Elucidating the warm compression of CoCrCuFeNi high entropy alloy: Modeling and microstructural evolution

The warm compression tests were carried out at various temperatures of 400, 550, and 700 °C and strain rates of 0.01, 0.001, and 0.0001 s−1 to unravel the warm deformation behavior of CoCrCuFeNi high entropy alloy (HEA). The microstructural evolutions were characterized using x-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), a field emission gun scanning electron microscope (FESEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) detector. These microstructure studies show a dendritic structure containing a bright phase rich in Cu and a darker phase rich in Fe, Cr, and Co. The solidification and melting points of the bright phase are 1136 °C and 904 °C, respectively and the dark phase nucleates at 1365 °C based on DSC results. A Zener-Hollomon parameter was employed to model and predict the warm compression behavior by calculating the activation energy (∼451 kJ/mol), developing a precise constitutive equation (correlation coefficient: R = 0.99), and constructing a processing map for determining the stable temperature and strain rate (strain rates lower than 10−2.75 s−1 and temperatures between 400 and 700 °C) of the plastic flow behavior of the alloy. The FESEM results confirmed the stability and instability domains predicted by the processing map. Moreover, the EBSD analysis indicated that the continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) grains nucleated in the strain rate of 0.0001 s−1 at temperatures higher than 400 °C. Larger grains were formed at 550 and 700 °C due to lower Z parameters in higher temperatures.