Nanoscale origins of the damage tolerance of the high-entropy alloy CrMnFeCoNi

Damage tolerance can be an elusive characteristic of structural materials requiring both high strength and ductility, properties that are often mutually exclusive. High-entropy alloys are of interest in this regard. Specifically, the single-phase CrMnFeCoNi alloy displays tensile strength levels of ∼ 1 GPa, excellent ductility (∼ 60-70%) and exceptional fracture toughness (KJIc>200 MPa√m). Here through the use of in situ straining in an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope, we report on the salient atomistic to micro-scale mechanisms underlying the origin of these properties. We identify a synergy of multiple deformation mechanisms, rarely achieved in metallic alloys, which generates high…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy
• OO
  Office of Science
• BE
  Basic Energy Sciences
• OR
  Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• LB
  Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory