A precipitate-free AlCoFeNi eutectic high-entropy alloy with strong strain hardening

摘要

Over recent years,eutectic high-entropy alloys(EHEAs)have intrigued substantial research enthusiasms due to their good castability as well as balanced strength-ductility synergy.In this study,a bulk cast Al_(19.25)Co_(18.86)Fe_(18.36)Ni_(43.53)EHEA is developed with fine in-situ lamellar eutectics.The eutectics comprise alternating ordered face-centered-cubic(L1_(2))and ordered body-centered-cubic(B2)phases with semicoherent interfaces.The resulting microstructure resembles that of most reported as-cast EHEAs,but the B2 lamellae are devoid of nano-precipitates because of the Cr-element removal in current tailored eutectic composition.Surprisingly,the B2 lamellae still feature much higher deformation resistance than the L1_(2) lamellae,so that less lattice defects are detected in the B2 lamellae until the fracture.More interestingly,in the L1_(2) lamellae we identify a dynamic microstructure refinement that correlates to extraordinary strain hardening in tension.The precipitate-free EHEA consequently shows excellent tensile ductility of~10%and high ultimate strength up to~956 MPa.