Local Composition Migration Induced Microstructural Evolution and Mechanical Properties of Non-equiatomic Fe₄₀Cr₂₅Ni₁₅ Al₁₅Co₅ Medium-Entropy Alloy

A newly designed composition of non-equiatomic Fe₄₀Cr₂₅Ni₁₅Al₁₅Co₅ medium-entropy alloy (MEA) was produced by induction melting (IM). The as-cast alloy was found to consist of a two-phase microstructure of BCC (2.87 ± 0.01 Å) and ordered B2 (2.88 ± 0.02 Å) type phases. The structures of these phases were confirmed through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. It was observed that the Ni-Al-enriched ordered B2 phase of cuboidal shapes (~ 100 to 200 nm) is homogeneously distributed in Fe-Cr-rich BCC matrix with a cube-on-cube orientation relationship. The formation of the columnar dendrites (width 50 to 100 μm) was identified through optical microscopy (OM). The structural and microstructural stability of the alloy was investigated by heat-treating the alloy through different schedules. Heat-treated samples at different temperatures (< 1273 K) exhibit a similar type of two-phase microstructure with columnar dendrites. However, compositional rearrangement takes place during long time exposure to develop polymorphically related phases. The alloy was observed to possess a high compressive yield strength and hardness, i.e., ~ 1047 MPa and 391 ± 9 HV, respectively, at room temperature. Heat-treated samples at 600 °C and 900 °C (873 K and 1173 K) showed an increase in yield strength and ultimate strength with a significant increase in plasticity due to the increase in volume fraction of B2 phase and softening of the BCC matrix phase. The thermal stability and high strength of this alloy may open new avenues for high-temperature applications.