An Experimental Study of Thermophysical Properties for Quinary High-Entropy NiFeCoCrCu/Al Alloys

Two quinary high-entropy alloys(HEAs) with equiatomic concentrations formed by doping either Cu or Al elements into the quaternary NiFeCoCr alloy are produced by arc melting and spray casting techniques.Their entropy of fusion,thermal expansion coefficient and thermal diffusivity are experimentally investigated with differential scanning calorimetry,dilatometry and laser flash methods.The NiFeCoCrCu HEAs contain a facecentered cubic high-entropy phase plus a minor interdendritic(Cu) phase and display a lower entropy of fusion and the Vickers hardness.The NiFeCoCrAl HEAs consist of two body-centered cubic high-entropy phases with coarse dendritic structures and show higher entropy of fusion and the Vickers hardness.Both the thermal expansion coefficient and the thermal diffusivity of the former Cu-doped alloy are significantly larger than those of the latter Al-doped alloy.Although the temperature dependence of thermal diffusivity is similar for both HEAs,it is peculiar that the thermal expansion curve of the NiFeCoCrAl alloy exhibits an inflexion at temperatures of860-912 K.     

Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of AlCrFeNiMo_(0.5)Ti_x High Entropy Alloys

Effects of Ti addition on the microstructures and mechanical properties of AlCrFeNiMo_(0.5) Ti_x(X = 0, 0.25, 0.4,0.5, 0.6, 0.75) high entropy alloys(HEAs) are investigated. All these HEAs of various Ti contents possess dual BCC structures, indicating that Ti addition does not induce the formation of any new phase in these alloys. As Ti addition X varies from 0 to 0.75, the Vickers hardness(HV) of the alloy system increases from 623.7 HV to766.2 HV, whereas the compressive yield stress firstly increases and then decreases with increasing X above 0.5.Meanwhile, the compressive ductility of the alloy system decreases with Ti addition. The AlCrFeNiMo_(0.5)Ti_(0.6) and AlCrFeNiMo_(0.5)Ti_(0.75) HEAs become brittle and fracture with very limited plasticity. In the AlCrFeNiMo_(0.5)Ti_x HEAs, the AlCrFeNiMo_(0.5) HEA possesses the highest compressive fracture strength of 4027 MPa and the largest compressive plastic strain of 27.9%, while the AlCrFeNiMo_(0.5)Ti_(0.5) HEA has the highest compressive yield strength of 2229 MPa and a compressive plastic strain of 10.1%. The combination of high strength and large plasticity of the AlCrFeNiMo_(0.5) Ti_x(X = 0, 0.25, 0.4, 0.5) HEAs demonstrates that this alloy system is very promising for engineering applications.     

第一性原理计算Al元素含量对高熵合金AlxCoCrCuFeNi的影响

采用第一性原理密度泛函理论,结合平面波赝贽和广义梯度近似(GGA),用虚拟晶体近似(VCA)方法建模,计算了高熵合金Alx CoCrCuFeNi的结构性能、弹性性能及生成热.计算结果表明,高熵合金Alx CoCrCuFeNi的密度随Al元素摩尔含量的增大而减小,晶格常数在Al元素摩尔含量为1时最小.Al元素摩尔含量为2时,高熵合金Alx CoCrCuFeNi符合力学稳定性判据.生成热随Al元素摩尔含量增大而增大,皆为负值的生成热表明高熵合金在热力学条件下稳定.     

理论研究VTiTaNbAl_x高熵合金的结构与弹性力学性质

实验已证明VTiTaNbAl_x高熵合金(HEAs)为单相固溶体,它采用了体心立方结构.在本文中,我们使用基于密度泛函理论的饼模轨道(EMTO)结合相干势近似(CPA)方法,计算并分析了此高熵合金体系的平衡体性质,弹性常数及多晶弹性模量.结果表明:此系列高熵合金符合单相高熵合金的理论判据,具有较好的内在塑性,等摩尔比的VTiTaNb高熵合金趋于弹性各向同性.随着Al含量的增加,此系列高熵合金的弹性各向异性趋于增大,但对多晶弹性模量几乎没有影响;同时讨论了基于弹性常数计算的德拜温度.     

理论研究VTiTaNbAlx高熵合金的结构与弹性力学性质

实验已证明VTiTaNbAlx高熵合金(HEAs)为单相固溶体,它采用了体心立方结构. 在这篇文章中,我们使用基于密度泛函理论的饼模轨道(EMTO)结合相干势近似(CPA)方法,计算并分析了此高熵合金体系的平衡体性质,弹性常数及多晶弹性模量. 结果表明：此系列高熵合金符合单相高熵合金的理论判据,具有较好的内在塑性,等摩尔比的VTiTaNb高熵合金趋于弹性各向同性. 随着Al含量的增加,此系列高熵合金的弹性各向异性趋于增大,但对多晶弹性模量几乎没有影响;同时讨论了基于弹性常数计算的德拜温度.     

