J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2026, Vol. 250: 1-16.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2025.05.075

• Research article •     Next Articles

Multiple mechanisms in Ni-rich high-entropy alloy for optimized strength and ductility across temperatures

Xiaoyang Zhanga, Jinchen Yanga, Huanqing Lia, Ruifeng Donga, Hua Houa,b, Yuhong Zhaoa,c,d,*   

  1. aSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of the Ministry of Education and Shanxi Province for High-performance Al/Mg Alloy Materials, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China;
    bSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China;
    cBeijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China;
    dInstitute of Materials Intelligent Technology, Liaoning Academy of Materials, Shenyang 110004, China
  • Received:2025-03-17 Revised:2025-05-18 Accepted:2025-05-22 Published:2026-04-10 Online:2025-07-16
  • Contact: *E-mail address: zhaoyuhong@nuc.edu.cn (Y. Zhao).

Abstract: High-entropy alloys (HEAs) have gained attention for their exceptional mechanical properties across a wide temperature range. At the same time, the alloys with sustained high strength and toughness across temperatures remain scarce. This study focuses on a Ni-rich HEA, Ni44 Fe19 Co16 Cr9 V9 Al3 , tailored specif-ically for elevated temperature applications. The alloy exhibits outstanding strength-ductility synergy at room temperature, low temperature (77 K), and high temperatures (873 and 1073 K). Its ultimate ten-sile strengths are about 1.59 GPa, 1.28 GPa, 1.03 GPa, and 619 MPa, respectively at 77, 293, 873, and 1073 K, accompanied by excellent ductility of 44.7 %, 33.6 %, 35.1 %, and 13.7 %, respectively. The excep-tional mechanical behavior is realized by deliberate intervention reinforcement mechanisms at various temperatures, including back stress, dislocation, coherent precipitates, stacking faults, and TWIP effects. Furthermore, phase field simulation indicated that, besides the TWIP effect caused by the lower stack-ing fault energy, the subsequent deformation mechanisms, including the breakage of the wider twins into nanotwins to relieve the stress concentration, and the non-turning transfer of intracrystalline dis-locations by the nanotwin boundaries, are important reasons for the high strength and high ductility of the alloy at 77 K. Conversely, at ambient temperatures, deformation is governed by hetero-deformation-induced hardening, driven primarily by the accumulation of geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs). At elevated temperatures (873-1073 K), dynamic interactions between precipitates and dislocations dom-inate, involving mechanisms such as the Portevin-Le Chatelier effect and precipitate bypass (e.g., Orowan looping), with stacking faults further contributing to strengthening. This study presents a comprehensive understanding of the deformation mechanisms and can provide an efficient pathway for further enhance-ment of the alloy for broad temperature applications.

Key words: High-entropy alloy, Heterogeneous structure, Strength-ductility synergy Multiple, strengthening mechanisms, Elevated temperatures, Phase field simulation