Structural and Thermodynamic Properties of the High-Entropy Alloy AlCoCrFeNi Based on First-Principles Calculations

Abstract

During the past two decades, the high-entropy alloy AlCoCrFeNi has attracted much attention due to its outstanding thermal and mechanical properties under ambient conditions. However, the exploration on the thermodynamic properties of this alloy under high temperatures and high pressures is relatively insufficient. Combining structural modeling with the similar atomic environment (SAE) method and first-principles simulations with the modified mean-field potential (MMFP) approach, we studied the lattice and magnetic structure as well as the thermodynamic properties of the body-centered-cubic AlCoCrFeNi, through supercell simulations. AlCoCrFeNi was found to display a strong local lattice distortion compared with typical 3d high-entropy alloys; the ferromagnetic structure stable at 0 K was predicted to transform to the paramagnetic structure at the Curie temperature TC = 279.75 K, in good agreement with previous calculations; the calculated equilibrium volumes, bulk modulus, and shock Hugoniot all agree well with available experimental data and other theoretical values. These results demonstrate the validity and reliability of our methods used to study the dynamic properties of AlCoCrFeNi, providing a promising scheme for accessing the dynamic properties of sophisticated high-entropy alloys.