ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Coat. Dyes Interface Eng.

Sec. Engineered Surfaces and Interfaces

Volume 3 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frcdi.2025.1598207

Effects of rare-earth element Yttrium (Y) on the solid-particle erosion resistance of AlCrFeNi medium-entropy alloy at ambient and elevated temperatures

Provisionally accepted
Zhen XuZhen Xu1Guijiang DiaoGuijiang Diao2Yunqing TangYunqing Tang3Keyang ChenKeyang Chen3Kaifan LinKaifan Lin2Anqiang HeAnqiang He2Doug FraserDoug Fraser4Jing LiJing Li4Reinaldo ChungReinaldo Chung5Qingyang LiQingyang Li6Dongyang LiDongyang Li1,2*
  • 1Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
  • 2University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
  • 3Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong Province, China
  • 4Trimay Wear Plate Ltd., Edmonton, Canada
  • 5Suncor Energy Inc., Calgary, Canada
  • 6Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China

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High-entropy alloys (HEAs) and medium-entropy alloys (MEAs) have demonstrated many superior properties, including high strength, toughness, and thermal stability. Among MEAs, AlCrFeNi has received considerable attention due to its well-balanced mechanical properties and cost-effectiveness, making it a promising candidate for industrial applications. It is known that rare-earth elements can effectively enhance the oxidation resistance of alloys containing passive elements. In this study, AlCrFeNi MEAs with Y additions (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 wt.%) were fabricated by arc melting. Microstructures of fabricated samples and their mechanical properties and resistance to air-jet sand erosion were investigated at both room temperature (20 °C) and elevated temperature (700 °C). For the sake of comparison, a commercial nickelbased Waspaloy superalloy was also evaluated. At both room and elevated temperatures, the AlCrFeNi MEA demonstrated high superiority over the widely used nickel-based superalloy.The Y additions increased the hardness and yield strength of the MEA, leading to improved erosion resistance at room temperature, which was more obvious at elevated temperatures, largely benefiting from the improved resistance to accelerated oxidation at elevated temperatures. The obtained information highlighted the beneficial effects of the minor Y additions in enhancing both the mechanical performance and high-temperature durability of the AlCrFeNi MEA, which would help extend the application of the MEA to higher temperatures.

Keywords: high-temperature erosion, AlCrFeNi medium-entropy alloy, yttrium addition, Oxidation resistance, Ni-based superalloy

Received: 22 Mar 2025; Accepted: 12 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Xu, Diao, Tang, Chen, Lin, He, Fraser, Li, Chung, Li and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Dongyang Li, Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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