Comparison of approaches based on the Williamson-Hall method for analyzing the structure of an Al0.3CoCrFeNi high-entropy alloy after cold deformation

Introduction. High-entropy alloys (HEAs) belong to a new and promising class of materials that are attracting the attention of both scientists and engineers from all over the world. Among all alloys of the AlxCoCrFeNi system, HEAs with x ≤ 0.3 attract special attention. Materials with this composition are characterized by the presence of only one phase with a face-centered cubic lattice (FCC). Such alloys have high ductility, excellent corrosion resistance and phase stability at high temperatures. The purpose of this work is to compare several methods of profile analysis on the example of plastically deformed ingots of a high-entropy Al0.3CoCrFeNi alloy. The methods of investigation. Using several methods of profile analysis of X-ray diffraction patterns, the structures of the cold-worked high-entropy alloy Al0.3CoCrFeNi are studied. In addition to the classical Williamson-Hall method, the analysis was carried out using a modified one, as well as a method that takes into account the anisotropy of the elastic properties of the crystal lattice. Research material. Ingots of the high-entropy Al0.3CoCrFeNi alloy deformed by cold rolling with a maximum reduction ratio of 80% were used as the object of the study. Samples were cut from the obtained blanks, which were studied by the method of synchrotron radiation diffraction according to the “transmission” scheme along two (longitudinal (RD) and transverse (TD)) directions of rolled products. Results and discussion. It is shown that the use of the classical Williamson-Hall method leads to a significant error in the approximation of experimental results. The modified Williamson-Hall method has the smallest approximation error and can be recommended for studying the Al0.3CoCrFeNi alloy. An analysis of deformed samples using this method made it possible to reveal several features of the formation of defects in the crystalline structure, which are in good agreement with the classical concepts of the mechanisms of plastic deformation. First, an increase in the degree of deformation of the high-entropy Al0.3CoCrFeNi alloy leads to an almost uniform increase in the number of twins and stacking faults. Secondly, with an increase in the degree of reduction, there is a decrease in the fraction of edge dislocations and an increase in the fraction of screw dislocations in the material. The results obtained correlate well with the results of microhardness measurements.