A novel as-cast precipitation-strengthened Al0.5V0.1FeCrMnNi0.9 high-entropy alloy with high strength and plasticity

A novel Al0.5V0.1FeCrMnNi0.9 high-entropy alloy was designed to achieve enhanced strength and plasticity. The as-cast Al0.5V0.1FeCrMnNi0.9 alloy shows a typical dendritic microstructure consisting of a body-centered cubic-structured matrix phase and a B2-structured nanoprecipitate phase. Nanoprecipitates are homogeneous and dispersed in the matrix. The as-cast Al0.5V0.1FeCrMnNi0.9 alloy exhibits a compressive yield strength of 1.104 GPa, a fracture strength of 2.926 GPa, and a fracture strain of 45.7%. The product of strength and plasticity of this alloy is 133.72 GPa%, which is superior to that of most of the reported high-entropy alloys. The strengthening mechanisms were evaluated in detail, which indicates that the coherent precipitation enhancement contributes to the unusually high strength and plasticity.