Microstructural, mechanical, and tribological behaviors of Cu40Fe30Mn20Cr5Ti5 high entropy alloy via powder metallurgy route

In this work, an antifriction multiphase High Entropy Alloy (HEA) Cu40Fe30Mn20Cr5Ti5 has been fabricated and investigated for mechanical and tribological properties. The HEAs were synthesized using a powder metallurgy route. The microstructure, mechanical, and tribological features of cold compacted and sintered samples were thoroughly investigated. These studies revealed that the formation and characteristics of bulk HEA samples are greatly influenced by ball-milling. The microstructure and physical properties of the material, such as its different phases, porosity, and density, as well as its mechanical properties, such as its compression strength, Vickers hardness, and dry frictional behavior, were measured on bulk sintered samples. The microstructure of the synthesized HEA consists of two face-centered cubic (FCC) phases and a uniformly dispersed fine intermetallic phase. The HEA sample fabricated from the milled powders and compacted under a pressure of 700 MPa displayed the highest compressive mechanical strength (UCS ∼ 610 MPa), lowest porosity (∼ 3.49%), and lowest coefficient of friction (COF ∼ 0.25). The developed HEAs demonstrated a strong relationship between the compaction pressure and the mechanical and tribological properties of Cu40 Fe30Mn20Cr5Ti5 alloy.