Sinter ageing of equiatomic Al20Co20Cu20Zn20Ni20 high entropy alloy via mechanical alloying

The present investigation reports for the first time, the sinter ageing of equiatomic Al20Co20Cu20Ni20Zn20 high entropy alloy (HEA), being synthesized by high energy ball milling of elemental powder blend under protective argon atmosphere, followed by consolidation of the milled powder by spark plasma sintering at different temperatures and applied pressure of 50 MPa. The detailed X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies indicate the presence of single phase, FCC β supersaturated solid solution in the ball milled powder. However, the sintering of the as-milled powder reveals the formation of α with ordered FCC (L12) structure within the grains of FCC γ. The microstructural analysis using TEM shows the precipitation of near cuboidal shaped α phase within the grains of γ. The size and shape of the precipitates depend on the sintering temperature. Hardness measurement of the sintered alloys suggests age hardening of the as-milled powder during sintering. The sinter age hardening of HEA is attributed to the fine scale precipitation of α phase. Detailed variation of the hardness and microstructural evolution are reported here to elucidate this novel finding.