High-entropy alloys (HEAs) are characterized by having five or more main elements and forming simple solids without forming intermetallic compounds, owing to the high entropy effect. HEAs with these characteristics are being researched as structural materials for extreme environments. Conventional refractory alloys have excellent hightemperature strength and stability; however, problems occur when they are used extensively in a high-temperature environment, leading to reduced fatigue properties due to oxidation or a limited service life. In contrast, refractory entropy alloys, which provide refractory properties to entropy alloys, can address these issues and improve the hightemperature stability of the alloy through phase control when designed based on existing refractory alloy elements. Refractory high-entropy alloys require sufficient milling time while in the process of mechanical alloying because of the brittleness of the added elements. Consequently, the high-energy milling process must be optimized because of the possibility of contamination of the alloyed powder during prolonged milling. In this study, we investigated the hightemperature oxidation behavior of refractory high-entropy alloys while optimizing the milling time.

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• Simultaneous enhancement of strength and ductility of Al matrix composites enabled by submicron-sized high-entropy alloy phases
  Chahee Jung, Seungin Nam, Hansol Son, Juyeon Han, Jaewon Jeong, Hyokyung Sung, Hyoung Seop Kim, Seok Su Sohn, Hyunjoo Choi
  Journal of Materials Research and Technology.2024; 33: 1470.     CrossRef

This study investigates the interfacial reaction between powder-metallurgy high-entropy alloys (HEAs) and cast aluminum. HEA pellets are produced by the spark plasma sintering of Al_0.5CoCrCu_0.5FeNi HEA powder. These sintered pellets are then placed in molten Al, and the phases formed at the interface between the HEA pellets and cast Al are analyzed. First, Kirkendall voids are observed due to the difference in the diffusion rates between the liquid Al and solid HEA phases. In addition, although Co, Fe, and Ni atoms, which have low mixing enthalpies with Al, diffuse toward Al, Cu atoms, which have a high mixing enthalpy with Al, tend to form Al–Cu intermetallic compounds. These results provide guidelines for designing Al matrix composites containing high-entropy phases.

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Citations to this article as recorded by  

• Simultaneous enhancement of strength and ductility of Al matrix composites enabled by submicron-sized high-entropy alloy phases
  Chahee Jung, Seungin Nam, Hansol Son, Juyeon Han, Jaewon Jeong, Hyokyung Sung, Hyoung Seop Kim, Seok Su Sohn, Hyunjoo Choi
  Journal of Materials Research and Technology.2024; 33: 1470.     CrossRef

Conventionally, metal materials are produced by subtractive manufacturing followed by melting. However, there has been an increasing interest in additive manufacturing, especially metal 3D printing technology, which is relatively inexpensive because of the absence of complicated processing steps. In this study, we focus on the effect of varying powder size on the synthesis quality, and suggest optimum process conditions for the preparation of AlCrFeNi high-entropy alloy powder. The SEM image of the as-fabricated specimens show countless, fine, as-synthesized powders. Furthermore, we have examined the phase and microstructure before and after 3D printing, and found that there are no noticeable changes in the phase or microstructure. However, it was determined that the larger the powder size, the better the Vickers hardness of the material. This study sheds light on the optimization of process conditions in the metal 3D printing field.

We fabricate the non-equiatomic high-entropy alloy (NE-HEA) Fe_49.5Mn₃₀Co₁₀Cr₁₀C_0.5 (at.%) using spark plasma sintering under various sintering conditions. Each elemental pure powder is milled by high-energy ball milling to prepare NE-HEA powder. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the sintered samples are investigated using various methods. We use the X-ray diffraction (XRD) method to investigate the microstructural characteristics. Quantitative phase analysis is performed by direct comparison of the XRD results. A tensile test is used to compare the mechanical properties of small samples. Next, electron backscatter diffraction analysis is performed to analyze the phase fraction, and the results are compared to those of XRD analysis. By combining different sintering durations and temperature conditions, we attempt to identify suitable spark plasma sintering conditions that yield mechanical properties comparable with previously reported values. The samples sintered at 900 and 1000°C with no holding time have a tensile strength of over 1000 MPa.

High-entropy alloys have excellent mechanical properties under extreme environments, rendering them promising candidates for next-generation structural materials. It is desirable to develop non-equiatomic high-entropy alloys that do not require many expensive or heavy elements, contrary to the requirements of typical high-entropy alloys. In this study, a non-equiatomic high-entropy alloy powder Fe_49.5Mn₃₀Co₁₀Cr₁₀C_0.5 (at.%) is prepared by high energy ball milling and fabricated by spark plasma sintering. By combining different ball milling times and ball-topowder ratios, we attempt to find a proper mechanical alloying condition to achieve improved mechanical properties. The milled powder and sintered specimens are examined using X-ray diffraction to investigate the progress of mechanical alloying and microstructural changes. A miniature tensile specimen after sintering is used to investigate the mechanical properties. Furthermore, quantitative analysis of the microstructure is performed using electron backscatter diffraction.

In this study, we report the microstructure and characterization of Ta₂₀Nb₂₀V₂₀W₂₀Ti₂₀ high-entropy alloy powders and sintered samples. The effects of milling time on the microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated in detail. Microstructure and structural characterization were performed by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The mechanical properties of the sintered samples were analyzed through a compressive test at room temperature with a strain rate of 1 × 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹. The microstructure of sintered Ta₂₀Nb₂₀V₂₀W₂₀Ti₂₀ high-entropy alloy is composed of a BCC phase and a TiO phase. A better combination of compressive strength and strain was achieved by using prealloyed Ta₂₀Nb₂₀V₂₀W₂₀Ti₂₀ powder with low oxygen content. The results suggest that the oxide formed during the sintering process affects the mechanical properties of Ta₂₀Nb₂₀V₂₀W₂₀Ti₂₀ high-entropy alloys, which are related to the interfacial stability between the BCC matrix and TiO phase.