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Phase Stability and Microhardness of the AlxCr2-xCoFeNi High-Entropy Alloys

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Abstract

The phase constituent, phase stability, microstructure, and hardness of seven arc melted AlxCr2-xCoFeNi (x = 0.25~1.75) high-entropy alloys, in as-cast and 800 or 1000°C annealed states, were investigated using XRD, SEM, EDS and DSC. With the increase of Al content, the FCC phase disappeared in the as-cast AlxCr2-xCoFeNi alloys. As for the as-cast alloys with 25~30 at.%Al, the composition difference between the former and the later solidified B2 phase can be clearly identified. As for the AlxCr2-xCoFeNi (x = 0.25~1.0) alloys, the σ phase formed at above 576°C and decomposed at 912~1033°C. Fine FCC, BCC, B2 and σ phases existed in the 800°C annealed AlxCr2-xCoFeNi (x = 0.25~1.25) alloys. And the hardness became higher than that of the as-cast alloys. When the Al content was 25 at.%, the hardness of the alloy decreased significantly with the disappearance of the σ phase. After annealing at 1000°C, the σ phase only existed in the Al0.25Cr1.75CoFeNi and Al0.5Cr1.5CoFeNi alloys. With the increase of Al content, the alloy hardness also increased. Prolonging the annealing time, from 120 h to 480 h, can decrease the Al content in precipitated FCC or BCC phases and coarsen the phase grains, which will decrease of the alloy hardness. In all, the change of hardness after annealing depends on the contributions of formation of the harder σ phase or the softer FCC/BCC phases and the grain size of the precipitates. The results will help design the composition and treatment process of Al-Co-Cr-Fe-Ni high-entropy alloys.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51771035 and 51871030), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions. The authors would like to thank Xuehui An from CompuTherm LLC for thermodynamic calculation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials Surface Science and Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Changzhou University, 213164, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Wei Xiong, Changjun Wu, Ya Liu, Hao Tu, Jianhua Wang & Xuping Su

  2. National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center of Materials Science and Engineering, Changzhou University, 213164, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Changjun Wu, Ya Liu & Jianhua Wang

  3. Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Photovoltaic Science and Engineering, Changzhou University, 213164, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Xuping Su

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  1. Wei Xiong
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Correspondence to Changjun Wu.

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Xiong, W., Wu, C., Liu, Y. et al. Phase Stability and Microhardness of the AlxCr2-xCoFeNi High-Entropy Alloys. J. Phase Equilib. Diffus. 42, 379–388 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11669-021-00890-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11669-021-00890-0

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