Tribological Properties and Wear Mechanism of AlCr1.3TiNi2 Eutectic High-Entropy Alloy at Elevated Temperature
MIAO Junwei1,2, WANG Mingliang1,2(), ZHANG Aijun3, LU Yiping1,2(), WANG Tongmin2, LI Tingju2
1.Key Laboratory of Solidification Control and Digital Preparation Technology (Liaoning Province), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China 2.Engineering Research Center of High Entropy Alloy Materials (Liaoning Province), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China 3.Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Wear and Protection of Materials, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Cite this article:
MIAO Junwei, WANG Mingliang, ZHANG Aijun, LU Yiping, WANG Tongmin, LI Tingju. Tribological Properties and Wear Mechanism of AlCr1.3TiNi2 Eutectic High-Entropy Alloy at Elevated Temperature. Acta Metall Sin, 2023, 59(2): 267-276.
Eutectic high-entropy alloys (EHEAs) have been explored as possible options for high-temperature applications due to their controlled microstructure and excellent mechanical properties. In particular, EHEAs possess good liquidity and castability, allowing their possibility for real-size industrial manufacturing. However, despite their importance as a structural material index, the tribological properties were rarely investigated in the EHEAs field. In this study, a kilogram-scale AlCr1.3TiNi2 EHEA was produced using electromagnetic levitation melting and direct casting approach. The EHEA's microstructure and chemical composition were investigated using a TEM and APT techniques. The AlCr1.3TiNi2 EHEA's tribological properties were examined from room temperature to 800oC using a rotational ball-on-disk tribometer (HT-1000). Meanwhile, for comparison, a GH4169 nickel-base superalloy was chosen. The corresponding wear mechanisms were also thoroughly discussed. The findings exhibit that the as-cast AlCr1.3TiNi2 EHEA, which had an ultrafine lamellar structure, consisted of a disordered bcc phase and an ordered L21 phase with lattice misfit of approximately 2%. The average interlamellar spacing was about 350 nm. Additionally, a large number of nanoprecipitates contains in the L21 lamellae central region. Below 600oC, the AlCr1.3TiNi2 EHEA's primary wear mechanism was abrasive wear, and its wear rate was lower than that of the GH4169 alloy. At 800oC, distinct plastic deformation features were observed on the worn surface of EHEA. The EHEA exhibited a much higher friction coefficient than that of the GH4169 alloy at 800oC, but their wear rates were similar. The wear resistance improvement of GH4169 alloy at high temperature was ascribed to the formation of oxide film on its worn surface, and the AlCr1.3TiNi2 EHEA's excellent wear resistance mainly resulted from good structure stability and high hot hardness. Current findings offer new insights into the industrial application of EHEA in high-temperature fields.
Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(51822402);National Natural Science Foundation of China(U20A20278);National Natural Science Foundation of China(52001051);National Key Research and Development Program of China(2018YFA0702901);National Key Research and Development Program of China(2019YFA0209901);Liaoning Revitalization Talents Program(XLYC1807047);Major Special Project of "Scientific and Technological Innovation 2025" in Ningbo(2019B10086);China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(2021T140082)
Fig.1 Microstructures of the as-cast AlCr1.3TiNi2 eutectic high-entropy alloy (EHEA) (a) low magnified bright-field TEM image (b, c) corresponding selected area electron-beam diffraction (SAED) patterns of the thin (b) and thick (c) lamellae in Fig.1a, respectively (d) high magnified bright-field TEM image (e) high-resolution TEM image of the central area of the L21 lamellae and the corresponding fast Fourier transform (FFT) patterns (insets) (f) high-resolution TEM image of the bcc/L21 phase interface
Fig.2 Atom probe tomography (APT) characterization of the AlCr1.3TiNi2 EHEA (a) 3D reconstruction of ion maps for various elements (b, c) one-dimensional compositional profiles across the interfaces of the bcc/L21 (b) and L21/nanoprecipitate (c), respectively
Fig.3 Friction coefficient curves of the as-cast AlCr1.3TiNi2 EHEA (a) and treated GH4169 superalloy (b) tested at different temperatures, average friction coefficients (c) and wear rates (d) of the two alloys tested at different temperatures (RT—room temperature)
Fig.4 SEM secondary electron images of the worn surfaces of the as-cast AlCr1.3TiNi2 EHEA tested at 25oC (a), 200oC (b), 400oC (c), 600oC (d), and 800oC (e), and Raman spectra of the worn surfaces for the EHEA after testing at 600oC and 800oC (f)
Fig.
Region
Chemical composition
4
1
Al5.9Cr6.9Ti5.7Ni10.2Si4.8O66.5
5
2
Al0.5Cr7.0Fe6.4Ni17.4Ti0.4Nb1.1Si4.4O62.8
3
Al0.7Cr10.6Fe9.7Ni26.0Ti0.7Nb1.3Si2.1O48.9
4
Al0.5Cr8.9Fe13.0Ni12.0Ti0.3Si3.2O62.1
5
Al0.5Cr8.5Fe7.9Ni19.3Ti0.4Nb1.3Si0.6O61.5
6
6
Al7.9Cr8.9Ti6.8Ni13.7O62.7
7
Al6.7Cr5.4Ti4.9Ni8.0Si7.9O67.1
8
Al1.9Cr13.7Fe10.6Ni23.8Nb4.0Si2.3O43.7
9
Cr8.5Fe8.4Ni21.6Nb1.7Ti0.5O59.3
10
Cr7.4Fe8.5Ni20.2Nb1.1O62.8
Table 1 EDS results of the worn surface shown in Figs.4-6
Fig.5 SEM secondary electron images of the worn surfaces of the treated GH4169 superalloy tested at 25oC (a), 200oC (b), 400oC (c), 600oC (d), and 800oC (e), and Raman spectra of the worn surfaces for the EHEA after testing at 400-800oC (f)
Fig.6 SEM secondary electron images of the worn surfaces of Si3N4 ball sliding against AlCr1.3TiNi2 EHEA (a-d) and GH4169 superalloy (a1-d1) at RT (a, a1), 200oC (b, b1), 600oC (c, c1), and 800oC (d, d1)
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