High-pressure high-temperature tailoring of High Entropy Alloys for extreme environments

The exceptional performance of some High Entropy Alloys (HEAs) under extreme conditions holds out the possibility of new and exciting materials for engineers to exploit in future applications. In this work, instead of focusing solely on the effects of high temperature on HEAs, the effects of combined high temperature and high pressure were observed. Phase transformations occurring in a pristine HEA, the as-cast bcc–Al2CoCrFeNi, are heavily influenced by temperature, pressure, and by scandium additions. As-cast bcc–Al2CoCrFeNi and fcc–Al0.3CoCrFeNi HEAs are structurally stable below 60 GPa and do not undergo phase transitions. Addition of scandium to bcc–Al2CoCrFeNi results in the precipitation of hexagonal AlScM intermetallic (W-phase), which dissolves in the matrix after high-pressure high-temperature treatment. Addition of scandium and high-pressure sintering improve hardness and thermal stability of well-investigated fcc- and bcc- HEAs. The dissolution of the intermetallic in the main phase at high pressure suggests a new strategy in the design and optimization of HEAs.