Influence of V and Heat Treatment on Characteristics of WMoNbTaV Refractory High-Entropy Alloy Coatings by Mechanical Alloying

Refractory high-entropy alloy (RHEA) is one of the most promising materials for use in high-temperature structural materials. In this study, the WMoNbTaV coatings on 304 stainless steel substrates has been prepared by mechanical alloying (MA). Effects of V addition and subsequent heat treatment on properties of the WMoNbTaV coatings were investigated. The results show that the RHEA coatings with nanocrystalline body-centered cubic (BCC) solid-solution phase were generated by the mechanical alloying process. The presence of the V element promotes a uniform microstructure and homogeneous distribution of composition in the RHEA coatings due to improving alloying efficiency, resulting in an increase of hardness. After the annealing treatment of the RHEA coatings, microstructure homogeneity was further enhanced; however, the high affinity of Ta for oxygen causes the formation of Ta-rich oxides. Annealing also removes strain hardening generated by high-energy ball milling and thus decreases the hardness of the RHEA coating and alters microstructure evolution and mechanical properties.