A strong and ductile cobalt-free solid-solution Fe30Ni30Mn30Cr10 multi principal element alloy from hot rolling

Most of the face-centered cubic (FCC) multi-principal element alloys (MPEAs) developed thus far contain cobalt. For many applications, it is either required or beneficial to avoid cobalt, since cobalt has long-term activation issue (for nuclear applications), is expensive, and is considered a critical material. In addition, FCC structured solid-solution MPEAs tend to have relatively low strength. A FCC solid-solution Fe30Ni30Mn30Cr10 (at %) MPEA was fabricated via arc melting, followed by homogenization at 1100 degrees C for 12 h. The alloy was hot rolled at 1100 degrees C with a total reduction of up to 97 %. The microstructure was characterized and me-chanical properties were investigated at various stages. Tensile testing showed that yield strength (YS) increased by 285-595 MPa and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) increased by 520-710 MPa. This increase in YS and UTS occurred with a total elongation (ductility) of 40 %. Meanwhile, hot rolling at high reductions led to evident decreases in size and area fraction of Mn-rich inclusions. Overall, after hot rolling, this FCC solid -solution MPEA is both strong and ductile.(c) 2023 Published by Elsevier B.V.