碳化钨对激光熔覆高熵合金的影响

为了获得高性能的涂层材料,采用激光熔覆的方法,在Q235钢基体上制备了FeSiCrCoMo高熵合金涂层,并研究了WC对高熵合金涂层的组织和性能的影响。通过金相、X射线衍射、扫描电镜、硬度计、磨损试验机分别研究了添加WC前后涂层的微观形貌、相结构、硬度及磨损性能。结果表明:高熵合金FeSiCrCoMo涂层组织为粗大枝状晶,主要由BCC相和金属间化合物构成,添加WC后,涂层中形成了致密细小的胞状晶,同时BCC相增多,金属间化合物明显减少;添加WC后涂层的硬度明显增强,平均硬度提升了23%,涂层表面平均硬度达到了687HV0.2;WC的添加使得涂层的摩擦系数减小,磨损率减小,耐磨性能提高。     

The hadronisation of a quark-gluon plasma

We consider two scenarios for the expansion of a quark-gluon plasma. If the evolution is slow enough, the system can remain in equilibrium throughout its entire history up to the freeze-out of a hadron gas; for a very rapid expansion, it may break up into hadrons before or at the confinement transition, without ever going through an equilibrium hadron phase. We compare hadron production rates in the two approaches and show that for a hadronisation temperatureT?200 MeV and baryonic chemical potential μ _B ?500 MeV, their predictions essentially coincide. Present data on strange particle production lead to values in this range and hence cannot provide a distinction between the two scenarios. Pion, nucleon and non-strange meson production seem to require a considerably lower freeze-out temperature and baryonic chemical potential. In the hadron gas picture, this is in accord with the difference in mean free path of the different hadrons in the medium; it suggests a sequential freeze-out, in which strange hadrons stop interacting earlier than non-strange hadrons. In the quark-gluon plasma break-up, the hadronic final state fails to provide the high entropy per baryon observed in non-strange hadron production. The break-up moreover leads to a decrease of the entropy per baryon; hence it must be conceptually modified before it can be considered as a viable hadronisation mechanism.     

Entropy Production Rate Changes in Lysogeny/Lysis Switch Regulation of Bacteriophage Lambda

According to the chemical kinetic model of lysogeny/lysis switch in Escherichia coli (E. coli) infected by bacteriophage λ, the entropy production rates of steady states are calculated. The results show that the lysogenic state has lower entropy production rate than lytic state, which provides an explanation on why the lysogenic state of λ phage is so stable. We also notice that the entropy production rates of both lysogenic state and lytic state are lower than that of saddle-point and bifurcation state, which is consistent with the principle of minimum entropy production for living organism in nonequilibrium stationary state. Subsequently, the relations between CI and Cro degradation rates at two bifurcations and the changes of entropy production rate with CI and Cro degradation are deduced. The theory and method can be used to calculate entropy change in other molecular network.     

Phytoplankton Temporal Strategies Increase Entropy Production in a Marine Food Web Model

We develop a trait-based model founded on the hypothesis that biological systems evolve and organize to maximize entropy production by dissipating chemical and electromagnetic free energy over longer time scales than abiotic processes by implementing temporal strategies. A marine food web consisting of phytoplankton, bacteria, and consumer functional groups is used to explore how temporal strategies, or the lack thereof, change entropy production in a shallow pond that receives a continuous flow of reduced organic carbon plus inorganic nitrogen and illumination from solar radiation with diel and seasonal dynamics. Results show that a temporal strategy that employs an explicit circadian clock produces more entropy than a passive strategy that uses internal carbon storage or a balanced growth strategy that requires phytoplankton to grow with fixed stoichiometry. When the community is forced to operate at high specific growth rates near 2 d⁻¹, the optimization-guided model selects for phytoplankton ecotypes that exhibit complementary for winter versus summer environmental conditions to increase entropy production. We also present a new type of trait-based modeling where trait values are determined by maximizing entropy production rather than by random selection.     

