Effect of Heat Treatment on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of the Al_0.6CoCrFeNi High-Entropy Alloy

The effect of heat treatment on the microstructure and tensile properties of an as-cast Al_0.6CoCrFeNi high-entropy alloy (HEA) was investigated in this paper. The results show that the as-cast Al_0.6CoCrFeNi HEA presents a typical FCC dendrite morphology with the interdendritic region consisting of BCC/B2 structure and heat treatment can strongly affect the microstructure and mechanical properties of HEA. Microstructure analysis revealed the precipitation of a nano-sized L1₂ phase in the FCC dendrite and the formation of the FCC and σ phases in the interdendritic region after annealing at 700 °C. The coarse B2 phase was directly precipitated from the FCC dendrite in the 900 °C-annealed sample, with the coexistence of the B2, FCC, and σ phases in the interdendritic region. Then, the interdendritic region converted to a B2 and FCC dual-phase structure caused by the re-decomposition of the σ phase after annealing at 1100 °C. The tensile test results show that the 700 °C-annealed HEA presents the most significant strengthening effect, with increments of corresponding yield strength being about 107%, which can be attributed to the numerous nano-sized L1₂ precipitates in the FCC dendrite. The mechanical properties of 1100 °C-annealed alloy revert to a level close to that of the as-cast alloy, which can be attributed to the coarsening mechanism of B2 precipitates and the formation of a soft FCC phase in the interdendritic region. The observed variation in mechanical properties during heat treatment follows the traditional trade-off relationship between strength and plasticity.