Wear-resistant CoCrNi multi-principal element alloy at cryogenic temperature

Yue Ren; Qing Zhou; Dongpeng Hua; Zhuobin Huang; Yulong Li; Qian Jia; Peter Gumbsch; Christian Greiner; Haifeng Wang; Weimin Liu

doi:10.1016/j.scib.2023.12.003

Wear-resistant CoCrNi multi-principal element alloy at cryogenic temperature

Sci Bull (Beijing). 2024 Jan 30;69(2):227-236. doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2023.12.003. Epub 2023 Dec 5.

Authors

Yue Ren¹, Qing Zhou², Dongpeng Hua¹, Zhuobin Huang¹, Yulong Li³, Qian Jia¹, Peter Gumbsch⁴, Christian Greiner³, Haifeng Wang⁵, Weimin Liu⁶

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Center of Advanced Lubrication and Seal Materials, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Center of Advanced Lubrication and Seal Materials, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China; Institute for Applied Materials, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe 76131, Germany; IAM-ZM MicroTribology Center µTC, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe 76131, Germany. Electronic address: zhouqing@nwpu.edu.cn.
³ Institute for Applied Materials, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe 76131, Germany; IAM-ZM MicroTribology Center µTC, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe 76131, Germany.
⁴ Institute for Applied Materials, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe 76131, Germany; Fraunhofer IWM, Freiburg 79108, Germany.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Center of Advanced Lubrication and Seal Materials, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China. Electronic address: haifengw81@nwpu.edu.cn.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Center of Advanced Lubrication and Seal Materials, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China; State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.

PMID: 38072707
DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2023.12.003

Abstract

Traditional high strength engineering alloys suffer from serious surface brittleness and inferior wear performance when servicing under sliding contact at cryogenic temperature. Here, we report that the recently emerging CoCrNi multi-principal element alloy defies this trend and presents dramatically enhanced wear resistance when temperature decreases from 273 to 153 K, surpassing those of cryogenic austenitic steels. The temperature-dependent structure characteristics and deformation mechanisms influencing the cryogenic wear resistance of CoCrNi are clarified through microscopic observation and atomistic simulation. It is found that sliding-induced subsurface structures show distinct scenarios at different deformation temperatures. At cryogenic condition, significant grain refinement and a deep plastic zone give rise to an extended microstructural gradient below the surface, which can accommodate massive sliding deformation, in direct contrast to the strain localization and delamination at 273 K. Meanwhile, the temperature-dependent cryogenic deformation mechanisms (stacking fault networks and phase transformation) also provide additional strengthening and toughening of the subsurface material. These features make the CoCrNi alloy particularly wear resistant at cryogenic conditions and an excellent candidate for safety-critical applications.

Keywords: CoCrNi; Cryogenic temperature; Multi-principal element alloy; Wear.