Enhanced strength-ductility synergy via high dislocation density-induced strain hardening in nitrogen interstitial CrMnFeCoNi high-entropy alloy

Abstract

<p>The present work demonstrates that nitrogen doping inhibits the formation of deformation twins in a CrMnFeCoNi high entropy alloy, while significantly increases the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/mechanical-strength" title="Learn more about strength from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">strength</a> without sacrificing much ductility at 77 K. Microstructural characterization and first-principles calculations were employed to unveil the role of interstitial nitrogen atoms in obtaining such an excellent combination of strength and ductility at 77 K. It is found that nitrogen addition increases generalized <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/stacking-fault-energy" title="Learn more about stacking fault energy from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">stacking fault energy</a> (GSFE) and reduces twinning. However, the pinning of dislocations by nitrogen atoms effectively suppresses dislocation cross-slip and dynamic recovery and in turn, promotes the accumulation of dislocations. The high <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/dislocation-density" title="Learn more about dislocation density from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">dislocation density</a> induces a high strain hardening capacity and improves uniform elongation, which compensates for the ductility loss accompanied by solid solution strengthening. The effect of nitrogen doping enriches the design concept of high- and medium-entropy alloys, providing an economical and effective strategy to develop ultra-high-performance alloys that are suitable for cryogenic applications.<br></p>