Effects of HCP/BCC element ratios on the room-temperature tensile properties of Ti-Zr-Hf-Nb-Ta refractory high-entropy alloys

Carpenter, W. J.; Yang, Ying; Gludovatz, B.; Curtin, W. A.; George, Easo P.

doi:10.1016/j.intermet.2025.108923

Effects of HCP/BCC element ratios on the room-temperature tensile properties of Ti-Zr-Hf-Nb-Ta refractory high-entropy alloys

Journal Article · Mon Jul 28 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · Intermetallics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intermet.2025.108923· OSTI ID:2587456

Carpenter, W. J. ^[1]; ^[2]; ^[3]; Curtin, W. A. ^[4]; ^[5]

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) (Australia)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) (Australia)
Brown University, Providence, RI (United States)
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Ruhr University Bochum (Germany)

Equiatomic and non-equiatomic Ti-Zr-Hf-Nb-Ta refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs) were arc melted, homogenized, cold rolled, and recrystallized to produce single-phase, body-centered cubic (BCC), microstructures with weak texture and equiaxed grains 76–199 μm in size. Here, the non-equiatomic alloys had either a 60:40 or 80:20 atomic ratio of hexagonal close-packed (HCP) elements (Ti + Zr + Hf) to BCC elements (Nb + Ta). Alloy compositions were measured after thermomechanical processing to determine the concentrations of the major (substitutional) and minor (interstitial) elements. We investigated how elastic constants and uniaxial tensile properties were affected by changes in the relative concentrations of the constituent elements at fixed HCP:BCC ratios. Yield strengths ranged from 801 to 922 MPa and ultimate tensile strengths from 815 to 933 MPa. Good agreement is obtained between the experimental yield strengths and those predicted by a strength theory based on edge dislocations indicating that the observed compositional effects are due to their effects on shear modulus and volume misfit. Fracture occurred by dimpled rupture with fracture strains of 19.4%–25.7%, but uniform strains were an order of magnitude lower at 1.1%–3.2%, calling into question the useable ductility (prior to necking) of RHEAs considered to be ductile based on their fracture strain. Contrary to predictions in the literature that HCP elements promote ductility, our present results show that increasing the HCP:BCC ratio decreases both the total strain and the uniform strain. Similar trends were not evident in the yield or ultimate strengths; rather, strengths were affected mainly by shear modulus and volume misfit.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 2587456

Journal Information:: Intermetallics, Journal Name: Intermetallics Vol. 185; ISSN 0966-9795

Publisher:: Elsevier BVCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (59)

