Enhancing Strength-Ductility Synergy of CoCrNi-Based Medium-Entropy Alloy Through Coherent L12 Nanoprecipitates and Grain Boundary Precipitates

doi:10.1007/s40195-023-01641-5

Abstract

Abstract:

The L1₂-strengthened Co₃₄Cr₃₂Ni₂₇Al₄Ti₃ medium-entropy alloy (MEA) with precipitations of grain boundaries has been developed through selective laser melting (SLM) followed by cold rolling and annealing, exhibiting excellent strength-ductility synergy. The as-printed alloy exhibits low yield strength (YS) of ~ 384 MPa, ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of ~ 453 MPa, and uniform elongation (UE) of 1.5% due to the existence of the SLM-induced defects. After cold rolling and annealing, the YS, UTS, and UE are significantly increased to ~ 739 MPa, ~ 1230 MPa, and ~ 47%, respectively. This enhancement primarily originates from the refined grain structure induced by cold rolling and annealing. The presence of coherent spherical γ' precipitates (L1₂ phases) and Al/Ti-rich precipitates at the grain boundaries, coupled with increased lattice defects such as dislocations, stacking faults, and ultrafine deformation twins, further contribute to the property’s improvement. Our study highlights the potential of SLM in producing high-strength and ductile MEA with coherent L1₂ nanoprecipitates, which can be further optimized through subsequent rolling and annealing processes. These findings offer valuable insights for the development of high-performance alloys for future engineering applications.

Key words: Medium-entropy alloy, Selective laser melting, Precipitation, Strength, Ductility

Leilei Li, Kaikai Song, Qingwei Gao, Changshan Zhou, Xiaoming Liu, Yaocen Wang, Xiaojun Bai, Chongde Cao. Enhancing Strength-Ductility Synergy of CoCrNi-Based Medium-Entropy Alloy Through Coherent L1₂ Nanoprecipitates and Grain Boundary Precipitates[J]. Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 2024, 37(1): 78-88.

Figures/Tables 9

Fig. 1 Powder XRD a, schematic illustration of the SLM building strategy b

Table 1 Chemical composition of Co34Cr32Ni27Al4Ti3 powder measured by ICP-OES (at%)

Co	Cr	Ni	Al	Ti
36.09 ± 1.78	31.53 ± 0.42	28.28 ± 1.34	2.92 ± 0.96	2.77 ± 0.15

Fig. 2Micr ostructure and EBSD mapping of the as-printed sample: SEM image a, IPF map b, grain boundary map c, XRD pattern and EDS elemental mappings: XRD pattern d, SEM image e, Co f, Cr g, Ni h, Al i, Ti j

Fig. 3 SEM images, IPF maps, and grain boundary maps: cold-rolled (CR) MEA a-c, cold-rolled and annealed (CRA) MEA d-f

Fig. 4 XRD patterns and EDS elemental mappings: cold-rolled (CR) MEA a-g, cold-rolled and annealed (CRA) MEA h-n

Fig. 5 Identification of nanoparticles in the matrix for the annealed sample: bright field (BF) image of the matrix a, HRTEM image (Inset: FFT and IFFT patterns of regions R5) of the region R1 b, IFFT image of region R5 c, and SAED patterns of regions R2, R3 and R4 d-f

Fig. 6 Mechanical properties of Co34Cr32Ni27Al4Ti3 MEAs under different processing conditions: representative tensile engineering stress-strain curves a, UTS versus UE of Co34Cr32Ni27Al4Ti3 MEA compared to various MEAs/HEAs [51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61] b

Table 2 Mechanical properties of the processed samples

Samples	Yield strength (MPa)	Ultimate tensile strength (MPa)	Elongation (%)	Hardness (HV)
As-printed	391 ± 42	435 ± 13	1.6 ± 0.4	256 ± 19
Cold-rolled	1522 ± 47	1674 ± 49	1.8 ± 0.3	549 ± 6
Annealed	689 ± 36	1162 ± 58	44.5 ± 4.1	351 ± 7

Fig. 7 Tensile fracture morphologies of the as-printed and annealed MEAs: tensile fracture morphologies of the as-printed MEA a, b; tensile fracture morphologies of the annealed MEA c, d

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Enhancing Strength-Ductility Synergy of CoCrNi-Based Medium-Entropy Alloy Through Coherent L1₂ Nanoprecipitates and Grain Boundary Precipitates

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