Compositional complexity dependence of dislocation density and mechanical properties in high entropy alloy systems

This study focuses on a quantitative analysis of dislocation accumulation after cold plastic deformation and mechanical properties of FeNiCoCrMn and TiNbHfTaZr high entropy alloys (HEAs) which are single phase fcc and bcc solid solutions, respectively. In order to study the role of compositional complexity from unary to quinary compositions on dislocation accumulation and mechanical properties after plastic deformation, the single solid solution phase forming sub-alloys of the two HEAs were investigated. All studied samples revealed a large plastic deformability under cold-rotary swaging process by 85–90% area reduction without intermediate annealing. The dislocation density of all studied samples, determined by Williamson-Hall method on synchrotron X-ray diffraction patterns, were between 1014 - 1015 m−2 dependent on the alloy composition. The level of dislocation density after plastic deformation is not only affected by the number of constituent element but the lattice distortion and intrinsic properties in terms of stacking fault energy, modulus misfit, and melting point also impact the dislocation storage. The level of dislocation density determines the level of mechanical properties because of a resistance to dislocation motions. The hardness and yield compressive strength of the studied samples are proportional to the level of dislocation density.