Metals have been mankind's most essential materials for thousands of years; however, their use is affected by ecological and economical concerns Alloys with higher strength and ductility could alleviate some of these concerns by reducing weight and improving energy efficiency However, most metallurgical mechanisms for increasing strength lead to ductility loss, an effect referred to as the strength-ductility trade-off Here we present a metastability-engineering strategy in which we design nanostructured, bulk high-entropy alloys with multiple compositionally equivalent high-entropy phases High-entropy alloys were originally proposed to benefit from phase stabilization through entropy maximization Yet here, motivated by recent work that relaxes the strict restrictions on high-entropy alloy compositions by demonstrating the weakness of this connection, the concept is overturned We decrease phase stability to achieve two key benefits: interface hardening due to a dual-phase microstructure (resulting from reduced thermal stability of the high-temperature phase); and transformation-induced hardening (resulting from the reduced mechanical stability of the room-temperature phase) This combines the best of two worlds: extensive hardening due to the decreased phase stability known from advanced steels and massive solid-solution strengthening of high-entropy alloys In our transformation-induced plasticity-assisted, dual-phase high-entropy alloy (TRIP-DP-HEA), these two contributions lead respectively to enhanced trans-grain and inter-grain slip resistance, and hence, increased strength Moreover, the increased strain hardening capacity that is enabled by dislocation hardening of the stable phase and transformation-induced hardening of the metastable phase produces increased ductility This combined increase in strength and ductility distinguishes the TRIP-DP-HEA alloy from other recently developed structural materials This metastability-engineering strategy should thus usefully guide design in the near-infinite compositional space of high-entropy alloys

Metastable high-entropy dual-phase alloys overcome the strength–ductility trade-off

Alloying has long been used to confer desirable properties to materials. Typically, it involves the addition of relatively small amounts of secondary elements to a primary element. For the past decade and a half, however, a new alloying strategy that involves the combination of multiple principal elements in high concentrations to create new materials called high-entropy alloys has been in vogue. The multi-dimensional compositional space that can be tackled with this approach is practically limitless, and only tiny regions have been investigated so far. Nevertheless, a few high-entropy alloys have already been shown to possess exceptional properties, exceeding those of conventional alloys, and other outstanding high-entropy alloys are likely to be discovered in the future. Here, we review recent progress in understanding the salient features of high-entropy alloys. Model alloys whose behaviour has been carefully investigated are highlighted and their fundamental properties and underlying elementary mechanisms discussed. We also address the vast compositional space that remains to be explored and outline fruitful ways to identify regions within this space where high-entropy alloys with potentially interesting properties may be lurking. High-entropy alloys have greatly expanded the compositional space for alloy design. In this Review, the authors discuss model high-entropy alloys with interesting properties, the physical mechanisms responsible for their behaviour and fruitful ways to probe and discover new materials in the vast compositional space that remains to be explored.

High-entropy alloys

Here we present a perspective on heterogeneous materials, a new class of materials possessing superior combinations of strength and ductility that are not accessible to their homogeneous counterpar...

https://tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/21663831.2017.1343208

Heterogeneous materials: a new class of materials with unprecedented mechanical properties

A wide variety of industrial applications require materials with high strength and ductility. Unfortunately, the strategies for increasing material strength, such as processing to create line defects (dislocations), tend to decrease ductility. We developed a strategy to circumvent this in inexpensive, medium manganese steel. Cold rolling followed by low-temperature tempering developed steel with metastable austenite grains embedded in a highly dislocated martensite matrix. This deformed and partitioned (D and P) process produced dislocation hardening but retained high ductility, both through the glide of intensive mobile dislocations and by allowing us to control martensitic transformation. The D and P strategy should apply to any other alloy with deformation-induced martensitic transformation and provides a pathway for the development of high-strength, high-ductility materials.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/early/2017/08/23/science.aan0177.full.pdf

High dislocation density–induced large ductility in deformed and partitioned steels

Propulsion system development requires new, more affordable manufacturing techniques and technologies in a constrained budget environment, while future in-space applications will require in-space manufacturing and assembly of parts and systems. Marshall is advancing cuttingedge commercial capabilities in additive and digital manufacturing and applying them to aerospace challenges. The Center is developing the standards by which new manufacturing processes and parts will be tested and qualified. Rapidly evolving digital tools, such as additive manufacturing, are the leading edge of a revolution in the design and manufacture of space systems that enables rapid prototyping and reduces production times. Marshall has unique expertise in leveraging new digital tools, 3D printing, and other advanced manufacturing technologies and applying them to propulsion systems design and other aerospace materials to meet NASA mission and industry needs. Marshall is helping establish the standards and qualifications “from art to part” for the use of these advanced techniques and the parts produced using them in aerospace or elsewhere in the U.S. industrial base.

Additive manufacturing

Smaller is less stable: Size effects on twinning vs. transformation of reverted austenite in TRIP-maraging steels

Nanolaminate Transformation-Induced Plasticity-Twinning-Induced Plasticity steel with Dynamic Strain Partitioning and Enhanced damage Resistance

In-situ SEM observation of phase transformation and twinning mechanisms in an interstitial high-entropy alloy

Spectral TRIP enables ductile 1.1 GPa martensite

Partial reversion of interlath austenite nano-films is investigated as a potential remedy for hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of martensitic steels. We conducted uniaxial tensile tests on hydrogen-free and pre-charged medium-Mn transformation-induced plasticity-maraging steels with different austenite film thicknesses. Mechanisms of crack propagation and microstructure interaction are quantitatively analyzed using electron channelling contrast imaging and electron backscatter diffraction, revealing a promising strategy to utilize austenite reversion for hydrogen-resistant martensitic steel design.

Meimei Wang

Papers

Smaller is less stable: Size effects on twinning vs. transformation of reverted austenite in TRIP-maraging steels

Nanolaminate Transformation-Induced Plasticity-Twinning-Induced Plasticity steel with Dynamic Strain Partitioning and Enhanced damage Resistance

In-situ SEM observation of phase transformation and twinning mechanisms in an interstitial high-entropy alloy

Spectral TRIP enables ductile 1.1 GPa martensite

Enhancing Hydrogen Embrittlement Resistance of Lath Martensite by Introducing Nano-Films of Interlath Austenite