Deconvolution-based peak profile analysis methods for characterization of CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy

Heliyon. 2022 Sep 6;8(9):e10541. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10541. eCollection 2022 Sep.

Abstract

In this study, we compare several peak profile analysis methods for the investigation of the CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy (HEA) after the plastic deformation. We show that conventional Williamson - Hall (cWH) approach poorly correlates with measured peak broadening and some corrections must be introduced to improve the analysis. The correction for elastic modulus for different crystallographic directions or application of modified Williamson Hall (mWH) and modified Warren - Averbach (mWA) methods significantly improve the correlation between the model and experimental data. Peak profile analysis shows that the dislocation density of the CoCrFeMnNi alloy subjected to axial compression increases with increase in strain and reaches plateau at a strain of 47.5%. At the same time, the crystallite size decreases, and dislocation structure becomes more disordered.

Keywords: Dislocation structure; High-entropy alloys; Peak profile analysis; Plastic deformation; Synchrotron X-ray diffraction.