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Effect of plasma remelting on microstructure and properties of a CoCrCuNiAl0.5 high-entropy alloy prepared by spark plasma sintering

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Abstract

A CoCrCuNiAl0.5 high-entropy alloy (HEA) was prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The effect of plasma transferred arc (PTA) remelting on the microstructures and properties of the SPS-ed HEA was studied. The results showed that, after PTA remelting, the microstructures transformed from randomly-oriented equiaxed grains to dendrites with a directional solidified morphology. The coarse plate-like precipitates (~ 130 nm in diameter and ~ 20 nm in thickness) containing ordered L12 and disordered FCC structures inside the matrix grains were replaced by the disordered FCC spherical Cu-rich precipitates with several nanometers within the dendritic matrix. In the intergranular region, the size of the L12 cubic precipitates was decreased from ~ 55 nm to ~ 2 nm, and dislocations and lattice distortions were also observed. In addition, the brittle B2 phase was disappeared, and the extent of Cu segregation was decreased in the interdendritic region. The SPS-ed sample has a compressive yield strength of 913.8 MPa and a fracture strain of 21.7%. However, the PTA remelted sample exhibits a much higher fracture strain (> 70%, without fracture) and an appreciable yield strength of 739.4 MPa, which indicates an excellent balance between strength and ductility was achieved after PTA remelting. Furthermore, the corrosion resistance of the PTA remelted sample was higher than that of the SPS-ed sample, which was mainly due to the decreased elemental segregation, and the reduced sizes and types of the precipitates.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51822402, 51671044, 51772176, 51971121, and 52001051), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Nos.2019YFA0209901 and 2018YFA0702901), the fund of the State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing in NWPU (Grant No. SKLSP201902), the Liao Ning Revitalization Talents Program (XLYC1807047), the National MCF Energy R&D Program (project No. 2018YFE0312400), the Fund of Science and Technology on Reactor Fuel and Materials Laboratory (STRFML-2020-04), the Taishan Scholarship of Climbing Plan (No. tspd20161006), and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2020M670747).

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  1. Key Laboratory of Solidification Control and Digital Preparation Technology (Liaoning Province), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, People’s Republic of China

    Mingliang Wang, Guojia Zhang, Yi** Lu & Tingju Li

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266590, People’s Republic of China

    Hongzhi Cui, Yong Zhao & Na Wei

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  1. Mingliang Wang
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Wang, M., Zhang, G., Cui, H. et al. Effect of plasma remelting on microstructure and properties of a CoCrCuNiAl0.5 high-entropy alloy prepared by spark plasma sintering. J Mater Sci 56, 5878–5898 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-05570-x

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