Peter K. Liaw

Deviation from high-entropy configurations in the atomic distributions of a multi-principal-element alloy

The alloy-design strategy of combining multiple elements in near-equimolar ratios has shown great potential for producing exceptional engineering materials, often known as high-entropy alloys. Understanding the elemental distribution, and, thus, the evolution of the configurational entropy during solidification, is undertaken in the present study using the Al₁.₃CoCrCuFeNi model alloy. Here we show that, even when the material undergoes elemental segregation, precipitation, chemical ordering and spinodal decomposition, a significant amount of disorder remains, due to the distributions of multiple elements in the major phases. The results suggest that the high-entropy alloy-design strategy may be applied to a wide range of complex materials, and should not be limited to the goal of creating single-phase solid solutions.

Local Atomic Structure of a High-Entropy Alloy: An X-Ray and Neutron Scattering Study

By using high-energy synchrotron X-ray and neutron scattering, the local structure of a ternary high-entropy alloy Zr1/3Nb1/3Hf1/3 is characterized by means of pair distribution function (PDF) analysis. Results show that this alloy is a body center cubic (b.c.c.) phase in both bulk sample and in a thin film ~1.5xa0µm thick. The PDFs obtained from X-ray diffraction and neutron diffraction agree well with each other. The measured PDFs differ from the calculated PDF, particularly in the peak shape of the first two peaks, indicating local lattice distortion due to different atomic sizes in the solid solution.

Alloying and Processing Effects on the Aqueous Corrosion Behavior of High-Entropy Alloys

The effects of metallurgical factors on the aqueous corrosion behavior of high-entropy alloys (HEAs) are reviewed in this article. Alloying (e.g., Al and Cu) and processing (e.g., heat treatments) effects on the aqueous corrosion behavior of HEAs, including passive film formation, galvanic corrosion, and pitting corrosion, are discussed in detail. Corrosion rates of HEAs are calculated using electrochemical measurements and the weight-loss method. Available experimental corrosion data of HEAs in two common solutions [sulfuric acid (0.5 M H2SO4) and salt water (3.5 weight percent, wt.%, NaCl)], such as the corrosion potential (Ecorr), corrosion current density (icorr), pitting potential (Epit), and passive region (ΔE), are summarized and compared with conventional corrosion-resistant alloys. Possible directions of future work on the corrosion behavior of HEAs are suggested.

Experiments and Model for Serration Statistics in Low-Entropy, Medium-Entropy, and High-Entropy Alloys

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) are new alloys that contain five or more elements in roughly-equal proportion. We present new experiments and theory on the deformation behavior of HEAs under slow stretching (straining), and observe differences, compared to conventional alloys with fewer elements. For a specific range of temperatures and strain-rates, HEAs deform in a jerky way, with sudden slips that make it difficult to precisely control the deformation. An analytic model explains these slips as avalanches of slipping weak spots and predicts the observed slip statistics, stress-strain curves, and their dependence on temperature, strain-rate, and material composition. The ratio of the weak spots’ healing rate to the strain-rate is the main tuning parameter, reminiscent of the Portevin-LeChatellier effect and time-temperature superposition in polymers. Our model predictions agree with the experimental results. The proposed widely-applicable deformation mechanism is useful for deformation control and alloy design.

Laser shock peening on Zr-based bulk metallic glass and its effect on plasticity: Experiment and modeling

The Zr-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) are a new family of attractive materials with good glass-forming ability and excellent mechanical properties, such as high strength and good wear resistance, which make them candidates for structural and biomedical materials. Although the mechanical behavior of BMGs has been widely investigated, their deformation mechanisms are still poorly understood. In particular, their poor ductility significantly impedes their industrial application. In the present work, we show that the ductility of Zr-based BMGs with nearly zero plasticity is improved by a laser shock peening technique. Moreover, we map the distribution of laser-induced residual stresses via the micro-slot cutting method, and then predict them using a three-dimensional finite-element method coupled with a confined plasma model. Reasonable agreement is achieved between the experimental and modeling results. The analyses of serrated flows reveal plentiful and useful information of the underlying deformation process. Our work provides an easy and effective way to extend the ductility of intrinsically-brittle BMGs, opening up wider applications of these materials.

Self-Similar Random Process and Chaotic Behavior In Serrated Flow of High Entropy Alloys.

The statistical and dynamic analyses of the serrated-flow behavior in the nanoindentation of a high-entropy alloy, Al0.5CoCrCuFeNi, at various holding times and temperatures, are performed to reveal the hidden order associated with the seemingly-irregular intermittent flow. Two distinct types of dynamics are identified in the high-entropy alloy, which are based on the chaotic time-series, approximate entropy, fractal dimension, and Hurst exponent. The dynamic plastic behavior at both room temperature and 200u2009°C exhibits a positive Lyapunov exponent, suggesting that the underlying dynamics is chaotic. The fractal dimension of the indentation depth increases with the increase of temperature, and there is an inflection at the holding time of 10u2009s at the same temperature. A large fractal dimension suggests the concurrent nucleation of a large number of slip bands. In particular, for the indentation with the holding time of 10u2009s at room temperature, the slip process evolves as a self-similar random process with a weak negative correlation similar to a random walk.

Loading-rate-independent delay of catastrophic avalanches in a bulk metallic glass

The plastic flow of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) is characterized by intermittent bursts of avalanches, and this trend results in disastrous failures of BMGs. In the present work, a double-side-notched BMG specimen is designed, which exhibits chaotic plastic flows consisting of several catastrophic avalanches under the applied loading. The disastrous shear avalanches have, then, been delayed by forming a stable plastic-flow stage in the specimens with tailored distances between the bottoms of the notches, where the distribution of a complex stress field is acquired. Differing from the conventional compressive testing results, such a delaying process is independent of loading rate. The statistical analysis shows that in the specimens with delayed catastrophic failures, the plastic flow can evolve to a critical dynamics, making the catastrophic failure more predictable than the ones with chaotic plastic flows. The findings are of significance in understanding the plastic-flow mechanisms in BMGs and controlling the avalanches in relating solids.

Atomistic clustering-ordering and high-strain deformation of an Al0.1CrCoFeNi high-entropy alloy

Computational investigations of structural, chemical, and deformation behavior in high-entropy alloys (HEAs), which possess notable mechanical strength, have been limited due to the absence of applicable force fields. To extend investigations, we propose a set of intermolecular potential parameters for a quinary Al-Cr-Co-Fe-Ni alloy, using the available ternary Embedded Atom Method and Lennard-Jones potential in classical molecular-dynamics simulations. The simulation results are validated by a comparison to first-principles Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker (KKR) - Coherent Potential Approximation (CPA) [KKR-CPA] calculations for the HEA structural properties (lattice constants and bulk moduli), relative stability, pair probabilities, and high-temperature short-range ordering. The simulation (MD)-derived properties are in quantitative agreement with KKR-CPA calculations (first-principles) and experiments. We study AlxCrCoFeNi for Al ranging from 0u2009≤u2009xu2009≤2 mole fractions, and find that the HEA shows large chemical clustering over a wide temperature range for xu2009<u20090.5. At various temperatures high-strain compression promotes atomistic rearrangements in Al0.1CrCoFeNi, resulting in a clustering-to-ordering transition that is absent for tensile loading. Large fluctuations under stress, and at higher temperatures, are attributed to the thermo-plastic instability in Al0.1CrCoFeNi.