature yield strength of an equiatomic CoCrFeNi HEA was increased by ∼290%, from 243 MPa (as-recrystallized) to 941.6 MPa (30% cryo-rolled), while maintaining a tensile elongation of 18%. After partial recovery via heat treatment, the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength decreased slightly to 869 and 936 MPa, respectively. Conversely, the elongation increased to 25.6%. The dislocation density and distribution of the dislocations were found to contribute to the strengthening caused by forest dislocations, which warrants further investigation. This study discussed the possibility of developing single-phase high-performance HEAs by tuning pre-straining-induced crystal defects.

Key words: High-entropy alloys, Cryo-pre-straining, Crystal defects, Neutron diffraction, Mechanical property

Daixiu Wei, Wu Gong, Liqiang Wang, Bowen Tang, Takuro Kawasaki, Stefanus Harjo, Hidemi Kato. Strengthening of high-entropy alloys via modulation of cryo-pre-straining-induced defects[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2022, 129: 251-260.

Figures/Tables 7

Fig. 1. (a) Setup for the ex situ neutron diffraction measurements, (b) EBSD IPF map showing the grain structure of the CoCrFeNi HEA before CR, (c) neutron diffraction profiles of the CoCrFeNi HEA before CR, after CR, and after subsequent HT at 500, 600, and 700 °C for 1 h, respectively. The neutron diffraction profiles were collected by the axial detector, reflecting the microstructure characteristics along the RD of the samples.

Fig. 2. EBSD IPF maps (a-c) and boundary maps (d-f) of the CoCrFeNi HEA after CR to a 10% (a, d), 20% (b, e), and 30% (c, f) reduction in thickness. The length fractions of the subgrain boundaries (2°-5°), low-angle grain boundaries (5°-15°), and high-angle grain boundaries (15°-180°) are inserted in the boundary maps.

Fig. 3. EBSD IPF maps of the CoCrFeNi HEA after CR and subsequent HT at (a-c) 600 °C for 1 h or (d-f) 700 °C for 1 h. The CR strain was 10% (a, d), 20% (b, e), and 30% (c, f), respectively.

Fig. 4. EBSD boundary maps of the samples after CR and HT at 600 °C for 1 h (a-c) or at 700 °C for 1 h (d-f), corresponding to the EBSD IPF maps in Fig. 3. The CR strain was 10% (a, d), 20% (b, e), and 30% (c, f), respectively. The maps show the distribution of the boundaries with misorientation angles of 2°-5° (red), 5°-15° (green), and 15°-180° (blue). The length fractions of the subgrain boundaries (2°-5°), low-angle grain boundaries (5°-15°), and high-angle grain boundaries (15°-180°) are inserted in the boundary maps.

Fig. 5. (a) Stacking fault probability, (b) dislocation density, and (c) inverse pole figure acquired from the line profile analysis of the neutron diffraction patterns of the CoCrFeNi HEA before CR, after 20% CR, and the 20% CR samples after HT at 600 or 700 °C for 1 h, respectively.

Fig. 6. TEM bright-field (BF) images of the CoCrFeNi HEA rolled by a 10% reduction in thickness at (a) 20 and (b) -196 °C. TEM BF images of the HEA after 10% CR and HT at (c) 600 °C for 1 h and (d) 700 °C for 1 h. The white circles in the TEM images demonstrate the regions for acquiring the selected area diffraction patterns.

Fig. 7. (a-e) Room-temperature tensile properties of the CoCrFeNi HEAs: (a) CR samples; (b) samples after CR and HT at 600 °C for 1 h; (c) samples after CR and HT at 700 °C for 1 h; (d) comparison of the yield strengths; (e) comparison of the UTS. (f) Measured enhancement of yield strength (△σ) and the calculated △σd, △σG, △σsf, and △σx for the CR samples, and the samples after CR and HT at 600 °C for 1 h or 700 °C for 1 h.

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