Development of Precipitation-Strengthened Al(0.8)NbTiVM (M = Co, Ni) Light-Weight Refractory High-Entropy Alloys

Single-phase solid-solution refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs) have been receiving significant attention due to their excellent mechanical properties and phase stability at elevated temperatures. Recently, many studies have been reported regarding the precipitation-enhanced alloy design strategy to further improve the mechanical properties of RHEAs at elevated temperatures. In this study, we attempted to develop precipitation-hardened light-weight RHEAs via addition of Ni or Co into Al(0.8)NbTiV HEA. The added elements were selected due to their smaller atomic radius and larger mixing enthalpy, which is known to stimulate the formation of precipitates. The addition of the Ni or Co leads to the formation of the sigma precipitates with homogeneous distribution. The formation and homogeneous distribution of sigma particles plays a critical role in improvement of yield strength. Furthermore, the Al(0.8)NbTiVM(0.2) (M = Co, Ni) HEAs show excellent specific yield strength compared to single-phase AlNbTiV and NbTiVZr RHEA alloys and conventional Ni-based superalloy (Inconel 718) at elevated temperatures.