HIGH IMPACT AND DAMAGE TOLERANT MULTICOMPONENT ALLOY FOR HIGH STRAIN RATE APPLICATIONS

The modern transportation sector, including aerospace and defense, demand advanced materials with extraordinary properties to make the service structures more durable and safer. The aforesaid applications involve high-velocity impact and strain rate situations, in which structures may be subjected to radically different loading circumstances than their static equivalents. A new era of materials, namely multicomponent alloys that deviate from the conventional alloying strategy, is expected to replace traditional materials in future engineering applications. The reasons for this specific and notable commitment are their exceptional mechanical performance at room, high, and cryogenic temperatures. These alloys provide a consortium of properties that can outclass many materials currently in use. Such an alloy, namely Cantor alloy, an equiatomic, five-element material system CoNiFeMnCr has been tested under low and high strain rates. A remarkable elevated yield strength of 70% as compared to static loading, with high strain rate sensitivity and work hardening, is observed without fracture. This alloy's outstanding impact resistance makes it a prime contender for shock absorption and damage tolerant applications. The higher strength contribution at dynamic testing is linked to the profound effect of dislocation-mediated microstructural manifestation. The study also provides insights into a novel high strain rate method to evaluate impact-related problems in a precise, more versatile manner.