Effect of carbon on microstructure, mechanical properties and wear resistance of non-equiatomic Fe₇₀Co_7.5Cr_7.5Ni_7.5V_7.5 medium-entropy alloys fabricated by powder metallurgy

Abstract

In this study, non-equiatomic Fe₇₀Co_7.5Cr_7.5Ni_7.5V_7.5 medium-entropy alloys (MEAs) with different carbon contents were prepared via mechanical ball-milling, cold pressing and vacuum sintering. The microstructural evolution, mechanical properties and wear resistance of the MEAs were investigated Fe₇₀Co_7.5Cr_7.5Ni_7.5V_7.5 exhibited a body-centered cubic (bcc) structure with σ phase precipitation. After adding 4 at% and 8 at% carbon, the phase composition of the alloys was transformed to bcc+MC+ σ and bcc+MC+M₂₃C₆, respectively. The mechanical properties and wear resistance were observed to be significantly enhanced by the formation of carbides. Increasing the carbon content, the corresponding bending strength and hardness increased from 1520 to 3245 MPa and HRC 57.2 to HRC 61.4, respectively. Further, the dominant wear mechanism changed from the adhesion wear to the abrasion wear. Owing to the evenly distributed carbides and precipitated nanocarbides, Fe_64.4Co_6.9Cr_6.9Ni_6.9V_6.9C₈ revealed an extremely low specific wear rate of 1.3×10⁻⁶ mm²/(N·m) under a load of 10 N.

Keywords

medium-entropy alloys / powder metallurgy / carbide / wear resistance

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