Achieving Excellent Strength-Ductility Balance in Single-Phase CoCrNiV Multi-Principal Element Alloy.

CoCrNi alloys exhibit excellent strength and ductility. In this work, the CoCrNiV multi-principal alloy with single-phase fine grained (FG) structure was prepared by rolling and heat treatment. The characteristics of deformation microstructures and mechanical properties were systematically investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results indicate that the CoCrNiV alloy successfully attains a yield strength of 1060 MPa while maintaining a uniform elongation of 24.1%. The enhanced strength originates from FG structure and severe lattice distortion induced by V addition. Meanwhile, the exceptional ductility arises from the stable strain-hardening ability facilitated by dislocations and stacking faults. The deformation mechanisms and the optimization strategies for attaining both strength and ductility are thoroughly discussed.

Effects of V Addition on the Deformation Mechanism and Mechanical Properties of Non-Equiatomic CoCrNi Medium-Entropy Alloys.

Equiatomic CoCrNi medium-entropy alloys exhibit superior strength and ductility. In this work, a non-equiatomic CoCrNi alloy with low stacking fault energy was designed, and different fractions of V were added to control the stacking fault energy and lattice distortion. Mechanical properties were evaluated by tensile tests, and deformation microstructures were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM). The main deformation mechanisms of CoCrNiV alloy with low V content are dislocation slip, stacking faults, and deformation-induced HCP phase transformation, while the dominant deformation patterns of CoCrNiV alloy with high V contents are dislocation slip and stacking faults. The yield strength increases dramatically when the V content is high, and the strain-hardening behavior changes non-monotonically with increasing the V content. V addition increases the stacking fault energy (SFE) and lattice distortion. The lower strain-hardening rate of 6V alloy than that of 2V alloy is dominated by the SFE. The higher strain-hardening rate of 10V alloy than that of 6V alloy is dominated by the lattice distortion. The effects of V addition on the SFE, lattice distortion, and strain-hardening behavior are discussed.