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Local chemical ordering coordinated thermal stability of nanograined high-entropy alloys

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Abstract

Nanograined (NG) materials often suffer from low thermal stability owing to the high volume fraction of grain boundaries (GBs). Herein, we investigate the possibility of utilizing local chemical ordering (LCO) for improving the thermal stability of NG FeCoNiCrMn high-entropy alloys (HEAs). NG HEAs with two different grain sizes were considered. Tensile tests and creep test simulations were then performed to reveal the influence of LCO on the mechanical properties and thermal stability of NG HEAs. After performing hybrid molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations, Cr atoms were found to accumulate at GBs. By analyzing the atomic structure evolution during the deformation process, we found that the formation of LCO effectively stabilized the GBs and inhibited GB movement. In addition, dislocation nucleation from GBs and dislocation movement was also hindered. The inhibiting effect of LCO on GB movement and dislocation activity is more prominent than in the NG model with smaller grain sizes. The current simulation results suggest a possible strategy for enhancing the thermal stability of NG HEAs for service in a high-temperature environment.

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摘要

由于晶界体积分数高，纳米颗粒材料（NG）的热稳定性通常较低。在此，我们研究了利用 局部化学有序（LCO）改善NG-FeCoNiCrMn 高熵合金（HEA）热稳定性的可能性。考虑了 具有两种不同粒度的NG HEA。然后进行拉伸试验和蠕变试验模拟，以揭示LCO 对NG HEA 的机械性能和热稳定性的影响。在进行混合分子动力学和蒙特卡罗模拟后，发现铬原子在晶 界处累积。通过分析变形过程中的原子结构演化，我们发现LCO 的形成有效地稳定了晶界 并抑制了晶界的移动。此外，位错形核和位错运动也受到阻碍。与晶粒尺寸较小的NG 模型 相比，LCO 对晶界移动和位错活动的抑制作用更为显著。当前的模拟结果提出了一种可能 的策略，用于提高高温环境中使用的NG HEA 的热稳定性。

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52101019, 52071023, 51901013 and 52122408). H.-H. Wu also thanks to the financial support from the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (University of Science and Technology Beijing, Nos. FRF-TP-2021-04C1 and 06500135). The computing work is supported by USTB MatCom of Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering.

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  1. Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China

    Hong-Hui Wu, Lin-Shuo Dong, Shui-Ze Wang, Gui-Lin Wu, Jun-Heng Gao & Xin-Ping Mao

  2. Yangjiang Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Materials Science and Technology (Yangjiang Advanced Alloys Laboratory), Yangjiang, 529500, China

    Shui-Ze Wang, Gui-Lin Wu, Jun-Heng Gao & Xin-Ping Mao

  3. Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, 999077, Hong Kong, China

    Xu-Sheng Yang

  4. Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Durability for Marine Civil Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China

    Xiao-Ye Zhou

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Wu, HH., Dong, LS., Wang, SZ. et al. Local chemical ordering coordinated thermal stability of nanograined high-entropy alloys. Rare Met. 42, 1645–1655 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-022-02194-9

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