Effect of Cr content on the mechanical behaviour of a high entropy alloy

Lancaster, Robert; Paolucci, D.; Bevan, C.E.; Abdullah, T.; Ritchie, M.; Olds, A.; Wilkin, L.; Mehraban, S.; Lavery, Nicholas; Middleton, N.; Plummer, J.

doi:10.1016/j.jmrt.2025.11.090

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Effect of Cr content on the mechanical behaviour of a high entropy alloy

Robert Lancaster

, D. Paolucci, C.E. Bevan

, T. Abdullah, M. Ritchie

, A. Olds

, L. Wilkin, S. Mehraban, Nicholas Lavery

, N. Middleton

, J. Plummer

Journal of Materials Research and Technology, Volume: 39, Pages: 7549 - 7561

Swansea University Authors: Robert Lancaster , Nicholas Lavery

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DOI (Published version): 10.1016/j.jmrt.2025.11.090

Abstract

High entropy alloys (HEAs) are a relatively novel class of materials with unique properties. Unlike traditional alloys, which are typically based on a single primary metal combined with smaller amounts of other elements, HEAs are composed of five or more principal elements, each usually present in s...

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Published in:	Journal of Materials Research and Technology
ISSN:	2238-7854
Published:	Elsevier BV 2025
Online Access:	Check full text
URI:	https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70919

