Efficient Coarse-Grained Superplasticity of a Gigapascal Lightweight Refractory Medium Entropy Alloy

Superplastic metals that exhibit exceptional ductility (>300%) are appealing for use in high-quality engineering components with complex shapes. However, the wide application of most superplastic alloys has been constrained due to their poor strength, the relatively long superplastic deformation period, and the complex and high-cost grain refinement processes. Here these issues are addressed by the coarse-grained superplasticity of high-strength lightweight medium entropy alloy (Ti_43.3V₂₈Zr₁₄Nb₁₄Mo_0.7, at.%) with a microstructure of ultrafine particles embedded in the body-centered-cubic matrix. The results demonstrate that the alloy reached a high coarse-grained superplasticity greater than ≈440% at a high strain rate of 10⁻² s⁻¹ at 1173 K and with a gigapascal residual strength. A consecutively triggered deformation mechanism that sequences of dislocation slip, dynamic recrystallization, and grain boundary sliding in such alloy differs from conventional grain-boundary sliding in fine-grained materials. The present results open a pathway for highly efficient superplastic forming, broaden superplastic materials to the high-strength field, and guide the development of new alloys.