J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2026, Vol. 259: 162-172.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2025.05.078

• Research Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Accelerated design and property validation of L12-strengthened Co-Ni-Cr-Al-Cu-Ti high-entropy superalloys based on unsupervised and supervised learning

Shengkun Xia,b, Qiuling Taoa, Zhou Lie, Jiahui Lia, Longke Baoa, Cuiping Wangd, Rongpei Shia, Haijun Zhangb, Jinxin Yuh, Zhifu Yaof,a,*, Xiaoyu Chongg,*, Xingjun Liua,c,d,*   

  1. aSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, and Institute of Materials Genome and Big Data, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China;
    bDepartment of Computer Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China;
    cState Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China;
    dCollege of Materials and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Materials Genome, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China;
    eCollege of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data for Medical Science, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan 250117, China;
    fSino-German College of Intelligent Manufacturing, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen 518118, China;
    gFaculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650093, China;
    hChina Rare Earth Group Research Institute, Shenzhen 518000, China
  • Received:2024-12-26 Revised:2025-04-27 Accepted:2025-05-13 Published:2026-07-10 Online:2025-08-06
  • Contact: *E-mail addresses: yaozhifu2022@163.com (Z. Yao), xiaoyuchong@kust.edu.cn (X.Chong), xjliu@hit.edu.cn (X. Liu).

Abstract: High-entropy alloys (HEAs) eliminate the traditional distinction between “principal” and “alloying” elements, leading to the development of high-entropy superalloys (HESAs) with coherent γ-γ' dual-phase structures. However, the inclusion of multiple principal elements in HESAs significantly broadens the compositional design space, posing challenges for conventional trial-and-error approaches. To address this, we propose an integrated strategy that combines first-principles calculations with both unsupervised and supervised machine learning (ML) to accelerate the discovery of L12-strengthened Co-Ni-Cr-Al-Cu-Ti HESAs. In this framework, ML is first used to identify suitable strengthening elements, followed by thermodynamic calculations to refine candidate compositions. The mechanical properties and microstructural features of the optimized alloys are then validated experimentally. Notably, Cu plays a key role in stabilizing the L12 phase in HESAs; however, excessive Cu content (above 5 at. %) can depress both the melting point and mechanical strength. Using this approach, we successfully designed Co38Cr23Ni22Al6Ti6Cu5, which exhibits a compressive yield strength of 633 MPa at 700 ℃, an L12 solvus temperature of 1030 ℃, and a melting point of 1220 ℃. These results provide valuable insights into the accelerated design of HESAs with coherent γ-γ' dual-phase microstructures.

Key words: High-entropy superalloy, Machine learning, First-principle calculations, CALPHAD, Mechanical property