Dislocation/void interactions: Comparing a multi-principal element alloy with its constituent pure metal

A Raj and WS Ji and SZ Xu, JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS, 1042, 183923 (2025).

DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2025.183923

Multi-principal element alloys (MPEAs), characterized by the near- equiatomic mixing of three or more principal elements, exhibit a high configurational entropy that stabilizes solid solution phases and yields outstanding mechanical properties such as high strength, ductility, and toughness. While chemical complexity contributes significantly to these enhanced properties, incorporating nanostructural obstacles like voids offers an additional pathway for mechanical performance optimization. In this study, we employ the face-centered cubic Al0.3CoCrFeNi MPEA as a representative system to investigate dislocation-void interactions. One constituent pure metal, Ni, is also studied as a reference. We systematically examine the influence of void radius on the critical resolved shear stress (CRSS), revealing that, compared with Ni, the CRSS in the MPEA exhibits greatly reduced sensitivity to void size. In addition, the CRSS for the edge dislocation is higher than that for the screw dislocation in the MPEA, in contrast to Ni. These results highlight the role of nanostructural engineering in modulating dislocation mechanics, offering valuable guidance for the rational design of next-generation structural materials with superior performance.

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