Real-time observations of TRIP-induced ultrahigh strain hardening in a dual-phase CrMnFeCoNi high-entropy alloy.

Chen, Sijing; Oh, Hyun Seok; Gludovatz, Bernd; Kim, Sang Jun; Park, Eun Soo; Zhang, Ze; Ritchie, Robert O; Yu, Qian · Nat Commun · 2020

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Strategies involving metastable phases have been the basis of the design of numerous alloys, yet research on metastable high-entropy alloys is still in its infancy. In dual-phase high-entropy alloys, the combination of local chemical environments and loading-induced crystal structure changes suggests a relationship between deformation mechanisms and chemical atomic distribution, which we examine in here in a Cantor-like Cr<sub>20</sub>Mn<sub>6</sub>Fe<sub>34</sub>Co<sub>34</sub>Ni<sub>6</sub> alloy, comprising both face-centered cubic (fcc) and hexagonal closed packed (hcp) phases. We observe that partial dislocation activities result in stable three-dimensional stacking-fault networks. Additionally, the fraction of the stronger hcp phase progressively increases during plastic deformation by forming at the stacking-fault network boundaries in the fcc phase, serving as the major source of strain hardening. In this context, variations in local chemical composition promote a high density of Lomer-Cottrell locks, which facilitate the construction of the stacking-fault networks to provide nucleation sites for the hcp phase transformation.