Dislocation glide and mechanical twinning in a ductile VNbTi medium entropy alloy

An equiatomic VNbTi medium-entropy alloy with outstanding tensile properties and unique deformation behavior is reported.The screw dislocation glide,deformation twinning,and dislocation accumulation induced kink bands are identified as three deformation mechanisms that contribute to a large elongation above 20%.The{112}<111>twins are activated at the beginning of the yield stage accompanied by sudden stress-drop and pronounced acoustic emission.Dislocations dominate subsequent tensile deformation,and the prevalent multiplanar dislocation slip promotes the formation of complex dislocation configurations(e.g.,debris,dipoles,and loops)and dense dislocation networks.The twin bands and kink bands can further impede the dislocation motion meanwhile effectively alleviate stress concentration.The synergistic activation of these deformation mechanisms provides new opportunities to design ductile refractory medium-and high-entropy alloys.