Al–Si–Cu–Ni–Zn EXPERIMENTAL MULTICOMPONENT HIGH-ALLOYED ALLOYS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15407/plit2026.01.051Keywords:
multicomponent high-alloyed alloys, high-entropy alloys, microstructure, phase composition, microhardness, casting propertiesAbstract
The work is devoted to the investigation of experimental multicomponent high-alloyed alloys of the Al–Si–Cu–Ni–Zn system during the transition from a high-entropy to a low-entropy state achieved by varying the aluminum content. The aim of the study was to obtain alloys that could be prepared in resistance furnaces without a protective atmosphere at melt temperatures up to 1000 °C, while maintaining mixing entropy values close to those of high-entropy alloys. The study established the regularities of microstructure formation, phase composition, microhardness of structural constituents, and fluidity of the alloys depending on chemical composition. According to scanning electron microscopy and local EDX analysis, the high-entropy alloy with a nearly equiatomic composition is characterized by a complex multiphase microstructure. The transition from an equiatomic composition to excess aluminum content changes the microstructure type from coarse-grained heterogeneous to a refined heterogeneous structure with a high dispersion of constituents, dominated by the formation of high-temperature intermetallics β+β′ (CuZn), Ni4Al3Si4, and B2-Al (CuNi), primary silicon, and a minor amount of aluminum-based solid solution. It is also shown that an increase in aluminum concentration is accompanied by a decrease in melting temperature, an increase in alloy fluidity, and a reduction in the fraction of coarse intermetallic phases. The matrix in the low-entropy alloy exhibits anomalously high microhardness values (up to 490 HV) due to the high degree of alloying of the aluminum solid solution and the presence of a large number of dispersed, evenly distributed intermetallics throughout the alloy volume. It is shown that the dominant factor in the structure and phase formation in the considered alloys is the enthalpic contribution, while the entropic effect has a limited stabilizing character, which is consistent with the experimentally established multiphase state of the alloys.
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