Interstitials in f.c.c. High Entropy Alloys
The effects of interstitials on the mechanical properties of single-phase f.c.c. high entropy alloys (HEAs) have been assessed based on a review of the literature. It is found that in nearly all studies, carbon increases the yield strength, in some cases by more than in traditional alloys. This suggests that carbon can be an excellent way to strengthen HEAs. This strength increase is related to the lattice expansion from the carbon. The effects on other mechanical behavior is mixed. Most studies show a slight reduction in ductility due to carbon, but a few show increases in ductility accompanying the yield strength increase. Similarly, some studies show little or modest increases in work-hardening rate (WHR) due to carbon, whereas a few show a substantial increase. These latter effects are due to changes in deformation mode. For both undoped and carbon doped CoCrFeMnNi, the room temperature ductility decreases slightly with decreasing grain size until ~2–5 µm, below which the ductility appears to decrease rapidly. The room temperature WHR also appears to decrease with decreasing grain size in both undoped and carbon-doped CoCrFeMnNi and in nitrogen-doped medium entropy alloy NiCoCr, and, at least for the undoped HEA, shows a sharp decrease at grain sizes <2 µm. Interestingly, carbon has been shown to almost double the Hall–Petch strengthening in CoCrFeMnNi, suggesting the segregation of carbon to the grain boundaries. There have been few studies on the effects of other interstitials such as boron, nitrogen and hydrogen. It is clear that more research is needed on interstitials both to understand their effects on mechanical properties and to optimize their use.