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A study of microstructural evolution in gas tungsten arc welded AlxCoCrFeNi high entropy alloys

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Abstract

High Entropy Alloys (HEAs) have shown remarkable mechanical properties, thus making them ideal for structural applications. AlxCoCrFeNi HEAs exhibit huge variations in phase factions and properties with varying Al content. In this work, Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) of AlxCoCrFeNi (x = 0.5, 0.7) high entropy alloys was performed. Various metallurgical and mechanical characterizations such as X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Optical imaging, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis, Hardness, and Electron Back Scattered Diffraction (EBSD) were performed to evaluate the evolution of microstructure in pre-welded and post-welded conditions. Both the alloys (Al0.5CoCrFeNi and Al0.7CoCrFeNi) show high weld efficiency. The Al0.7CoCrFeNi alloy’s hardness increased from 271 ± 10 HV in homogenized condition to 483 ± 15 HV in welded condition, a drastic 78% increase. In contrast, welded Al0.5CoCrFeNi showed just a slight 8% improvement in hardness, from 202 ± 10 HV in homogenized condition to 220 ± 18 HV in welded condition. The high weld efficiency of the welded Al0.7CoCrFeNi alloy was attributed to the drastic increase in the phase fraction of the secondary phases. It can be concluded that phase fraction, twin boundaries, grain refinement, and phase interfaces may satisfactorily explain the huge difference in the relative percent increase of hardness in the welded condition of both alloys.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Dr. C.P. Ramanarayanan, Vice Chancellor, DIAT (DU) for supporting this work. The authors thank the Director, Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), and Dr. I. Balasundar for providing us heat treatment facility. We would like to express our gratitude to Mr. Neeraj Mantri from Innotech India Pvt. Ltd., Pune, for helping us with the forging facility.

Funding

This work was supported by the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Pune (DIAT/F/Adm/Project/OM/Mate/Corr/P49) and Naval Research Board (NRB), India (NRB/4003/PG/MAT/501).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Pune, India

    Ayush Sourav & Shanmugasundaram Thangaraju

  2. Naval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL), Ambernath, India

    D. S. Gowtam

  3. Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), Hyderabad, India

    J. K. N. Murthy

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  1. Ayush Sourav
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Sourav, A., Gowtam, D.S., Murthy, J.K.N. et al. A study of microstructural evolution in gas tungsten arc welded AlxCoCrFeNi high entropy alloys. Weld World 67, 2163–2174 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40194-023-01564-w

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