In this work, solid-state mechanical alloying (MA) and cold spraying (CS) processes were applied to fabricate powder AlNiCoFeCrTi high-entropy alloy (HEA) and then to produce HE coatings on steel substrate. Shot-time MA for 3 h has been employed to synthesize nanostructured equiatomic AlNiCoFeCrTi HEA of metastable supersaturated substitutional solid solution with bcc crystal structure. Although alloying is not complete at this shot milling time, it goes to completion during thermal annealing to achieve the alloy formation. XRD study on mechanically alloyed high-entropy AlNiCoFeCrTi alloy after thermal annealing at 1200 °C for 1 h revealed the formation of a three-phase structure consisting of ordered bcc phase with fine precipitates of intermetallic σ-phase (FeCr) and titanium carbide TiC. The powder agglomerates resulted from annealing were grinded in a ball mill for 1 h. Nanostructured disordered bcc solid solution, TiC and σ-phases are noticed after milling. Coatings of 450 μm in mean thickness were deposited by the CS process using an air like a working gas, temperature and pressure of 450 °C and 0.9 MPa, respectively. The experimental results confirm that CS process can be used to produce HE coatings with low porosity. As a low-temperature deposition process, CS completely retained the HEA phase composition and nanostructure in the coating without any phase transformation. The AlFeNiCoCrTi HE coatings exhibit 10.3 ± 0.3 GPa in Vickers hardness.
This study reports the structural evolution of multicomponent AlNiCoFeCrTi high-entropy alloy from elemental materials to nanocrystalline metastable solid solution during mechanical alloying (MA), and further, to equilibrium phases during subsequent thermal annealing. It was justified experimentally that shot-time mechanical milling of Al-Ni-Co-Fe-Cr-Ti powder mixture during 3 hours resulted in a single-phase nanocrystalline high-entropy alloy (HEA) with a structure of bcc solid solution. During thermal annealing of the bcc solid solution phase transformation take place, and grain growth of equilibrium phases occur. The phase composition of as-MA alloy transforms to fcc and bcc solid solutions with TiC precipitations' when the MA powder was annealed at 1200 °C for 1 h. X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy data show that the nanocrystalline powder microstructure is retained in the alloy with no grain growth. The AlNiCoFeCrTi HEA exhibit 7.1 GPa and 9.2±0.3 GPa in Vickers hardness after mechanical alloying and after thermal annealing, respectively.
Background. Quasicrystalline Al-based alloys belong to the class of the state-of-the-art metal materials for the application in light engineering constructions, primarily in aviation and the motor transport industry. These materials are commonly made in the form of powders, which is due to the high productivity of powder metallurgy methods. Therefore, the powder consolidation methods are of great importance in the production of products, which is associated with certain difficulties, and consequently, they should be chosen considering not only the quasicrystals' propensity to brittle fracture but also the metastable nature of the quasicrystalline phases. Certain possibilities in this direction are provided by the quasi-hydrostatic compression method, which can provide a non-trivial combination of strength and ductility properties of materials. Objective. The aim of the paper is to investigate the effect of high pressure under quasi-hydrostatic compression on the formation of structure, phase composition and mechanical properties of the quasicrystalline Al 94 Fe 3 Cr 3 alloy. Methods. 40 μm Al 94 Fe 3 Cr 3 alloy quasicrystalline powder was fabricated by water-atomisation technique. Consolidation of quasicrystalline powder was performed by quasi-hydrostatic compression technique in high-pressure cells at room temperature at a pressure of 2.5, 4, and 6 hPa. Structure, phase composition and mechanical characteristics of Al 94 Fe 3 Cr 3 alloy were performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction andmicromechanical tests. Results. Using the phase X-ray analysis and SEM, the content of the quasicrystalline icosahedral phase (i-phase) in the Al 94 Fe 3 Cr 3 alloy structure was completely preserved after its consolidation at different pressures (2.5, 4, and 6 hPa) under quasi-hydrostatic compression at room temperature. Despite the high pressure applied in the consolidation process, the morphology of quasicrystalline phase particles located in the -Al deformed matrix solid solution remains unchanged. The mechanical properties of the alloy exceed the similar characteristics of the alloy consolidated by warm extrusion. Conclusions. Consolidation of the Al 94 Fe 3 Cr 3 alloy powder under quasi-hydrostatic compression allows for the complete conservation of metastable quasicrystalline i-phase particles in the aluminum matrix, which provides the highest values of strength properties together with sufficient ductility for application in the engineering practice.
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