Stability of lamellar structures in CoCrFeNiNbx eutectic high entropy alloys at elevated temperatures

Eutectic high entropy alloys (EHEAs) are promising candidates for high temperature materials. The stability of eutectic structures of EHEAs at elevated temperatures is in need of examination before pursuing their high temperature applications. In this paper, the stability of eutectic structures in CoCrFeNiNbx EHEAs were characterized and examined. It is found that, the lamellar structures of the EHEAs are stable when the annealing temperature is lower than 750 degrees C but spheroidization of the lamellar structures occurs when the temperature goes up to 900 degrees C. The lamellar structures exhibit excellent mechanical properties. Although the mechanical properties decreases as the lamellar structures decay after annealing at 900 degrees C, the EHEAs of CoCrFeNiNbx maintain good mechanical properties. The evolution of lamellar structures over time at 750 degrees C was also reported. The application of classical lamellar instability theory in HEAs was discussed. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.