Synthesis Route, Microstructural Evolution, and Mechanical Property Relationship of High-Entropy Alloys (HEAs): A Review

Microstructural phase evolution during melting and casting depends on the rate of cooling, the collective mobility of constituent elements, and binary constituent pairs. Parameters used in mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering, the initial structure of binary alloy pairs, are some of the factors that influence phase evolution in powder-metallurgy-produced HEAs. Factors such as powder flowability, laser power, powder thickness and shape, scan spacing, and volumetric energy density (VED) all play important roles in determining the resulting microstructure in additive manufacturing technology. Large lattice distortion could hinder dislocation motion in HEAs, and this could influence the microstructure, especially at high temperatures, leading to improved mechanical properties in some HEAs. Mechanical properties of some HEAs can be influenced through solid solution hardening, precipitation hardening, grain boundary strengthening, and dislocation hardening. Despite the HEA system showing reliable potential engineering properties if commercialized, there is a need to examine the effects that processing routes have on the microstructure in relation to mechanical properties. This review discusses these effects as well as other factors involved.

The Influence of Magnetic Field on Fatigue and Mechanical Properties of a 35CrMo Steel

The influence of a magnetic field of 1.2–1.3 T on the variation of the fatigue behaviors and the mechanical properties of a 35CrMo steel after fatigue tests are investigated in this paper, in order to provide a basic guidance on the application in the similar environment of electrical machinery or vehicles. The microstructures of samples tested with and without magnetic fields are observed and analyzed by XRD, SEM, and TEM techniques. The fatigue life cycles are slightly increased by about 10–15% under magnetic field of 1.2–1.3 T according to the experimental results. A small increment of yield strength under fatigue life cycles of 10,000, 50,000, and 100,000 times is caused by the magnetic field, although the enhancement is only of 5–8 MPa. The dislocation density of the specimen is increased and the uniformity of dislocations is improved by magnetic fields applied during fatigue tests under the same load and cycles. The formation of micro-defects or micro-cracks will be postponed by the improvement in homogeneity of the material, leading to the increase of mechanical properties. The strengthening mechanisms such as deformation hardening and dislocation hardening effects are enhanced by the dislocation entangled structures and the higher density caused by magnetic field.

Development of a High Strength Mg-9Li Alloy via Multi-Pass ECAP and Post-Rolling

In this study, a high-strength Mg-9Li alloy was developed via multi-pass equal-channel-angular-pressing (ECAP) and post rolling, of which the yield tensile stress (YTS) and ultimate tensile stress (UTS) were 166 MPa and 174 MPa representing about 219% and 70% increase in YTS and UTS respectively, compared to the cast alloy. The cast alloy was ECAP processed at 200 °C for 4, 8, and 16 passes, followed by room-temperature rolling to a total thickness reduction of 50%. The 8-passes ECAPed (E8) alloy presented the best strength of all the ECAPed alloys, and the post rolling endowed the alloy (E8R) further strengthening and the best strength of all the alloys. Grain-boundary strengthening and dislocation strengthening were the two major factors for the high strength of the processed alloys. The α-Mg phase grains were greatly refined to about 2 μm after 8-passes ECAP, and was further refined to about 800 nm ~1.5 μm after rolling. Significant grain refinement endowed the alloy with sufficient grain-boundary strengthening. Profuse intragranular dislocation accumulated in the deformed matrix, leading to the significant dislocation hardening of the alloy. Rolling-induced strong basal texture of the α-Mg phase also enhanced the further strengthening of the E8R alloy.

Application of the Taylor Equation to Five-Power-Law Creep Considering the Influence of Solutes

This study determines the feasibility of describing the flow stress within the five-power-law creep regime, using a linear superposition of a dislocation hardening term and a significant solute strengthening term. It is assumed that the solutes are randomly distributed. It was found that by using an energy balance approach, the flow stress at high temperatures can be well-described by the classic Taylor equation with a solute strengthening term, τo, that is added to the αMGbρ1/2 dislocation hardening term.

Production Technology for Precision Seamless Steel Tubes from the Perspective of Microhardness Changes

The production of precision seamless steel tubes in Železiarne Podbrezová is using hot rolled tubes with multiple cold drawing passes and intermediate annealing. It utilizes intensive plastic deformation during cold drawing, taking full advantage of the microstructural state from a physical point of view. In this paper, optimization of technological processes for cold drawn tubes made from ferritic-pearlitic steel has been elaborated. We use microstructural and substructural analysis, dislocation hardening theory and stress analysis. The subject of this article is the experiment with multiple drawing passes and intermediate annealing for production of precision steel tubes with dimensions of 31.8 x 2.6 mm. The drawing itself consists of 5 processes (also called „runs“) with 7 drawing passes in total. The results presented show strain hardening of the material after drawing along with relaxation mechanism during intermediate annealing. The possibility of utilizing the microhardness values on intensity assessment of these processes is investigated, too.

Rolling-Contact Hardening Evaluated by Indentation

The operational degradation of surface layers due to a rolling contact process was simulated for Hadfield steel by a special testing rig. A specific limited state based on cumulative depletion of plasticity was achieved.Precise evaluation of the surface layer's mechanical parameters is necessary for a service life prediction. Very low depth of localized dislocation hardening process doesn ́t allow the standard mechanical testing. The comparative instrumented indentation tests using Vickers and cylindrical indenter were used for evaluation of defined stage of surface degradation process. The intensity and reach of deformation hardening are partially limiting for particular methodology. The yield stress of surface layers was estimated according to an analytical model of uniaxial vs. indentation plastic flow ratio.

Heterogeneous lamella structure unites ultrafine-grain strength with coarse-grain ductility

Grain refinement can make conventional metals several times stronger, but this comes at dramatic loss of ductility. Here we report a heterogeneous lamella structure in Ti produced by asymmetric rolling and partial recrystallization that can produce an unprecedented property combination: as strong as ultrafine-grained metal and at the same time as ductile as conventional coarse-grained metal. It also has higher strain hardening than coarse-grained Ti, which was hitherto believed impossible. The heterogeneous lamella structure is characterized with soft micrograined lamellae embedded in hard ultrafine-grained lamella matrix. The unusual high strength is obtained with the assistance of high back stress developed from heterogeneous yielding, whereas the high ductility is attributed to back-stress hardening and dislocation hardening. The process discovered here is amenable to large-scale industrial production at low cost, and might be applicable to other metal systems.