Atomistic study on the nano-scratch mechanism of CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy at different morphology densities

Abstract The physical nature of the scratch behavior of CoCrFeMnNi HEA and its deformation mechanism at different morphology densities are investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. The results show that the groove morphology contributes to the reduction of surface plastic deformation and exhibits a friction-reducing effect. As the morphology density decreases, the surface deformation and atom pile-up decrease, and the plastic deformation in the scratch region decreases, resulting in a further enhancement of the friction reduction effect. The increase of scratch depth intensifies the plastic deformation of the specimens, and the average scratch coefficient of friction increases with the increase in scratch depth. The dominant plastic deformation mechanism in the scratch deformation of CoCrFeMnNi HEA with different morphology densities is the slip deformation of Shockley partial dislocations. The MD simulations are verified further by qualitatively comparing them with corresponding experimental observations of CoCrFeMnNi HEA.