Effects of vanadium content on the microstructure and tensile properties of NbTiVxZr high-entropy alloys

Vanadium boasts a relatively small atomic radius among numerous refractory alloying elements, yet its effects on the microstructure and mechanical behavior of refractory alloys remain enigmatic. In this work, a series of NbTiVxZr high-entropy alloys (HEAs) with low density were formulated to explore the evolution of microstructures and mechanical properties with varying vanadium content. When the vanadium content was low, the matrix exhibited the single-phase body-centered cubic structure. Excessive vanadium contents (NbTiV0.75Zr, NbTiVZr) disrupted phase stability and tended to aggregate at grain boundaries, forming V-rich and Zr-rich phases. These precipitated phases pinned grain boundaries, impeding grain growth and resulting in both grain boundary strengthening and precipitation strengthening, albeit at the expense of grain boundary cohesion, ultimately leading to brittleness. However, these deleterious phases were redissolved, and fracture elongation increased more than 2 times after water quenching at 1200oC. The microstructural changes induced by heat treatment were corroborated by alterations in grain boundary relaxation behavior, where the redissolution of precipitated phases after water quenching caused a shift of the grain boundary relaxation internal friction peak to a lower temperature and an increase in peak height. This study elucidates the intrinsic relationship between mechanical properties and microstructures with vanadium content in NbTiVxZr alloys, offering insights for the design of TiV-based lightweight refractory HEAs with high strength and excellent ductility.