Phase-Transformation Ductilization of Brittle High-Entropy Alloys via Metastability Engineering Huang, Hailong; Wu, Yuan; He, Junyang Advanced Materials, Vol. 29, Issue 30 https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201701678	journal	June 2017
Effect of Cold Deformation and Annealing on the Microstructure and Tensile Properties of a HfNbTaTiZr Refractory High Entropy Alloy Senkov, O. N.; Pilchak, A. L.; Semiatin, S. L. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, Vol. 49, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-018-4646-8	journal	May 2018
High Temperature B2 Precipitation in Ru-Containing Refractory Multi-principal Element Alloys Frey, Carolina; You, Haojun; Kube, Sebastian Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, Vol. 55, Issue 6, p. 1739-1764 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-024-07368-x	journal	April 2024
Thermal and Elastic Properties of an A2/B2 Refractory High Entropy Superalloy and Its Constituent Phases Senkov, Oleg N.; Kube, Sebastian A.; Drazin, John W. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, Vol. 55, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-024-07429-1	journal	May 2024
Liquid-Solid Phase Equilibria in Metal-Rich Nb-Ti-Hf-Si Alloys Yang, Y.; Bewlay, B. P.; Chang, Y. A. Journal of Phase Equilibria and Diffusion, Vol. 28, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11669-006-9000-y	journal	February 2007
SGTE data for pure elements Dinsdale, A. T. Calphad, Vol. 15, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/0364-5916(91)90030-N	journal	October 1991
Theory of strengthening in fcc high entropy alloys Varvenne, Céline; Luque, Aitor; Curtin, William A. Acta Materialia, Vol. 118 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2016.07.040	journal	October 2016
A critical review of high entropy alloys and related concepts Miracle, D. B.; Senkov, O. N. Acta Materialia, Vol. 122 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2016.08.081	journal	January 2017
Thermodynamic instability of a nanocrystalline, single-phase TiZrNbHfTa alloy and its impact on the mechanical properties Schuh, B.; Völker, B.; Todt, J. Acta Materialia, Vol. 142 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2017.09.035	journal	January 2018
Study of a bcc multi-principal element alloy: Tensile and simple shear properties and underlying deformation mechanisms Lilensten, L.; Couzinié, J. -P.; Perrière, L. Acta Materialia, Vol. 142 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2017.09.062	journal	January 2018
Mechanism of hardening and damage initiation in oxygen embrittlement of body-centred-cubic niobium Yang, Ping-Jiong; Li, Qing-Jie; Tsuru, Tomohito Acta Materialia, Vol. 168 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2019.02.030	journal	April 2019
Theory of screw dislocation strengthening in random BCC alloys from dilute to “High-Entropy” alloys Maresca, Francesco; Curtin, William A. Acta Materialia, Vol. 182 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2019.10.007	journal	January 2020
Mechanistic origin of high strength in refractory BCC high entropy alloys up to 1900K Maresca, Francesco; Curtin, William A. Acta Materialia, Vol. 182 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2019.10.015	journal	January 2020
High entropy alloys: A focused review of mechanical properties and deformation mechanisms George, E. P.; Curtin, W. A.; Tasan, C. C. Acta Materialia, Vol. 188 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2019.12.015	journal	April 2020
Mechanical instability and tensile properties of TiZrHfNbTa high entropy alloy at cryogenic temperatures Wang, Shubin; Wu, Mingxu; Shu, Da Acta Materialia, Vol. 201 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2020.10.044	journal	December 2020
Theory of solid solution strengthening of BCC Chemically Complex Alloys Rao, S. I.; Woodward, C.; Akdim, B. Acta Materialia, Vol. 209 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2021.116758	journal	May 2021
Screw-controlled strength of BCC non-dilute and high-entropy alloys Ghafarollahi, Alireza; Curtin, William A. Acta Materialia, Vol. 226 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2022.117617	journal	March 2022
Temperature-dependent tensile behavior of the HfNbTaTiZr multi-principal element alloy Mills, Leah H.; Emigh, Megan G.; Frey, Carolina H. Acta Materialia, Vol. 245 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2022.118618	journal	February 2023
Navigating the BCC-B2 refractory alloy space: Stability and thermal processing with Ru-B2 precipitates Kube, Sebastian A.; Frey, Carolina; McMullin, Chiyo Acta Materialia, Vol. 265 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2023.119628 119628	journal	February 2024
Ductilization of single-phase refractory high-entropy alloys via activation of edge dislocation Wang, Y. W.; He, Q. F.; Ye, Z. H. Acta Materialia, Vol. 284 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2024.120614	journal	January 2025
PANDAT software with PanEngine, PanOptimizer and PanPrecipitation for multi-component phase diagram calculation and materials property simulation Cao, W.; Chen, S. -L.; Zhang, F. Calphad, Vol. 33, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.calphad.2008.08.004	journal	June 2009
