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The effect of minor additions of substitutional elements such as Al, Cu, Mn, and Fe on the room-temperature (RT) and elevated-temperature hardness of a single bcc phase Hf20Nb31Ta31Ti18 refractory high entropy alloy is studied here. Interestingly, 2.5 at. % nominal addition of Fe hardened the base Hf20Nb31Ta31Ti18 alloy in the temperature range from RT to 800 °C, while the same nominal content of addition of Al, Cu, and Mn softened the base alloy from RT to 1000 °C. Regardless of solid solution hardening or solid solution softening, the hardness variation with temperature essentially showed the same three-stage pattern for all studied alloys here: a temperature-dependent decrease in hardness below 300 °C/400 °C, followed by a temperature-independent hardness plateau between 300/400 and 800 °C, and finally a temperature-dependent decrease in hardness at temperatures higher than 800 °C. The mechanism for solid solution hardening or softening in bcc-structured refractory high entropy alloys is discussed, together with their temperature dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase stability is an important topic for high entropy alloys (HEAs), but the understanding to it is very limited. The capability to predict phase stability from fundamental properties of constituent elements would benefit the alloy design greatly. The relationship between phase stability and physicochemical/thermodynamic properties of alloying components in HEAs was studied systematically. The mixing enthalpy is found to be the key factor controlling the formation of solid solutions or compounds. The stability of fcc and bcc solid solutions is well delineated by the valance electron concentration (VEC). The revealing of the effect of the VEC on the phase stability is vitally important for alloy design and for controlling the mechanical behavior of HEAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work, a new composition of high-entropy alloys (HEAs) was designed. The composition was carefully tailored with the aim to obtain a solid solution with a BCC crystalline structure to be an alternative binder in cermets. Thus, the composition of the HEA has been designed taking into account various criteria which has fulfilled a metallic binder of a Ti(C,N) cermet:(1) high hardness and oxidation resistance and (2) good wetting behaviour with Ti(C,N) particles because the processing of cermets is by LPS. The design of the alloy has been performed using theoretical calculations of physicochemical properties of the elements involved and the calculation of phase diagram by Thermocalc. The designed alloy has been processed by casting and powder metallurgy (PM) to study the influence of the processing route on the phases formed and on the resulting properties. The powders were produced by gas atomisation and then consolidated by hot pressing. Special theme block on high entropy alloys, guest edited by Paula Alvaredo Olmos, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain, and Sheng Guo, Chalmers University, Gothenburg, Sweden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eutectic high-entropy alloys (EHEAs), as a sub-group of high-entropy alloys (HEAs), are becoming a new research hotspot in the metallic materials community because of their excellent castability, fine and uniform microstructures even in the as-cast state, high strength, and good ductility. Some of the EHEAs have shown promising potentials for industrial applications. Here, the history, interesting solidification microstructure and mechanical properties, and the design strategy of EHEAs are reviewed, and their future prospects are outlined. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs) are promising candidates for new-generation high temperature materials, but they generally suffer from room temperature brittleness and unsatisfactory high-temperature oxidation resistance. There currently lack efforts to address to these two critical issues for RHEAs at the same time. In this work, the high temperature oxidation resistance of a previously identified ductile Hf 0.5 Nb 0.5 Ta 0.5 Ti 1.5 Zr RHEA is studied. An accelerated oxidation or more specifically, pesting, in the temperature range of 600–1000 °C is observed for the target RHEA, where the oxidation leads the material to catastrophically disintegrate into powders. The pesting mechanism is studied here, and is attributed to the failure in forming protective oxide scales accompanied by the accelerated internal oxidation. The simultaneous removal of zirconium and hafnium can eliminate the pesting phenomenon in the alloy. It is believed that pesting can also occur to other equiatomic and non-equiatomic quinary Hf-Nb-Ta-Ti-Zr or quaternary Hf-Nb-Ti-Zr and Hf-Ta-Ti-Zr RHEAs, where all currently available ductile RHEAs are identified. Therefore, the results from this work will provide crucial perspectives to the further development of RHEAs as novel high-temperature materials, with balanced room-temperature ductility and high-temperature oxidation resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of low temperature on tensile properties of a AlCoCrFeNi 2.1 eutectic high entropy alloy (EHEA) was investigated in the present work. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that the initial as-cast microstructure consisted of B2 (ordered body centered cubic structure) and L1 2 (ordered face centered cubic structure) phases. Upon tensile testing at temperatures ranging from room temperature (RT) to −196 °C (77 K), the L1 2 phase became disordered, changing to a simple FCC (face centered cubic) crystal structure whereas the B2 phase maintained an ordered structure. An increase over 300 MPa was observed in the ultimate tensile strength ( σ UTS ) of the −196 °C tensile tested sample compared to the room temperature tensile tested sample, while keeping almost similar amount of total elongation. TEM results indicated an increase in the dislocation activity in the FCC phase as well as B2 phase in the −196 °C tensile tested sample compared to the sample deformed at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]