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Development of high-strength WNbMoTaVZrx refractory high entropy alloys

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Abstract

In this work, novel WNbMoTaVZrx (x = 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0) refractory high entropy alloys (RHEAs) were developed, and the corresponding phase formation, microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. As compared with the WNbMoTa and WNbMoTaV derivative alloys, the present WNbMoTaVZrx RHEAs demonstrated significantly improved strength and hardness, especially the specific yield strength. The increase of the strength was attributed to the solid solution strengthening effect, resulting from the severe lattice distortion associated with lager-atomic-sized Zr element. With the increase of Zr content, the microstructure changed from grain morphology to dendritic structures. The formation of the second phase with the increase of Zr content was also observed, and its effects on the strengthening, plastic deformation and fracture behaviors were discussed. The deformation-evolution investigations have shown that under applied loadings, microcracks initiated at interdendritic regions with relatively soft second phase. The phase thermostability analysis suggests that the phase structure of typical WNbMoTaVZrx RHEAs could be stable at elevated temperature.

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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

The work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51801049) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (No. PA2019GDZC0096).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230009, China

    C. Li, S. H. Chen, Z. W. Wu & Z. F. Zhang

  2. National-Local Joint Engineering Research Centre of Nonferrous Metals and Processing Technology, Hefei, 230009, China

    S. H. Chen & Y. C. Wu

  3. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230009, China

    Y. C. Wu

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Li, C., Chen, S.H., Wu, Z.W. et al. Development of high-strength WNbMoTaVZrx refractory high entropy alloys. Journal of Materials Research 37, 1664–1678 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43578-022-00569-3

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