scholarly journals Microstructure Evolution in a Fast and Ultrafast Sintered Non-Equiatomic Al/Cu HEA

Metals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 848
Author(s):  
Eduardo Reverte ◽  
Juan Cornide ◽  
Miguel A. Lagos ◽  
Mónica Campos ◽  
Paula Alvaredo

One of the attractive characteristics of high entropy alloys (HEAs) is the ability to tailor their composition to obtain specific microstructures and properties by adjusting the stoichiometry to obtain a body-centered cubic (BCC) or face-centered cubic (FCC) structure. Thus, in this work, the target composition of an alloy of the FeCrCoNi family has been modified by adjusting the Al/Cu ratio in order to obtain a BCC crystalline structure. However, processing conditions always play a key role in the final microstructure and, therefore, in this work, the microstructure evolution of FeCrCoNiAl1.8Cu0.5 HEA sintered by different powder metallurgy (PM) techniques has been investigated. The techniques used range from the conventional PM sintering route, that uses high heating rates and sintering times, going through a fast sintering technique such as spark plasma sintering (SPS) to the novel and promising ultrafast sintering technique electrical resistance sintering (ERS). Results show that the increase in the processing time favours the separation of phases and the segregation of elements, which is reflected in a substantial change in the hardness of the alloy. In conclusion, the ERS technique is presented as a very promising consolidation technique for HEA.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashutosh Sharma ◽  
Byungmin Ahn

AbstractIn this work, we studied the brazing characteristics of Al2O3 and 3D printed Ti–6Al–4V alloys using a novel equiatomic AlZnCuFeSi high entropy alloy filler (HEAF). The HEAF was prepared by mechanical alloying of the constituent powder and spark plasma sintering (SPS) approach. The filler microstructure, wettability and melting point were investigated. The mechanical and joint strength properties were also evaluated. The results showed that the developed AlZnCuFeSi HEAF consists of a dual phase (Cu–Zn, face-centered cubic (FCC)) and Al–Fe–Si rich (base centered cubic, BCC) phases. The phase structure of the (Cu–Al + Ti–Fe–Si)/solid solution promises a robust joint between Al2O3 and Ti–6Al–4V. In addition, the joint interfacial reaction was found to be modulated by the brazing temperature and time because of the altered activity of Ti and Zn. The optimum shear strength reached 84 MPa when the joint was brazed at 1050 °C for 60 s. The results can be promising for the integration of completely different materials using the entropy driven fillers developed in this study.


Metals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 888
Author(s):  
Paula Alvaredo-Olmos ◽  
Jon Molina-Aldareguía ◽  
Alvaro Vaz-Romero ◽  
Estela Prieto ◽  
Jesús González-Julián ◽  
...  

This work presents two new compositions of high entropy alloys (HEAs) that were designed with the aim of obtaining a body-centered cubic (BCC) phase with high hardness values and a moderate density. Sintering was performed using Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) with different heating rates to determine the influence of the processing parameters on the phase formation. The microstructural study revealed that the presence of Ni in the composition promoted phase separation, and the mechanical study confirmed a clear influence on the mechanical properties of both the composition and heating rate. The combination of microscopy with compression and nanoindentation tests at room and high temperature made it possible to advance our understanding of the relationships between the composition, processing, and properties of this emerging group of alloys.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Moravcik ◽  
Stepan Gamanov ◽  
Larissa Moravcikova-Gouvea ◽  
Zuzana Kovacova ◽  
Michael Kitzmantel ◽  
...  

The focus of this study is the evaluation of the influence of Ti concentration on the tensile properties of powder metallurgy high entropy alloys. Three Ni1.5Co1.5CrFeTiX alloys with X = 0.3; 0.5 and 0.7 were produced by mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering. Additional annealing heat treatment at 1100 °C was utilized to obtain homogenous single-phase face centered cubic (FCC) microstructures, with minor oxide inclusions. The results show that Ti increases the strength of the alloys by increasing the average atomic size misfit i.e., solid solution strengthening. An excellent combination of mechanical properties can be obtained by the proposed method. For instance, annealed Ni1,5Co1,5CrFeTi0.7 alloy possessed the ultimate tensile strength as high as ~1600 MPa at a tensile ductility of ~9%, despite the oxide contamination. The presented results may serve as a guideline for future alloy design of novel, inclusion-tolerant materials for sustainable metallurgy.


