High Hardness and Wear Resistance in AlCrFeNiV High-Entropy Alloy Induced by Dual-Phase Body-Centered Cubic Coupling Effects

Abstract

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) with high hardness are promising materials for advanced industrial manufacturing. In this study, the AlCrFeNiV HEA was designed and successfully prepared using a plasma instantaneous process. The hardness test showed that AlCrFeNiV had a high hardness of 1076 ± 15 HV, which was much higher than those reported in the literature. The microstructure of AlCrFeNiV was composed of two different types of body-centered cubic (BCC) structures, BCC1 (Al, Cr, Fe, and Ni) and BCC2 (enriched V and Cr). A mixture of different BCC systems produced solution strengthening, which was responsible for the superior hardness. Moreover, the reciprocating sliding wear behavior of HEA against Al2O3 balls under dry and lubricated conditions at ambient temperature was investigated. The wear rates of AlCrFeNiV against Al2O3 under dry wear and lubrication were 17.2 × 10−5 mm3 N−1·m−1 and 12.4 × 10−5 mm3N−1·m−1, respectively, which were of the same order of magnitude as the wear rates of BCC HEAs. Regardless of the dry wear or wear with lubrication, the wear mechanism of the HEA was abrasive and delamination wear.

Comments on the Intermediate-Temperature Embrittlement of Metals and Alloys: The Conditions for Transgranular and Intergranular Failure

“…Similarly, as well as impurity elements, which segregate to the boundaries, weakening them, there are others which will strengthen the boundaries. Design of engineering alloys (DEA) [67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74] has now become an important field of research with tremendous potential not only for improving the elevated temperature properties of metals and alloys but also improving the room temperature properties. He et al [72] noted that although a lot is known about grain boundary strengthening, little attention has been paid to its effect on mechanical properties, and this is an obvious area for more research.…”

“…He et al [72] noted that although a lot is known about grain boundary strengthening, little attention has been paid to its effect on mechanical properties, and this is an obvious area for more research. DEA has been used to develop high-entropy alloys (HEA) composed of multiple principal elements with exceptionally high strength and thermal stability, and the optimum strength for these alloys has been derived theoretically and confirmed experimentally, but these are isolated cases [73,74]. DEA also has been used to optimise room-temperature strength in highentropy nano-polycrystalline alloys having Fe, Al, Ni, Cr, and Cu present [72,74].…”

“…DEA has been used to develop high-entropy alloys (HEA) composed of multiple principal elements with exceptionally high strength and thermal stability, and the optimum strength for these alloys has been derived theoretically and confirmed experimentally, but these are isolated cases [73,74]. DEA also has been used to optimise room-temperature strength in highentropy nano-polycrystalline alloys having Fe, Al, Ni, Cr, and Cu present [72,74]. Cu was shown to be the main element that segregates to the boundaries and strengthens them, but the amount segregating has to be closely controlled, as too much weakens the boundary.…”

Microstructure and Friction Properties of AlCrTiVNbx High-Entropy Alloys via Annealing Manufactured by Vacuum Arc Melting

“…Feng et al [31] prepared AlCrFeNiV HEAs by spark plasma sintering, consisting of two different types of body-centered cubic BCC structures with Vickers hardness values of more than 1000 HV. Chauhan et al [32] prepared Al 35 Cr 14 Mg 6 Ti 35 V 10 HEAs by spark plasma sintering and recorded a hardness of 460 HV, which is higher than that of other Al-, Mg-and Ti-based conventional alloys.…”

Effect of Grain Size on the Tribological Behavior of CoCrFeMnNi High Entropy Alloy

“…In these practical industrial applications, friction and wear behavior is essential. These key components and parts need well mechanical properties and outstanding wear resistance [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]. The moving parts need excellent friction pair materials to extend their service life.…”