Chemical short range order and deformation mechanism of a refractory high entropy alloy HfNbTaZr under nanoindentation: An atomistic study

Refractory high entropy alloys (RHEA) are promising potential used as structural materials owing to the remarkable mechanical properties, such as excellent thermal stability and strength. However, the dynamic nanoindentation response of the nanocrystalline RHEA at atomic scale is not fully revealed....

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Main Authors: Yuan Chen, Si-Wei Reng, Jing Peng, Xiu-Bo Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-05-01
Series:Journal of Materials Research and Technology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785423007688
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author Yuan Chen
Si-Wei Reng
Jing Peng
Xiu-Bo Liu
author_facet Yuan Chen
Si-Wei Reng
Jing Peng
Xiu-Bo Liu
author_sort Yuan Chen
collection DOAJ
description Refractory high entropy alloys (RHEA) are promising potential used as structural materials owing to the remarkable mechanical properties, such as excellent thermal stability and strength. However, the dynamic nanoindentation response of the nanocrystalline RHEA at atomic scale is not fully revealed. Here, the mechanical behaviour of the as-cast and annealed nanocrystalline HfNbTaZr RHEA under nanoindentation is investigated for first time using a large scale molecular dynamics simulation, in the terms of indentation force, microstructural evolution, stress distribution, shear strain distribution, and surface topography. The results show the annealed nanocrystalline HfNbTaZr RHEA has obvious chemical short-range ordered structure (CSRO), including Ta enrichment and Hf–Nb segregation. The elastic modulus of the annealed RHEA is larger than that of random RHEA, agreeing with the previous experiment. CSRO improves the indentation force and work hardening, due to the inhibition of dislocation nucleation and motion. Interestingly, the hardening behavior is found in the unloading stage, which is rarely reported in traditional alloys. The crystal-to-amorphous phase transition takes place under the loading, and the inverse phase transformation occurs under the unloading. The increase rate of high Von Mises stress and hydrostatic stress region is lower than the change rate of the high strain region. Certainly, almost all atoms move to consume stored energy after unloading, leading to the decrease of stress and strain. The current study not only gives an insight into probing the mechanical behavior of the nanocrystalline RHEA, but also provides an avenue to design high performance RHEAs based on the heat treatment process.
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spelling doaj.art-90f6191697734e3097e1864d763fdd092023-06-21T06:56:40ZengElsevierJournal of Materials Research and Technology2238-78542023-05-012435883598Chemical short range order and deformation mechanism of a refractory high entropy alloy HfNbTaZr under nanoindentation: An atomistic studyYuan Chen0Si-Wei Reng1Jing Peng2Xiu-Bo Liu3Hunan Province Key Laboratory of Materials Surface/Interface Science & Technology, Central South University of Forestry & Technology, Changsha, 410004, PR ChinaCollege of Mechanical and Vehicle Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, PR ChinaCollege of Mechanical and Vehicle Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, PR ChinaHunan Province Key Laboratory of Materials Surface/Interface Science & Technology, Central South University of Forestry & Technology, Changsha, 410004, PR China; Corresponding author.Refractory high entropy alloys (RHEA) are promising potential used as structural materials owing to the remarkable mechanical properties, such as excellent thermal stability and strength. However, the dynamic nanoindentation response of the nanocrystalline RHEA at atomic scale is not fully revealed. Here, the mechanical behaviour of the as-cast and annealed nanocrystalline HfNbTaZr RHEA under nanoindentation is investigated for first time using a large scale molecular dynamics simulation, in the terms of indentation force, microstructural evolution, stress distribution, shear strain distribution, and surface topography. The results show the annealed nanocrystalline HfNbTaZr RHEA has obvious chemical short-range ordered structure (CSRO), including Ta enrichment and Hf–Nb segregation. The elastic modulus of the annealed RHEA is larger than that of random RHEA, agreeing with the previous experiment. CSRO improves the indentation force and work hardening, due to the inhibition of dislocation nucleation and motion. Interestingly, the hardening behavior is found in the unloading stage, which is rarely reported in traditional alloys. The crystal-to-amorphous phase transition takes place under the loading, and the inverse phase transformation occurs under the unloading. The increase rate of high Von Mises stress and hydrostatic stress region is lower than the change rate of the high strain region. Certainly, almost all atoms move to consume stored energy after unloading, leading to the decrease of stress and strain. The current study not only gives an insight into probing the mechanical behavior of the nanocrystalline RHEA, but also provides an avenue to design high performance RHEAs based on the heat treatment process.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785423007688Refractory high-entropy alloyNanoindentationMechanical propertiesMicrostructureShort-range order
spellingShingle Yuan Chen
Si-Wei Reng
Jing Peng
Xiu-Bo Liu
Chemical short range order and deformation mechanism of a refractory high entropy alloy HfNbTaZr under nanoindentation: An atomistic study
Journal of Materials Research and Technology
Refractory high-entropy alloy
Nanoindentation
Mechanical properties
Microstructure
Short-range order
title Chemical short range order and deformation mechanism of a refractory high entropy alloy HfNbTaZr under nanoindentation: An atomistic study
title_full Chemical short range order and deformation mechanism of a refractory high entropy alloy HfNbTaZr under nanoindentation: An atomistic study
title_fullStr Chemical short range order and deformation mechanism of a refractory high entropy alloy HfNbTaZr under nanoindentation: An atomistic study
title_full_unstemmed Chemical short range order and deformation mechanism of a refractory high entropy alloy HfNbTaZr under nanoindentation: An atomistic study
title_short Chemical short range order and deformation mechanism of a refractory high entropy alloy HfNbTaZr under nanoindentation: An atomistic study
title_sort chemical short range order and deformation mechanism of a refractory high entropy alloy hfnbtazr under nanoindentation an atomistic study
topic Refractory high-entropy alloy
Nanoindentation
Mechanical properties
Microstructure
Short-range order
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785423007688
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