Influence of machining on the surface integrity of high- and medium-entropy alloys

High- and medium-entropy alloys (HEAs) are a quite new class of materials. They have a high potential for applications from low to high temperatures due to the excellent combination of their structural properties. Concerning their application as components; processing properties, such as machinability, have hardly been investigated so far. Hence, machinability analyses with a focus on the influence of the milling process and its basic parameters (cutting speed, feed per cutting edge) on the resulting surface integrity of specimens from an equiatomic high- (CoCrFeMnNi) and a medium- (CoCrNi) entropy alloy have been carried out. A highly innovative milling process with ultrasonic assistance (USAM) was compared to conventional milling processes. Recent studies have shown that USAM has a high potential to significantly reduce the mechanical load on the tool and workpiece surface during milling. In this study, the basic machining and ultrasonic parameters were systematically varied. After machining, the surface integrity of the alloys was analyzed in terms of topography, defects, subsurface damage, and residual stresses. It was observed that USAM reduces the cutting forces and increases the surface integrity in terms of lower tensile residual stresses and defect density near the surfaces for the CoCrFeMnNi alloy. It was shown that the cutting forces and the metallurgical influence in the sub surface region are reduced by increasing the cutting speed and reducing the feed rate per cutting edge. With the CoCrNi alloy, the tool revealed severe wear. As a result, for this alloy no influence of the parameters on the machinability could be determined.

Automated summary

This study focuses on the surface integrity of high-entropy and medium-entropy alloys during milling processes. It was found that ultrasonic-assisted milling can significantly reduce the mechanical load on the tool and workpiece surfaces, leading to improved surface integrity of the alloys.