In this study, new high-entropy alloys (HEAs), which contain lightweight elements, namely Al and Ti, have been designed for intermediate temperature applications. Cr, Mo, and V were selected as the elements for the Al-Ti-containing HEAs by elemental screening using their binary phase diagrams. AlCrMoTi and AlCrMoTiV HEAs are confirmed as solid solutions with minor ordered B2 phases and have superb specific hardness when compared to that of commercial alloys. The present work demonstrates the desirable possibility for substitution of traditional materials that are applied at intermediate temperature to Al-Ti-containing lightweight HEAs.

In the production of titanium alloy, the electron beam cold hearth melting (EBCHM) process is commonly used due to its effectiveness and the high quality of the end product. However, its main drawback is the significant loss of elements such as aluminum (Al) due to evaporation under the vacuum environment. Numerical coupled thermal-flow models were here developed to investigate the effects of scanning strategies on Al loss in a titanium alloy during EBCHM. The validation model was successful in comparison with previously published experimental data. The Al mass fraction results at the outlet of the water-cooled hearth were strongly influenced by changes in the applied scanning strategies. The results indicated that the Al mass fraction loss could be reduced by using the full-hearth scanning strategies.

A compositional approach to designing alloys that have an enlarged equiaxed zone is suggested in this study. The partitioning of elements during the solidification of CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy (HEA) was confirmed through a directional solidification quenching experiment. Several HEAs were designed to maximize the effects of constitutional and thermal undercooling by considering factors including solute enrichment at the columnar front and the melting temperatures and thermal conductivities of the individual elements. The newly designed HEAs were shown to have successfully enlarged equiaxed zones, and improved anisotropic properties.

We investigated the TiFe precipitation behavior of solution heat-treated Ti-5Al-3.5Fe during isothermal aging, quantified the effect of precipitation on strengthening by evaluating the hardness, and compared it to the effect of Ti₃Al precipitation in Ti-6Al-4V. TiFe precipitates formed both at grain boundaries (GBs) and within the grain matrices. Phase transformation from the β to α phase also occurred during isothermal aging; this transformation generated lamellar interphase boundaries between the transformed α phase and remaining β phase in prior β grains. These interphase boundaries enabled the formation of in-grain TiFe precipitates by acting as a nucleation site. GB precipitation did not require prior β → α phase transformation to generate nucleation sites (i.e., interphase boundaries), so TiFe precipitation could occur immediately upon isothermal aging. Thus, GB precipitation proceeded more quickly than in-grain precipitation; as a result, precipitates were larger and more spherical at the GBs than in grains. The strengthening behavior exhibited by TiFe precipitation differed obviously from that caused by Ti₃Al precipitation in Ti-6Al-4V because of its differing precipitation kinetics and related microstructural evolution.