Magnetocaloric properties in a FeNiGaMnSi high entropy alloy

We investigated a new Fe_26.7Ni_26.7Ga_15.6Mn₂₀Si₁₁ high entropy alloy (HEA) without the rare earth element. The structural, magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of the resulting materials are presented. The HEAs successfully is produced by the arc melting with suction casting method. The crystal structures are characterised through multiphase Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction data. The structure of the HEAs was found to be the body centred cubic (bcc). In the magnetic measurements, the ferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition was obtained in the range of 300–400 K. With the employed suction casting method; the Fe_26.7Ni_26.7Ga_15.6Mn₂₀Si₁₁ HEA shows the best magnetocaloric properties as 1.59 Jkg⁻¹K⁻¹ maximum magnetic entropy change (0–2 T) and 75.68 Jkg^-1 refrigeration capacity after the annealing process.     

Processing pathway effects in CoCrCuNi+X (Fe,Mn) high-entropy alloys

A parallel study of mechanical alloying and solidification was carried out on FCC high-entropy alloys (HEAs) CoCrCuNi, CoCrCuFeNi and CoCrCuMnNi to investigate the effects of each processing methods on the resulting microstructure, crystal structure and microhardness. Elemental powders were mechanically alloyed followed by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 800°C and 900°C to achieve densified discs, while arc melting was carried out from bulk pieces of the elemental metals followed by furnace annealing at 800°C and 900°C for 5?h. Both processing routes resulted in a primary FCC phase with secondary Cu-rich FCC segregation as interdendrites for the solidified alloys and particle boundaries for the SPS alloys, with the exception of a small amount of σ phase present in the SPS processed alloys. The solidification of the CoCrCuNi, CoCrCuFeNi and CoCrCuMnNi HEAs resulted in typical dendritic microstructure, followed by the precipitation of a small Cr-rich phase in the CoCrCuMnNi alloy after annealing. The grain size of the mechanically alloyed powder was approximately 20?nm from the Scherrers equation and the SPS processed HEAs consisted of a Cu-rich phase in the particle boundaries, forming cobblestone-like microstructure. The microhardness was examined in the as-cast, annealed and SPS states. It was found that the SPS processed samples had an increased microhardness by a factor of 2.5.     

Comparison of formation and evolution of radiation-induced defects in pure Ni and Ni-Co-Fe medium-entropy alloy

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) and medium-entropy alloys (MEAs) have attracted a great deal of attention for developing nuclear materials because of their excellent irradiation tolerance. Herein, formation and evolution of radiation-induced defects in NiCoFe MEA and pure Ni are investigated and compared using molecular dynamics simulation. It is observed that the defect recombination rate of ternary NiCoFe MEA is higher than that of pure Ni, which is mainly because, in the process of cascade collision, the energy dissipated through atom displacement decreases with increasing the chemical disorder. Consequently, the heat peak phase lasts longer, and the recombination time of the radiation defects (interstitial atoms and vacancies) is likewise longer, with fewer deleterious defects. Moreover, by studying the formation and evolution of dislocation loops in Ni-Co-Fe alloys and Ni, it is found that the stacking fault energy in Ni-Co-Fe decreases as the elemental composition increases, facilitating the formation of ideal stacking fault tetrahedron structures. Hence, these findings shed new light on studying the formation and evolution of radiation-induced defects in MEAs.     

Amorphous phase formation rules in high-entropy alloys

There have been many interesting studies on high-entropy alloys(HEAs), also known as multi-component(MC) alloys(MCAs), in recent years. MC metallic-glasses(MGs) have shown the potential to express the advantages of MCAs and MGs in tandem. Amorphous phase formation rules are a crucial issue in the HEA and MCA field. For equal or near-equal atomic ratio alloys, mixed-entropy among the elements has a significant effect on the phase formation. This paper focuses on HEA amorphous phase formation rules. In the first two sections, the recent progress in amorphous phase formation in HEAs and MCAs is reviewed, including the effective factors and correlative parameters related to amorphous phase formation. In the third section, novel MCMGs including high-entropy(HE) bulk-metallic-glass(HE-BMG) and MCMG films developed in recent decades are summarized, and the giant-magnetic-impedance(GMI) effect of MC amorphous fibers is discussed.     

Entropy production, fractals, and relaxation to equilibrium

The theory of entropy production in nonequilibrium, Hamiltonian systems, previously described for steady states using partitions of phase space, is here extended to time dependent systems relaxing to equilibrium. We illustrate the main ideas by using a simple multibaker model, with some nonequilibrium initial state, and we study its progress toward equilibrium. The central results are (i) the entropy production is governed by an underlying, exponentially decaying fractal structure in phase space, (ii) the rate of entropy production is largely independent of the scale of resolution used in the partitions, and (iii) the rate of entropy production is in agreement with the predictions of nonequilibrium thermodynamics.     