Refractory high-entropy alloys Senkov, O. N.; Wilks, G. B.; Miracle, D. B. Intermetallics, Vol. 18, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intermet.2010.05.014	journal	September 2010
Mechanical properties of Nb25Mo25Ta25W25 and V20Nb20Mo20Ta20W20 refractory high entropy alloys Senkov, O. N.; Wilks, G. B.; Scott, J. M. Intermetallics, Vol. 19, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intermet.2011.01.004	journal	May 2011
New ternary equi-atomic refractory medium-entropy alloys with tensile ductility: Hafnium versus titanium into NbTa-based solution Wang, Shao-Ping; Ma, Evan; Xu, Jian Intermetallics, Vol. 107 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intermet.2019.01.004	journal	April 2019
Microstructural, mechanical and electrochemical characterization of TiZrTaHfNb and Ti1.5ZrTa0.5Hf0.5Nb0.5 refractory high-entropy alloys for biomedical applications Motallebzadeh, Amir; Peighambardoust, Naeimeh Sadat; Sheikh, Saad Intermetallics, Vol. 113 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intermet.2019.106572	journal	October 2019
Microstructure and properties of a refractory high-entropy alloy after cold working Senkov, O. N.; Semiatin, S. L. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, Vol. 649 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2015.07.209	journal	November 2015
Grain growth and Hall-Petch relationship in a refractory HfNbTaZrTi high-entropy alloy Chen, Shuying; Tseng, Ko-Kai; Tong, Yang Journal of Alloys and Compounds, Vol. 795 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2019.04.291	journal	July 2019
Temperature dependence of elastic moduli in a refractory HfNbTaTiZr high-entropy alloy Laplanche, G.; Gadaud, P.; Perrière, L. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, Vol. 799 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2019.05.322	journal	August 2019
Investigation of phase-transformation path in TiZrHf(VNbTa)x refractory high-entropy alloys and its effect on mechanical property Jung, Yunjong; Lee, Kangjin; Hong, Soon Jik Journal of Alloys and Compounds, Vol. 886 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2021.161187	journal	December 2021
Effect of Cr content on microstructure characteristics and mechanical properties of ZrNbTaHf0.2Crx refractory high entropy alloy Fang, Liyang; Wang, Jun; Li, Xiaoning Journal of Alloys and Compounds, Vol. 924 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2022.166593	journal	November 2022
Thermodynamic assessment of the group IV, V and VI oxides for the design of oxidation resistant multi-principal component materials Backman, Lavina; Opila, Elizabeth J. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, Vol. 39, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2018.11.004	journal	May 2019
Effect of Zr addition on the local structure and mechanical properties of Ti–Ta–Nb–Zr refractory high-entropy alloys Ji, Guangyun; Zhou, Zhukun; Meng, Fanchao Journal of Materials Research and Technology, Vol. 19 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2022.06.160	journal	July 2022
Microstructural investigation of plastically deformed Ti20Zr20Hf20Nb20Ta20 high entropy alloy by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy Dirras, G.; Gubicza, J.; Heczel, A. Materials Characterization, Vol. 108 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2015.08.007	journal	October 2015
A refractory Hf25Nb25Ti25Zr25 high-entropy alloy with excellent structural stability and tensile properties Wu, Y. D.; Cai, Y. H.; Wang, T. Materials Letters, Vol. 130 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2014.05.134	journal	September 2014
Aging behavior of the HfNbTaTiZr high entropy alloy Stepanov, N. D.; Yurchenko, N. Yu.; Zherebtsov, S. V. Materials Letters, Vol. 211 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2017.09.094	journal	January 2018
Kinking in a refractory TiZrHfNb0.7 medium-entropy alloy Wang, Shubin; Wu, Mingxu; Shu, Da Materials Letters, Vol. 264 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2020.127369	journal	April 2020
On the room temperature deformation mechanisms of a TiZrHfNbTa refractory high-entropy alloy Couzinié, J. -Ph.; Lilensten, L.; Champion, Y. Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 645 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2015.08.024	journal	October 2015
Compositional design of strong and ductile (tensile) Ti-Zr-Nb-Ta medium entropy alloys (MEAs) using the atomic mismatch approach Nguyen, V. T.; Qian, M.; Shi, Z. Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 742 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2018.11.054	journal	January 2019
Effects of Nb on deformation-induced transformation and mechanical properties of HfNbxTa0.2TiZr high entropy alloys Wen, Xiaocan; Wu, Yuan; Huang, Hailong Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 805 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2021.140798	journal	February 2021
Correlations to improve room temperature ductility of refractory complex concentrated alloys Senkov, O. N.; Miracle, D. B.; Rao, S. I. Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 820 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2021.141512	journal	July 2021
