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High entropy alloys (HEAs) represent a new paradigm of structural alloys comprising of multiple principal elements in equimolar or near-equimolar concentration. The superior corrosion and oxidation resistance of HEAs at high temperature make them attractive for several structural applications. In this context, erosion behavior of HEAs has been largely unexplored. In this study, the slurry erosion performance of single phase Al 0.1 CoCrFeNi high entropy alloy was investigated. For comparison, mild steel and stainless steel (SS316L) were also investigated under similar conditions. The slurry erosion was conducted at different impingement angles and at a constant velocity of 20 m/s. The microstructural and mechanical characterization were conducted using scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), x-ray diffraction (XRD), nanoindentation and micro-hardness testing. Similar to the mild steel and stainless steel, HEA also showed ductile mode of erosion. The erosion rate for HEA was found to be higher compared to stainless steel, however in spite of lower tensile strength and hardness, HEA exhibited higher erosion resistance compared to mild steel. The high erosion resistance of HEA compared to mild steel is explained on the basis of its work hardening behavior, low stacking fault energy, and superior corrosion resistance. Erosion response of the investigated materials showed significant correlation with ultimate strength and ultimate resilience. In depth analysis of the eroded HEA samples showed ploughing as the prominent material removal mechanism at oblique angles compared to micro-cutting for SS316L and mild steel. In contrast, highly deformed and work-hardened platelets were observed at normal impingement angle for all materials.

In present work, we investigated the tribological behavior of the high entropy alloy (HEA) claddings under different degrading environments viz, slurry erosion-corrosion, liquid impingement erosion, electrochemical corrosion, and sliding wear. The HEA claddings were developed by varying Al fraction (AlxCoCrFeNi) (x = 0.1 to 3) using microwave processing. The claddings were composed of cellular structure with intermetallic phases segregated in the intercellular region. Variation in Al content showed significant influence on the microstructure and mechanical properties. The hardness of the claddings increased with an increase in Al fraction with a maximum value of 624 HV observed for the cladding containing three molar Al. Correspondingly, the fracture toughness showed an opposing trend. All claddings showed better wear resistance than SS316L with equimolar composition outperforming other counterparts. The equimolar HEA cladding showed 3 to 23 times higher wear resistance compared to SS316L steel depending upon test conditions. Inimitable wear resilience of the equimolar composition was attributed to its high hardness and strain-hardening ability. Surface morphologies of the tested claddings indicated the presence of ductile-brittle mixed damage modes. The tested surfaces showed numerous pits and cracks with delaminated secondary phase. Presence of groves and signs of delamination were also observed in case of sliding wear. The results of the present work show that microwave synthesized equimolar HEAs can effectively counter different tribological forms.