Compound formation and microstructure of as-cast high entropy aluminums

Abstract

The aim of this work is to study the microstructure of four high entropy alloys (HEAs) produced by large scale vacuum die casting. Al40Cu15Mn5Ni5Si20Zn15, Al45Cu15Mn5Fe5Si5Ti5Zn20, Al35Cu5Fe5Mn5Si30V10Zr10, and Al50Ca5Cu5Ni10Si20Ti10 alloys formed a mixture of different structures, containing intermetallic compound (IC) and solid solution (SS) phases. The phases observed in the casting alloys were compared with the equilibrium phases predicted by Thermo-Calc. The measured densities varied from 3.33 g/cm−3 to 5.07 g/cm−3 and microhardness from 437 Hv to 887 Hv. Thus, the microhardness and estimated strength/density ratios are significantly higher than other lightweight high entropy alloys (LWHEAs).