Altering the content of an alloying element in alloy materials will inevitably affect the content of other elements, while the effect is frequently disregarded, leading to subsequent negligence of the common influence on the physical properties of alloys. Therefore, the correlation between alloying elements and physical properties has not been adequately addressed in the existing studies. In response to this problem, the present study focuses on the Al₁₀Ti₁₅Ni_x1Cr_x2Co_x3 alloys and investigates the competitive interplay among Ni, Cr, and Co elements in the formation of physical properties through a single-element (SE) analysis and a multi-element (ME) analysis based on the first principles calculations and the partial least squares (PLS) regression. The values of C₁₁ and C₄₄ generally increase with the incorporation of Ni or Cr content in light of SE analysis, which is contrary to the inclination of ME analysis in predicting the impact of Ni and Cr elements, and the Ni element demonstrates a pronounced negative competitive ability. The overall competitive relationship among the three alloying elements suggests that increasing the content of Ni and Cr does not contribute to enhancing the elastic constants of alloys, and the phenomenon is also observed in the analysis of elastic moduli. The reason is that the SE analysis fails to account for the aforementioned common influence of multiple alloying elements on the physical properties of alloys. Therefore, the integration of SE analysis and ME analysis is more advantageous in elucidating the hidden competitive mechanism among multiple alloying elements, and offering a more robust theoretical framework for the design of alloy materials.

The effects of 44 types of elements on the stabilities of I1-constitute multi-type long-period stacking-ordered (LPSO) structures in Mg alloys, such as 4H, 6H, 8H, 9R, 12H, 15R, and 16H phases, are systematically investigated by first-principle high-performance calculations. The intrinsic stacking-fault energies (ISFEs) and their increments are calculated along with the formation enthalpies of solute atoms, and interaction energies between solute atoms and LPSO structures. The results suggest that the 15R phase is the easiest to form and stabilize among these LPSO structures, and 44 types of solute atoms have different segregation characteristics in these LPSO structures. A high temperature inhibits structural stabilizations of the LPSO phases, and these alloying elements, such as elements (Sb, Te, and Cs) for 4H; elements (S, Fe, Sb, and Te) for 6H, 8H, 9R, 15R, and 16H; and elements (S, Sb, and Te) for 12H, can effectively promote the stability of LPSO structures at high temperatures. S and Fe atoms are the most likely to promote the stabilities of the 16H structure with regard to other LPSO phases, but the Fe atom tends to inhibit the stabilities of 4H and 12H structures. This work can offer valuable references to further study and develop high-performance Mg alloys with multi-type LPSO structures.

The journal Coatings retracts the article titled “Competitive Mechanism of Alloying Elements on the Physical Properties of Al₁₀Ti₁₅Ni_x1Cr_x2Co_x3 Alloys through Single-Element and Multi-Element Analysis Methods”