Effect of Si and C additions on the reaction mechanism and mechanical properties of FeCrNiCu high entropy alloy

FeCrNiCu based high entropy alloy matrix composites were fabricated with addition of Si and C by vacuum electromagnetic induction melting. The primary goal of this research was to analyze the reaction mechanism, microstructure, mechanical properties at room temperature and strengthening mechanism of the composites with addition of Si and C. The reaction mechanism of powders containing (Si, Ni and C) was analyzed, only one reaction occurred (i.e., Si + C → SiC) and its activation energy is 1302.8 kJ/mol. The new composites consist of a face centered cubic (FCC) structured matrix reinforced by submicron sized SiC particles. The addition of Si and C enhances the hardness from 351.4 HV to 626.4 HV and the tensile strength from 565.5 MPa to 846.0 MPa, accompanied by a slight decrease in the plasticity. The main strengthening mechanisms of SiC/FeCrNiCu composites were discussed based on dislocation strengthening, load bearing effect, Orowan mechanism and solid solution hardening, whose contributions to the tensile strength increase are 58.6%, 6.3%, 14.3% and 20.8%, respectively.