Prediction of the Cohesion Energy, Shear Modulus and Hardness of Single-Phase Metals and High-Entropy Alloys

In order to facilitate the prediction of some physical properties, we propose several simple formulas based on two parameters only, the metallic valence and metallic atomic radii. Knowing the composition, for single-phase alloys, the average parameters can be calculated by the rule of mixture. The input parameters can be obtained from tabulated databases. Adopting from the literature the results of Coulomb crystal model for metals and single-phase high-entropy alloys, we have derived formulas for the shear modulus (G) and the cohesion energy (Ecoh). Based on these parameters separately, we set up two formulas to estimate the hardness in the case of pure metals. For single-phase (solid-solution) HEAs, by simplifying the Maresca and Curtin model, we obtained a formula for estimating the hardness, which takes into account the atomic misfit in addition to G. The maximal hardness for single-phase HEA is approximately 600 kg/mm2 and is obtained for a composition with a valence electron concentration of approximately 6 ÷ 7.