Metals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 761
Author(s):  
Takato Karimoto ◽  
Akio Nishimoto

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) were fabricated by powder metallurgy using gas-atomized powder and spark plasma sintering (SPS) followed by surface modification (plasma nitriding) of the sintered sample. Plasma nitriding forms nitride and induces solid-soluting of N; it enables the diffusion of N atoms by removing the passive film formed on the surface of alloys such as stainless steel, Al alloys, and Ti alloys, via the sputtering of cations during glow discharge. Therefore, plasma nitriding has the potential to process HEAs that contain strong oxidizing elements such as Cr, Al, and Ti. In this work, a sintered CoCrFeMnNi HEA was plasma-nitrided and its properties were subsequently evaluated. A uniform microstructure without segregation was obtained in the SPS sample, and its hardness and wear resistance were found to have improved. Analysis of the sample surface after nitriding revealed that an expanded face-centered cubic phase formed on the surface plasma-nitrided at 673 K and that a CrN phase formed on the surface plasma-nitrided at temperatures greater than 723 K. The surface hardness of the plasma-nitrided sample was 1200 HV or greater, and the wear resistance and pitting corrosion resistance were improved compared with those of the untreated sample.


Entropy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongling Zhang ◽  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Xinyu Liu ◽  
Qiang Chen ◽  
Yi Xu

As a classic high-entropy alloy system, CoCrFeNiMn is widely investigated. In the present work, we used ZrH2 powders and atomized CoCrFeNiMn powders as raw materials to prepare CoCrFeNiMnZrx (x = 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8, 1.0) alloys by mechanical alloying (MA), followed by spark plasma sintering (SPS). During the MA process, a small amount of Zr (x ≤ 0.5) can be completely dissolved into CoCrFeNiMn matrix, when the Zr content is above 0.5, the ZrH2 is excessive. After SPS, CoCrFeNiMn alloy is still as single face-centered cubic (FCC) solid solution, and CoCrFeNiMnZrx (x ≥ 0.2) alloys have two distinct microstructural domains, one is a single FCC phase without Zr, the other is a Zr-rich microstructure composed of FCC phase, B2 phase, Zr2Ni7, and σ phase. The multi-phase microstructures can be attributed to the large lattice strain and negative enthalpy of mixing, caused by the addition of Zr. It is worth noting that two types of nanoprecipitates (body-centered cubic (BCC) phase and Zr2Ni7) are precipitated in the Zr-rich region. These can significantly increase the yield strength of the alloys.


Crystals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 929
Author(s):  
Kaouther Zaara ◽  
Mahmoud Chemingui ◽  
Sophie Le Gallet ◽  
Yves Gaillard ◽  
Lluisa Escoda ◽  
...  

A FeCoNi(B0.5Si0.5) high-entropy alloy with the face-centered cubic (FCC) crystal structure was synthesized by mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering (SPS). Phase evolution, microstructure, morphology and annealing behaviors were investigated. It was found that a single FCC solid solution appears after 50 h of milling. The grain size was 10 nm after 150 h of milling. Microstructure parameters were calculated by the Rietveld fitting of the X-ray Diffraction patterns. Magnetic characterizations of milled and annealed powders at 650 °C for 1 h were investigated. The heat treatment improves the magnetic properties of the milled powders by enhancing the saturation magnetization value from 94.31 to 127.30 emu/g and decreasing the coercivity from 49.07 to 29.57 Oe. The cohabitation of the FCC phase with the equilibrium crystalline phases observed after annealing is responsible of this magnetic softening. The as-milled powder was also consolidated by spark plasma sintering at 750 and 1000 °C. The obtained specimen consolidated at 750 °C improved the coercivity to 25.06 Oe and exhibited a compressive strength of 1062 Mpa and Vickers hardness of 518 ± 14 HV, with a load of 2 kN. The nanoindentation technique with the Berkovich indentor gave hardness and indentation elastic modulus of 6.3 ± 0.3 Gpa (~640 HV) and 111 ± 4 Gpa for samples consolidated by SPS at 750 °C.


Entropy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuchen Sun ◽  
Boren Ke ◽  
Yulin Li ◽  
Kai Yang ◽  
Mingqi Yang ◽  
...  

