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Rapid in situ alloying of CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy from elemental feedstock toward high-throughput synthesis via laser powder bed fusion

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Abstract

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) are considered alternatives to traditional structural materials because of their superior mechanical, physical, and chemical properties. However, alloy composition combinations are too numerous to explore. Finding a rapid synthesis method to accelerate the development of HEA bulks is imperative. Existing in situ synthesis methods based on additive manufacturing are insufficient for efficiently controlling the uniformity and accuracy of components. In this work, laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) is adopted for the in situ synthesis of equiatomic CoCrFeMnNi HEA from elemental powder mixtures. High composition accuracy is achieved in parallel with ensuring internal density. The L-PBF-based process parameters are optimized; and two different methods, namely, a multi-melting process and homogenization heat treatment, are adopted to address the problem of incompletely melted Cr particles in the single-melted samples. X-ray diffraction indicates that HEA microstructure can be obtained from elemental powders via L-PBF. In the triple-melted samples, a strong crystallographic texture can be observed through electron backscatter diffraction, with a maximum polar density of 9.92 and a high ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of (735.3 ± 14.1) MPa. The homogenization heat-treated samples appear more like coarse equiaxed grains, with a UTS of (650.8 ± 16.1) MPa and an elongation of (40.2% ± 1.3%). Cellular substructures are also observed in the triple-melted samples, but not in the homogenization heat-treated samples. The differences in mechanical properties primarily originate from the changes in strengthening mechanism. The even and flat fractographic morphologies of the homogenization heat-treated samples represent a more uniform internal microstructure that is different from the complex morphologies of the triple-melted samples. Relative to the multi-melted samples, the homogenization heat-treated samples exhibit better processability, with a smaller composition deviation, i.e., ⩽ 0.32 at.%. The two methods presented in this study are expected to have considerable potential for developing HEAs with high composition accuracy and composition flexibility.

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Abbreviations

AM:

Additive manufacturing

EBSD:

Electron backscatter diffraction

EDS:

Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy

FCC:

Face-centered cubic

HEA:

High-entropy alloy

ICP:

Inductively coupled plasma

IPF:

Inverse pole figure

L-PBF:

Laser powder bed fusion

LMD:

Laser metal deposition

PF:

Pole figure

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

TEM:

Transmission electron microscopy

UTS:

Ultimate tensile strength

VED:

Volumetric energy density

XRD:

X-ray diffraction

YS:

Yield strength

a :

A constant

b :

Burgers vector

d :

Average grain size

G :

Shear modulus

h :

Hatch spacing

k :

Strengthening coefficient

M :

Taylor factor

P :

Laser power

t :

Layer thickness

v :

Scanning speed

ρ :

Dislocation density

σ 0 :

Friction stress

σ dis :

Strengthened dislocation

σ GB :

Grain boundary strengthening

σ y :

Yield strength

ε f :

Elongation to failure

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Innovation Institute of Additive Manufacturing, China. The authors thanked Chao Li of the Instrument Analysis Center of Xi’an Jiaotong University for conducting field-emission transmission electron microscopy analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Bowen Wang, Bingheng Lu, Bobo Li, Qianyu Ji & Qian Liu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Bowen Wang, Bingheng Lu, Lijuan Zhang, Bobo Li, Qianyu Ji, Peng Luo & Qian Liu

  3. National Innovation Institute of Additive Manufacturing, Xi’an, 710300, China

    Bowen Wang, Bingheng Lu, Lijuan Zhang, Jianxun Zhang, Bobo Li, Qianyu Ji & Qian Liu

  4. State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Jianxun Zhang

  5. Institute of Materials, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, 621908, China

    Peng Luo

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  1. Bowen Wang
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  2. Bingheng Lu
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  3. Lijuan Zhang
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Correspondence to Bingheng Lu or Lijuan Zhang.

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Wang, B., Lu, B., Zhang, L. et al. Rapid in situ alloying of CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy from elemental feedstock toward high-throughput synthesis via laser powder bed fusion. Front. Mech. Eng. 18, 11 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11465-022-0727-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11465-022-0727-x

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