Evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties in gas tungsten arc welded dual-phase Fe₅₀Mn₃₀Co₁₀Cr₁₀ high entropy alloy

In recent years, high entropy alloys (HEAs) have been shown to be promising alternatives to common engineering alloys, depending on their composition and thermomechanical processing. Up to now, several works aimed at improving the mechanical properties and discovering different HEAs given the extremely large compositional possibilities made available by the multicomponent approach associated to these materials. Their processability, however, is an important topic that must be studied. Welding is a key manufacturing technique that will eventually be applied to HEAs. Thus, there is a need to evaluate the microstructure and property changes induced by the weld thermal cycles, to assess the suitability of certain welding process/HEAs combinations for possible industrial applications. In the present work, Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) was used to achieve defect-free joints based on a novel transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) Fe₅₀Mn₃₀Co₁₀Cr₁₀ HEA. The microstructure and mechanical behavior of the joints were assessed by means of optical and electron microscopy, synchrotron X-ray diffraction, thermodynamical calculations, microhardness mapping and tensile testing. Overall, an excellent mechanical performance was obtained on the resulting joints, opening the door for their adoption in real-life applications.