In the study, an equiatomic CoCrNiCuZn high-entropy alloy (HEA) was prepared by mechanical alloying (MA) and the phases, microstructures, and thermal properties of the alloy powder were explored. The results suggest that a solid solution with body-centered cubic (BCC) phase and a crystalline size of 10 nm formed after 60 h of milling. Subsequently, the alloy powder was consolidated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at different temperatures (600 °C, 700 °C, 800 °C, and 900 °C). Two kinds of face-centered cubic (FCC) phases co-existed in the as-sintered samples. Besides, Vickers hardness and compressive strength of the consolidated alloy sintered at 900 °C were respectively 615 HV and 2121 MPa, indicating excellent mechanical properties.


Entropy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Moravcik ◽  
Jan Cizek ◽  
Larissa Gouvea ◽  
Jan Cupera ◽  
Ivan Guban ◽  
...  

The present work is focused on the synthesis of CoCrFeMnNi high entropy alloy (HEA) interstitially alloyed with nitrogen via powder metallurgy routes. Using a simple method, nitrogen was introduced to the HEA from the protective N2 gas atmosphere during mechanical alloying (MA) processing. The lattice parameter and amount of nitrogen in HEA were observed to be linearly proportional to the milling duration. The limited solubility of nitrogen in the main face centered cubic (FCC) phase resulted in the in-situ formation of nitrides and, accordingly, significant increase in the hardness values. It has been shown that fabrication of such nitrogen-doped HEA bulk materials can be conveniently achieved by a simple combination of MA + spark plasma sintering processes, without the need for adding nitrogen from other sources.


Ceramics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-120
Author(s):  
Simone Barbarossa ◽  
Roberto Orrù ◽  
Valeria Cannillo ◽  
Antonio Iacomini ◽  
Sebastiano Garroni ◽  
...  

Due to their inherent chemical complexity and their refractory nature, the obtainment of highly dense and single-phase high entropy (HE) diborides represents a very hard target to achieve. In this framework, homogeneous (Hf0.2Nb0.2Ta0.2Mo0.2Ti0.2)B2, (Hf0.2Zr0.2Ta0.2Mo0.2Ti0.2)B2, and (Hf0.2Zr0.2Nb0.2Mo0.2Ti0.2)B2 ceramics with high relative densities (97.4, 96.5, and 98.2%, respectively) were successfully produced by spark plasma sintering (SPS) using powders prepared by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS). Although the latter technique did not lead to the complete conversion of initial precursors into the prescribed HE phases, such a goal was fully reached after SPS (1950 °C/20 min/20 MPa). The three HE products showed similar and, in some cases, even better mechanical properties compared to ceramics with the same nominal composition attained using alternative processing methods. Superior Vickers hardness and elastic modulus values were found for the (Hf0.2Nb0.2Ta0.2Mo0.2Ti0.2)B2 and the (Hf0.2Zr0.2Ta0.2Mo0.2Ti0.2)B2 systems, i.e., 28.1 GPa/538.5 GPa and 28.08 GPa/498.1 GPa, respectively, in spite of the correspondingly higher residual porosities (1.2 and 2.2 vol.%, respectively). In contrast, the third ceramic, not containing tantalum, displayed lower values of these two properties (25.1 GPa/404.5 GPa). However, the corresponding fracture toughness (8.84 MPa m1/2) was relatively higher. This fact can be likely ascribed to the smaller residual porosity (0.3 vol.%) of the sintered material.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4223
Author(s):  
Po-Sung Chen ◽  
Yu-Chin Liao ◽  
Yen-Ting Lin ◽  
Pei-Hua Tsai ◽  
Jason S. C. Jang ◽  
...  

Most high-entropy alloys and medium-entropy alloys (MEAs) possess outstanding mechanical properties. In this study, a series of lightweight nonequiatomic Al50–Ti–Cr–Mn–V MEAs with a dual phase were produced through arc melting and drop casting. These cast alloys were composed of body-centered cubic and face-centered cubic phases. The density of all investigated MEAs was less than 5 g/cm3 in order to meet energy and transportation industry requirements. The effect of each element on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of these MEAs was investigated. All the MEAs demonstrated outstanding compressive strength, with no fractures observed after a compressive strain of 20%. Following the fine-tuning of the alloy composition, the Al50Ti20Cr10Mn15V5 MEA exhibited the most compressive strength (~1800 MPa) and ductility (~34%). A significant improvement in the mechanical compressive properties was achieved (strength of ~2000 MPa, strain of ~40%) after annealing (at 1000 °C for 0.5 h) and oil-quenching. With its extremely high specific compressive strength (452 MPa·g/cm3) and ductility, the lightweight Al50Ti20Cr10Mn15V5 MEA demonstrates good potential for energy or transportation applications in the future.


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