Decreasing Zr content to improve tensile properties of non-equiatomic TiZrHfNb medium entropy alloys with transformation-induced plasticity Wang, Shubin; Lu, Song; Wu, Mingxu Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 832 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2021.142476	journal	January 2022
Novel TiNbTaZrMo high-entropy alloys for metallic biomaterials Todai, Mitsuharu; Nagase, Takeshi; Hori, Takao Scripta Materialia, Vol. 129 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2016.10.028	journal	March 2017
Dislocation nucleation during nanoindentation in a body-centered cubic TiZrHfNb high-entropy alloy Ye, Y. X.; Lu, Z. P.; Nieh, T. G. Scripta Materialia, Vol. 130 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2016.11.019	journal	March 2017
Phase transformations of HfNbTaTiZr high-entropy alloy at intermediate temperatures Chen, S. Y.; Tong, Y.; Tseng, K. -K. Scripta Materialia, Vol. 158 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2018.08.032	journal	January 2019
Strengthening mechanisms and microstructural evolution of ductile refractory medium-entropy alloy Hf20Nb10Ti35Zr35 Su, I-An; Tseng, Ko-Kai; Yeh, Jien-Wei Scripta Materialia, Vol. 206 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2021.114225	journal	January 2022
Intrinsic factors responsible for brittle versus ductile nature of refractory high-entropy alloys Tsuru, Tomohito; Han, Shu; Matsuura, Shutaro Nature Communications, Vol. 15, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45639-8	journal	February 2024
Enhanced strength and ductility in a high-entropy alloy via ordered oxygen complexes Lei, Zhifeng; Liu, Xiongjun; Wu, Yuan Nature, Vol. 563, Issue 7732 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0685-y	journal	November 2018
Negative mixing enthalpy solid solutions deliver high strength and ductility An, Zibing; Li, Ang; Mao, Shengcheng Nature, Vol. 625, Issue 7996 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06894-9	journal	January 2024
The influence of lattice misfit on screw and edge dislocation-controlled solid solution strengthening in Mo-Ti alloys Winkens, Georg; Kauffmann, Alexander; Herrmann, Johannes Communications Materials, Vol. 4, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-023-00353-8	journal	April 2023
Formation, structure and properties of biocompatible TiZrHfNbTa high-entropy alloys Yuan, Yuan; Wu, Yuan; Yang, Zhi Materials Research Letters, Vol. 7, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1080/21663831.2019.1584592	journal	March 2019
An experimental investigation of extrapolation methods in the derivation of accurate unit-cell dimensions of crystals Nelson, J. B.; Riley, D. P. Proceedings of the Physical Society, Vol. 57, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1088/0959-5309/57/3/302	journal	May 1945
Elemental vacancy diffusion database from high-throughput first-principles calculations for fcc and hcp structures Angsten, Thomas; Mayeshiba, Tam; Wu, Henry New Journal of Physics, Vol. 16, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/16/1/015018	journal	January 2014
Self-interstitial atom defects in bcc transition metals: Group-specific trends Nguyen-Manh, D.; Horsfield, A. P.; Dudarev, S. L. Physical Review B, Vol. 73, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.73.020101	journal	January 2006
Tuning Ideal Tensile Strengths and Intrinsic Ductility of bcc Refractory Alloys Qi, Liang; Chrzan, D. C. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 112, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.115503	journal	March 2014
A profile refinement method for nuclear and magnetic structures Rietveld, H. M. Journal of Applied Crystallography, Vol. 2, Issue 2, p. 65-71 https://doi.org/10.1107/S0021889869006558	journal	June 1969
A fracture-resistant high-entropy alloy for cryogenic applications Gludovatz, B.; Hohenwarter, A.; Catoor, D. Science, Vol. 345, Issue 6201 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1254581	journal	September 2014
Development and exploration of refractory high entropy alloys—A review Senkov, Oleg N.; Miracle, Daniel B.; Chaput, Kevin J. Journal of Materials Research, Vol. 33, Issue 19 https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2018.153	journal	June 2018
Effect of Zr Content on Phase Stability, Deformation Behavior, and Young’s Modulus in Ti–Nb–Zr Alloys Kim, Kyong Min; Kim, Hee Young; Miyazaki, Shuichi Materials, Vol. 13, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13020476	journal	January 2020
Rolling and Annealing Textures of BCC Metals Raabe, Dierk; Lücke, K. Materials Science Forum, Vol. 157-162 https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.157-162.597	journal	May 1994

Similar Records

Phase transformations of HfNbTaTiZr high-entropy alloy at intermediate temperatures

Journal Article · Tue Aug 28 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Scripta Materialia · OSTI ID:1504430

Related Subjects

BCC high-entropy alloys
Mechanical properties
Microstructure
Strength theory
Yield strength

Effects of HCP/BCC element ratios on the room-temperature tensile properties of Ti-Zr-Hf-Nb-Ta refractory high-entropy alloys

Citation Formats

References (59)

Similar Records

Related Subjects