Mechanical Performance and Deformation Behavior of CoCrNi Medium-Entropy Alloy at the Atomic Scale

CoCrNi medium-entropy alloy has superior cryogenic properties with simultaneous growth of strength and plasticity at low temperatures. In order to observe the microstructure and deformation behavior of the alloy at the atomic scale, its mechanical properties and deformation mechanism at different temperatures and strain rates were investigated using molecular dynamics. It is indicated that the alloy’s strength was enhanced at low temperatures and high strain rates due to the production of high dislocation density. The introduction of grain boundaries significantly decreased the dislocation density during the alloy’s deformation and correspondingly reduced the crystal strength. However, the introduction of twin boundaries in polycrystalline grains obviously enhanced the strength of the polycrystal, especially at the twin boundary spacing of 3.08 nm. The strength’s enhancement was attributed to the increasing dislocation density produced by the interaction between twin boundaries and dislocations during deformation.