Al元素含量对高熵合金Al_xFeTiCrZnCu力学性能的影响

采用第一性原理密度泛函理论,结合平面波赝势和广义梯度近似(GGA),用虚拟晶体近似(VCA)的方法建立高熵合金的固溶结构模型,计算了高熵合金Al_xFeTiCrZnCu的结构性能、弹性性能和生成热.计算结果表明,Al_xFeTiCrZnCu高熵合金的密度随着Al元素含量的增加而减小,晶格常数在Al元素摩尔含量为1时最小. Al元素含量的增加能提高高熵合金Al_xFeTiCrZnCu的力学稳定性.基态总能量和生成热都随着Al元素含量的增加而增加,但是合金系的稳定性和热力学稳定性有所下降.     

Microstructure and properties of 6FeNiCoSiCrAlTi high-entropy alloy coating prepared by laser cladding

The content of each constituent element in the newly developed high-entropy alloys (HEAs) is always restricted in equimolar or near-equimolar ratio in order to avoid the formation of complex brittle phases during the solidification process. In this study, a 6FeNiCoSiCrAlTi high-entropy alloy coating with simple BCC solid solution phase has been prepared by laser cladding on a low carbon steel substrate. The microstructure, hardness and magnetic properties have been investigated. The experimental results show that the tendency of component segregation in the conventional solidification microstructure of multi-component alloy is effectively relieved. The microstructure of the coating is mainly composed of equiaxed polygonal grains, discontinuous interdendritic segregation and nano-precipitates. EBSD observation confirms that the polygonal grains and interdendritic segregation have similar BCC structure with lots of low angle grain boundaries at the interface. The microhardness of the coating reaches 780 HV_0.5, which is much higher than most of the HEAs prepared by other methods. In addition, the coating shows excellent soft magnetic properties.     

有限温度下一维Gaudin-Yang模型的热力学性质

本文通过数值求解有限温度下一维均匀费米Gaudin-Yang模型的热力学Bethe-ansatz方程, 研究了此模型的基本性质,得到了在给定的温度或给定的相互作用下, 化学势、相互作用、粒子密度和熵的相互变化图像. 对结果分析发现, 在给定温度和相互作用下, 熵随着化学势的变化有一个量子临界区域.     

Entropy balance in distributed reversible Gray-Scott model

A practical way to calculate the entropy change in the distributed media composed of reversible Gray-Scott model is demonstrated. The entropy change is given as the sum of the entropy production and the divergence of entropy flow. The divergence of entropy is calculated based on the chemical potential of steady state. It becomes evident that: (i) the entropy change for the emergence of dissipative structures in the open system can be positive or negative, (ii) most of the entropy produced inside the system is thrown out to the environment when dissipative structures are developing, (iii) the entropy production and the divergence of entropy flow balance completely, when the system shows static steady states, (iv) the entropy change behaves as if it is the time derivative of the entropy production. Prior to these calculations of entropy balance, the features of emergent patterns in the two-dimensional system are examined in terms of entropy production solely. The results imply that the entropy production can be an index for us to discriminate spatial patterns, but is not a global thermodynamic potential for the evolution of dissipative structures.     

Transport phenomena in a capillary-porous medium II. Entropy production and phenomenological equations

By means of the balance equation of internal energy and the assumption of local equilibrium there is derived the balance equation of entropy. In the entropy production such terms that have connection with the work of reactive forces, with the energy of change of mass, and with the work of binding forces also appear in addition to the usual expressions. It is shown that entropy production can be written in two equivalent ways by means of tensors of different orders. Every form of entropy production in linear area leads to a different system of phenomenological equations. Transfer relations between the two systems are found. Also an expression is found for mass flux which depends explicitly neither on the temperature gradient nor on the gradient of chemical potentials. A relationship is found between viscosity tensor and the tensor which describes the swelling of a body, and friction between a fluid and the solid phase. Dependence of dispersion coefficient on concentration is derived.     

Space-time phase transitions in driven kinetically constrained lattice models

Kinetically constrained models (KCMs) have been widely used to study and understand the origin of glassy dynamics. These models show an ergodic-nonergodic first-order phase transition between phases of distinct dynamical “activity”. We introduce driven variants of two popular KCMs, the FA model and the (2)-TLG, as models for driven supercooled liquids. By classifying trajectories through their entropy production we prove that driven KCMs display an analogous first-order space-time transition between dynamical phases of finite and vanishing entropy production. We discuss how trajectories with rare values of entropy production can be realized as typical trajectories of a mapped system with modified forces.