From High-Entropy Alloys to High-Entropy Steels

Inspired by high-entropy alloys, we study the design of steels that are based on high configurational entropy for stabilizing a single-phase solid solution matrix. The focus is placed on the system Fe-Mn-Al-Si-C but we also present trends in the alloy system Fe-Mn-Al-C. Unlike in conventional high-entropy alloys, where five or more equiatomically proportioned components are used, we exploit the flat configurational entropy plateau in transition metal mixtures, stabilizing solid solutions also for lean, non-equiatomic compositions. This renders the high-entropy alloying concept, where none of the elements prevails, into a class of Fe-based materials which we refer to as high-entropy steels. A point that has received little attention in high-entropy alloys is the use of interstitial elements. Here, we address the role of C in face-centered cubic solid solution phases. High-entropy steels reveal excellent mechanical properties, namely, very high ductility and toughness; excellent high rate and low-temperature ductility; high strength of up to 1 GPa; up to 17% reduced mass density; and very high strain hardening. The microstructure stability can be tuned by adjusting the stacking fault energy. This enables to exploit deformation effects such as the TRIP, TWIP, or precipitation determined mechanisms.