first_indexed	2025-11-17T09:23:52Z
last_indexed	2026-01-13T05:32:02Z
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Unlike traditional alloys, which are typically based on a single primary metal combined with smaller amounts of other elements, HEAs are composed of five or more principal elements, each usually present in significant amounts. This study investigates the influence of chromium content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of CrₓCoFeMnNi HEAs focusing on three compositions: HEA10Cr, HEA20Cr, and HEA30Cr. Using Vickers hardness and shear punch testing at both room temperature and 400 °C, the research identifies a strong correlation between increasing Cr content and enhanced strength-based properties. Contrary to conventional behavior, grain size and secondary dendrite arm spacing exhibited limited influence, with mechanical performance instead dominated by chemical composition, lattice distortion, and elemental segregation. The HEA30Cr alloy displayed the highest hardness and shear strength, attributed to more severe lattice distortion, Cr-induced dendritic growth, and sigma phase formation. Elevated temperatures reduced strength and strain hardening due to increased dislocation mobility, though ductility remained largely unaffected. Strain rate sensitivity was found to be modest at room temperature and negligible at 400 °C. 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The authors would also like to thank DSTL for funding the FATHOM project (DMEX MAR009). Mechanical tests were performed at SMaRT. 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spelling	2026-01-12T21:37:25.3427977 v2 70919 2025-11-17 Effect of Cr content on the mechanical behaviour of a high entropy alloy e1a1b126acd3e4ff734691ec34967f29 0000-0002-1365-6944 Robert Lancaster Robert Lancaster true false 9f102ff59824fd4f7ce3d40144304395 0000-0003-0953-5936 Nicholas Lavery Nicholas Lavery true false 2025-11-17 EAAS High entropy alloys (HEAs) are a relatively novel class of materials with unique properties. Unlike traditional alloys, which are typically based on a single primary metal combined with smaller amounts of other elements, HEAs are composed of five or more principal elements, each usually present in significant amounts. This study investigates the influence of chromium content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of CrₓCoFeMnNi HEAs focusing on three compositions: HEA10Cr, HEA20Cr, and HEA30Cr. Using Vickers hardness and shear punch testing at both room temperature and 400 °C, the research identifies a strong correlation between increasing Cr content and enhanced strength-based properties. Contrary to conventional behavior, grain size and secondary dendrite arm spacing exhibited limited influence, with mechanical performance instead dominated by chemical composition, lattice distortion, and elemental segregation. The HEA30Cr alloy displayed the highest hardness and shear strength, attributed to more severe lattice distortion, Cr-induced dendritic growth, and sigma phase formation. Elevated temperatures reduced strength and strain hardening due to increased dislocation mobility, though ductility remained largely unaffected. Strain rate sensitivity was found to be modest at room temperature and negligible at 400 °C. These findings underscore the critical role of Cr in tuning the mechanical response of FCC-based HEAs and highlight the need for compositional control to balance strength and ductility for high-performance applications. Journal Article Journal of Materials Research and Technology 39 7549 7561 Elsevier BV 2238-7854 High entropy alloy; Shear punch testing; Mechanical properties; Microscopy 15 11 2025 2025-11-15 10.1016/j.jmrt.2025.11.090 COLLEGE NANME Engineering and Applied Sciences School COLLEGE CODE EAAS Swansea University Other The authors would also like to thank the Welsh Government, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and SMART Expertise Wales for funding the Materials Advanced Characterisation Centre (MACH1), where the material was manufactured. The authors would also like to thank DSTL for funding the FATHOM project (DMEX MAR009). Mechanical tests were performed at SMaRT. Utilisation of the SEM was provided by Swansea University's Advanced Imaging of Materials (AIM) Facility, which was funded by the EPSRC (EP/M028267/1), The European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government (80708) and the Ser Solar project via the Welsh Government. 2026-01-12T21:37:25.3427977 2025-11-17T09:17:14.5825052 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Aerospace, Civil, Electrical, General and Mechanical Engineering - Mechanical Engineering Robert Lancaster 0000-0002-1365-6944 1 D. Paolucci 2 C.E. Bevan 0009-0001-4018-3900 3 T. Abdullah 4 M. Ritchie 0009-0005-4193-8075 5 A. Olds 0009-0005-4715-9128 6 L. Wilkin 7 S. Mehraban 8 Nicholas Lavery 0000-0003-0953-5936 9 N. Middleton 0009-0007-8881-4146 10 J. Plummer 11 70919__35968__0c4ac8c7dc1940f0b1e3bb4abdf6b2a1.pdf 70919.VoR.pdf 2026-01-12T21:36:11.4876353 Output 9353282 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2025 The Authors. This is an open access article under the CC BY license. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title	Effect of Cr content on the mechanical behaviour of a high entropy alloy
spellingShingle	Effect of Cr content on the mechanical behaviour of a high entropy alloy Robert Lancaster Nicholas Lavery
title_short	Effect of Cr content on the mechanical behaviour of a high entropy alloy
title_full	Effect of Cr content on the mechanical behaviour of a high entropy alloy
title_fullStr	Effect of Cr content on the mechanical behaviour of a high entropy alloy
title_full_unstemmed	Effect of Cr content on the mechanical behaviour of a high entropy alloy
title_sort	Effect of Cr content on the mechanical behaviour of a high entropy alloy
author_id_str_mv	e1a1b126acd3e4ff734691ec34967f29 9f102ff59824fd4f7ce3d40144304395
author_id_fullname_str_mv	e1a1b126acd3e4ff734691ec34967f29_*_Robert Lancaster 9f102ff59824fd4f7ce3d40144304395_*_Nicholas Lavery
author	Robert Lancaster Nicholas Lavery
author2	Robert Lancaster D. Paolucci C.E. Bevan T. Abdullah M. Ritchie A. Olds L. Wilkin S. Mehraban Nicholas Lavery N. Middleton J. Plummer
format	Journal article
container_title	Journal of Materials Research and Technology
container_volume	39
container_start_page	7549
publishDate	2025
institution	Swansea University
issn	2238-7854
doi_str_mv	10.1016/j.jmrt.2025.11.090
publisher	Elsevier BV
college_str	Faculty of Science and Engineering
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department_str	School of Aerospace, Civil, Electrical, General and Mechanical Engineering - Mechanical Engineering{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Aerospace, Civil, Electrical, General and Mechanical Engineering - Mechanical Engineering
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description	High entropy alloys (HEAs) are a relatively novel class of materials with unique properties. Unlike traditional alloys, which are typically based on a single primary metal combined with smaller amounts of other elements, HEAs are composed of five or more principal elements, each usually present in significant amounts. This study investigates the influence of chromium content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of CrₓCoFeMnNi HEAs focusing on three compositions: HEA10Cr, HEA20Cr, and HEA30Cr. Using Vickers hardness and shear punch testing at both room temperature and 400 °C, the research identifies a strong correlation between increasing Cr content and enhanced strength-based properties. Contrary to conventional behavior, grain size and secondary dendrite arm spacing exhibited limited influence, with mechanical performance instead dominated by chemical composition, lattice distortion, and elemental segregation. The HEA30Cr alloy displayed the highest hardness and shear strength, attributed to more severe lattice distortion, Cr-induced dendritic growth, and sigma phase formation. Elevated temperatures reduced strength and strain hardening due to increased dislocation mobility, though ductility remained largely unaffected. Strain rate sensitivity was found to be modest at room temperature and negligible at 400 °C. These findings underscore the critical role of Cr in tuning the mechanical response of FCC-based HEAs and highlight the need for compositional control to balance strength and ductility for high-performance applications.
published_date	2025-11-15T05:33:57Z
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Effect of Cr content on the mechanical behaviour of a high entropy alloy

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