Thermodynamic and Ab Initio Design of Multicomponent Alloys Based on (Fe50Mn30Co10Cr10)-xBx (x = 0, 5, 7, 10, and 15 at.%)

Abstract

Multicomponent alloys have attained general interest in recent years due to their remarkable performance. Non-equiatomic alloys with boron addition as an interstitial element are being studied, exhibiting outstanding mechanical properties. In order to estimate the mechanical behavior of potential alloys, thermodynamic and ab initio calculations were utilized in this work to investigate phase stability and stacking fault energy (SFE) for (Fe50Mn30Co10Cr10)-xBx (x = 0, 5, 7, 10, and 15 at.%) systems. Thermodynamic experiments revealed two structural variations of borides, M2B(C16) with a tetragonal structure and M2B(CB) with an orthorhombic structure. Borides precipitate when boron content increases, and the FCC matrix becomes deficient in Mn and Cr. According to ab initio calculations, the presence of boron in the FCC and HCP structures primarily disrupts the surroundings of the Fe and Mn atoms, resulting in an increased distortion of the crystal lattice. This is related to the antiferromagnetic condition of the alloys. Furthermore, for alloys with a low boron concentration, the stacking fault energy was found to be near 20 mJ/m2 and greater than 50 mJ/m2 when 10 and 15 at.% boron was added. As boron concentrations increase, M2B borides are formed, generating changes in the matrix composition prone to fault-induced phase transitions that could modify and potentially impair mechanical properties.