Electroplasticity in the Al_(0.6) CoCrFeNiMn high entropy alloy subjected to electrically-assisted uniaxial tension

Electrically assisted deformation(EAD)was adopted in this work to overcome the shortcomings such as poor formability and easy cracking in the processing of dual-phase the Al_(0.6) CoCrFeNiMn high entropy al-loy(HEA)at room temperature.Electroplasticity of the Al_(0.6) CoCrFeNiMn HEA was studied systematically using electrically assisted uniaxial tension.The results showed that pulse current caused the temperature gradient along the tensile direction and the temperatures of the samples increased with the current den-sity.The flow stress decreased,and the elongation increased with increasing current density during the EAD.When the current density was 30 A mm-2,the total elongation of the samples could be increased by 50%compared to that with no pulse.Pulse current can reduce local stress concentration and post-pone microcracks initiation in the body-centered cubic(BCC)phases,and hence can effectively inhibit cracks and ruptures.The dislocation tangles were opened by pulse current,and the dislocation recovery was enhanced at a high current density.Compared with dilute solid solution alloys,the lattice distortion effect,the high fraction of the BCC phases,and the dislocations in HEAs can lead to the enhancement of the local Joule heating,which accelerated dislocation slip and dislocation annihilation.This study con-firms that EAD can effectively im prove the formability of HEAs and provides theoretical guidance and an experimental basis for forming HEAs components.

The thermal instability mechanism and annealed deformation behavior of Cu/Nb nanolaminate composites

Nanoscale metallic multilayers(NMMs)have attracted significant attention owing to their enhanced me-chanical properties and excellent thermal stability.However,the underlying deformation mechanisms of the high-temperature annealed microstructures have not been well clarified.In this study,the effect of annealing temperatures(500,600,700,800,and 1000℃)on the microstructural evolution and mechan-ical properties of Cu/Nb NMMs was investigated systematically.The results show that when the anneal-ing temperature is lower than 800℃the Cu/Nb NMMs maintain their initial continuous nanolayered structure.As the annealing temperature reaches 1000℃,a thermal instability,driven by thermal grain boundary grooving and a Rayleigh instability,leads to the pinching offof the nanolayered structure and even a complete disintegration into an equiaxed grain structure.Uniaxial tensile tests show that 1000℃annealed samples exhibit an enhanced strain hardening capability compared to as-rolled NMMs and this imparts superior ultimate tensile strength(∼492 MPa)and a high elongation(∼20%).TEM observations demonstrate that high-density entangled dislocations exist in the Cu-Nb interface and layers after tensile testing of the high-temperature annealed samples.The dislocation tangles lead to stable and progres-sive strain hardening which is the dominant factor in determining the superior combination of strength and ductility of the high-temperature annealed samples.Thus,this study offers a promising strategy for evading the strength-ductility dilemma and instead promotes a more in-depth understanding of the de-formation mechanisms of heterostructured materials.