Influence of Si Addition on the Microstructures, Phase Assemblages and Properties in CoCrNi Medium-Entropy Alloy

The effects of Si addition on the microstructures and properties of CoCrNi medium-entropy alloy (MEA) were systematically investigated. The CrCoNiSix MEA possesses a single face-centered cubic (FCC) phase when x is less than 0.3 and promotes solution strengthening, while the crystal structure shows a transition to the FCC+σ phase structure when x = 0.4 and the volume fraction of the σ phase increases with a microstructure evolution as the Si content increases. The Orowan mechanism from σ precipitation effectively enhances the strength, hardness, and stain hardening of CrCoNiSix MEA, which also exhibits superior hardness at high temperatures. Furthermore, a large amount of σ phase decreases the wear resistance because of the transformation of the main wear mechanism from abrasion wear for σ-free CrCoNiSix MEA to adhesion wear for σ-contained CrCoNiSix MEA. This work contributes to the understanding of the effect of Si addition on FCC structured alloys and provides guidance for the development of novel Si-doped alloys.