Plane-Stress Deformation Behavior of CoCrFeMnNi High-Entropy Alloy Sheet under Low Temperatures

Abstract

High-entropy alloys are promising candidates expected to be applied in transportation equipment serving in extreme environments due to their excellent properties. CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy is a typical representative of them, and its low temperature performance is excellent. In this study, to evaluate the feasibility of forming HEA shells, the deformation behavior of CoCrFeMnNi under a plane-stress state at lower temperatures was thoroughly studied. Firstly, a thin-walled HEA tube was fabricated using hot extrusion and further formed into a thin shell for uniaxial tensile and biaxial bulging tests. Subsequently, uniaxial tensile tests at cryogenic temperatures were conducted. Both the strength and the ductility improves as the temperature decreases from −160 °C to −196 °C. Then, a systematic low-temperature bulging test was performed using isothermal dome tests and the thickness uniformity analysis of the bulged specimens was carried out. In addition, grain microstructural observation using EBSD was characterized analyze the possible deformation mechanism at the cryogenic temperature under the biaxial stress state. This study, for the first time, investigated the biaxial deformation behavior of HEA. Considering the plane-stress state deformation is the dominant type in the thin-walled shell deformation, this study enables us to provide direct guidance for various sheet-forming processes of HEAs.