Study of nanohardness and scratch in a CoCrFeMnNiAl HEA consolidated by high-frequency-induction heat

The study reports the elastic modulus and nanohardness values, as well as the wear behavior obtained from the Berkovich nanohardness and scratch hardness tests of a CoCrFeMnNiAl 1.5 high-entropy alloy. The samples were sintered using two methods: conventional (CS) and high-frequency-induction heat (HFIHS+CS). The results show higher nanohardness and elastic modulus in B2-precipitates than in the BCC phase. The samples obtained by the HFIHS+CS method generally exhibited high performance due to a significantly work-hardened structure, which could have important applications in the automotive and aerospace industries. Highlights • The HFIHS + CS method exhibited high performance due to a significantly work-hardened structure. • Nanohardness for the B2 precipitate and the BCC phase are 23.73 GPa and 9.32 GPa. • Elastic modulus for the B2 precipitate and the BCC phase are 396.2 GPa and 242.15 GPa.