Nanostructural Multi-Principal-Element Alloys: Mechanical Properties and Toughening Mechanisms
LIU Chang1, WU Ge2(), LU Jian3,4()
1 Center for Alloy Innovation and Design (CAID), State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China 2 Center for Advancing Materials Performance from the Nanoscale (CAMP-Nano), State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China 3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China 4 Shenzhen Research Institute, City University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen 518057, China
Cite this article:
LIU Chang, WU Ge, LU Jian. Nanostructural Multi-Principal-Element Alloys: Mechanical Properties and Toughening Mechanisms. Acta Metall Sin, 2024, 60(1): 16-29.
Enhancing the strength of metallic materials has long been a primary goal for material scientists due to their significant potential for various industrial applications. However, the methods employed to increase the strength of metals often result in reduced deformation ability, leading to what is commonly termed as the strength-deformability trade-off dilemma. This paper offers a review of the advancements made in nanostructured multi-principal-element alloys (MPEAs) and discusses the challenges associated with simultaneously improving strength and deformability. This review summarizes the various common methods used to fabricate nanostructured MPEAs, including severe plastic deformation, physical vapor deposition, and mechanical alloying. In addition, this paper reviews the strengthening and deformation mechanisms intrinsic to these alloys. Finally, a brief outlook on potential future research directions for nanostructured MPEAs is provided.
Fig.1 Schematics of severe plastic deformation (SPD) approaches for fabricating nanostructured multi-principal-element alloys (ECAP—equal-channel angular pressing, HPT—high pressure torsion, SMAT—surface mechanical attrition treatment, SMGT—surface mechanical grinding treatment)
Fig.2 High-throughput material fabrication method based on magnetron co-sputtering[38] (a) heat of mixing between the selected elements is shown and their relative size difference is indicated by spheres (b) isothermal projection of the Ir-Ni-Ta ternary phase diagram (c) schematic of magnetron co-sputtering (d) appearance of the combinatorial thin-film materials library deposited on a 100-mm-diameter silicon wafer
Fig.3 Atomic-scale structural and chemical information of the CrFeCoNiPd[13] and VCoNi[8] alloys (a) HAADF-STEM image of the CrFeCoNiPd alloy (Inset shows the corresponding selected area electron diffraction)[13] (b) corresponding maps of horizontal normal strain (εxx ), vertical normal strain (εyy ), and shear strain (εxy ) of the CrFeCoNiPd alloy[13] (c) nano-beam electron diffraction (NBED) pattern of the VCoNi alloy taken at [112] zone axis, the yellow arrows highlight the diffuse reflections at {}[8] (d) energy-filtered dark field TEM image of the VCoNi alloy taken using the diffuse reflections in Fig.3c (Inset is a magnified TEM image highlighting the coherently diffraction clusters corresponding to chemical short-range orders (CSROs))[8] (e, f) EDS maps of the VCoNi alloy showing the elemental distributions of the alloy[8]
Fig.4 NiCo nanocrystalline alloy with ultrahigh strength and large ductility[56] (a) atom probe tomography showing compositional undulation in the NiCo alloy (b) stacking fault energy (γSFE), unstable stacking fault energy (γUSFE), and their difference as a function of Co content in the Ni-Co alloy (c) glide distance as a function of time for a <110>/2 dissociated dislocation under a constant shear stress of 120 MPa in the compositionally undulated NiCo alloy, homogeneous NiCo alloy, and Ni (d) HRTEM image of representative dissociated dislocations stored in the NiCo alloy after tension (SF—stacking fault) (e) inverse fast Fourier-filtered image presenting Lomer locks (in red circles) (f) HRTEM image showing Lomer locks (in red circles) and Lomer-Cottrell (LC) locks in the NiCo alloy after tension (Inset is the HAADF-STEM image showing the atomic structure of a representative Lomer lock. b1- b3 show the Burgers vectors)
Fig.5 Structure, mechanical properties, and composition of the (TiNbZr)86O12C1N1 alloy (a) HAADF-STEM image showing a bcc structure (Inset shows the corresponding selected area electron diffraction pattern) (b) compressive engineering stress-strain curves of the alloys (MISS—massive interstitial solid solution)[61] (c, d) atom probe tomography (APT) results[61]
Fig.6 Twinning induced plasticity (TWIP) and transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) behaviors for multi-principal-element alloys (a) twining was observed in a high-stacking fault energy Fe-26Mn-16Al-5Ni-5C alloy[63] (TB—twin boundary) (b) schematic of high-order twins[67] (Ⅰ-Ⅶ—the order of nanotwins, θi —the angle of different nanotwins) (c) a nanostructured (CoCrNi)75Fe21Si2B2 alloy reveals five-order twins, which can serve as effect barriers against dislocation motion[66] (d) schematics of the deformation mechanism for a TRIP dual-phase Fe50Mn30Co10Cr10 alloy[19] (e) in situ SEM observations of the TRIP process in a Ta0.5HfZrTi alloy during continuous loading[20] (σ—tensile stress)
Fig.7 TEM images of the CoCrNi (a), (CoCrNi)88Fe10Si1B1 (b), and (CoCrNi)75Fe21Si2B2 (c) alloys[66] showing that the structure changes from nanocrystalline to crystal-glass dual-phase with increasing Si and B contents in the CoCrNi-Fe-Si-B alloys, and plane-view ABF-STEM image shows ≈ 1 nm-thick amorphous phase (brighter regions) appearing at triple points and along some grain boundaries (d)
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