High-throughput Experiment and Calculation for Efficient Screening of Novel High Entropy Alloys

S, Y. Chen¹, L. Zhao², L. Jiang¹, L. X. Yang², B. Liu³, Z. W. Hang³, H. Wang², W. Y. Zhang², Z. Wang³， H. Z. Wang²*

¹ Yantai University, Yantai, Shandong, China

² Central Iron & Steel Research Institute, Beijing, China

³ Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

ABSTRACT: Focusing on more efficient experiment and discovery of HEAs, the high-throughput powder-metallurgy synthesis of honeycomb-structured HEA library is demonstrated, where a high-throughput milling and a honeycomb-structured array are keys to enable the HIP process to make 85 FeCoCrNi HEA compositions in about 65 working hours. This high-throughput powder-metallurgy synthesis approach significantly reduces the cycle time and cost greater than an order of magnitude comparing to conventional alloy preparation ways. Furthermore, this high-throughput synthesis makes metallurgically sound bulk HEAs with well-controlled composition as a honeycomb-structured HEA library. The honeycomb-structured HEA library is further characterized in detail by means automated μXRF, EDS, μXRD and microhardness in the high-throughput experiment fashion. The integrated use of the multiple microscale characterization techniques demonstrates the high-throughput capabilities of the tools. Moreover, the high-throughput calculation and rules would guide the alloy selection to favor the intended microstructure of SS or both SS+IM, which is as a function of the amount or type of alloy constituents. With the calculation of Hume-Rothery rule, candidate alloys are initially evaluated and verified by the high-throughput experiments that depend primarily on composition rather than strongly related to microstructure, which allows a large number of potential candidates to be screened efficiently. A high-throughput calculation for the effect of the solid solution hardening (SSH) in multicomponent alloys was demonstrated in present work, which will be able to predict the relationship between yield strength and the type and amount of alloying element. Based on such calculation, we will bridge the existing experimental results with hardening effect calculation in highly concentrated multicomponent systems to establish and develop the database of composition-microstructure-mechanical properties. The efficiency and reliability of this high-throughput calculation and powder-metallurgy synthesis of honeycomb-structured HEAs is apparent, the systematic study of alloying effects on the HEAs is useful, the interesting observation of out-of-box alloying additions is promising, the and approach in high-throughput experiment and discovery of HEAs could spur the advance of promising alloys in a much broader compositional space.

Keywords: Materials Genome Initiative (MGI); High entropy alloys; High-throughput fabrication; High-throughput characterization;

* Corresponding author: wanghaizhou@ncschina.com，010-62181950