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The development of high-strength cold spray deposits using amorphous/nanocrystalline aluminum high-entropy alloy (Al HEA) powder is hindered by the lack of understanding of correlations between powder microstructure and its deformation behavior. In this study, gas-atomized Al HEA powder (Al90.05-Y4.4-Ni4.3-Co0.9-Sc0.35 at.%) is devitrified at 298, 345, 362, and 450 °C to optimize strength and deformation for cold spraying. Devitrification-induced atomic rearrangement developed equiaxed Al grains and Al3Ni and Al3Sc precipitates. The amorphous content, growth of grains, hard precipitates, and reduced dislocation density increased the hardness by 16% to 515 HV at 298 °C and decreased the hardness by 55% to 190 HV at 450 °C. The compressive strength of Al HEA powder increased by 5% to 1559 MPa at 298 °C and decreased by 49% to 760 MPa at 450 °C. To enhance the limited sprayability of Al HEA powder, compressive strength is used to model optimized cold spray process maps. Helium gas with temperatures from 300 to 800 °C and a pressure of 40 bar can produce cold spray deposits with deposition efficiency greater than 70%. The scientific insights acquired from the present study provide a gateway toward developing novel lightweight and high-strength aluminum alloy deposits, thus marking an advancement in cold spray technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of thick cold sprayed deposits of hard amorphous/nanocrystalline Aluminum High Entropy Alloys (Al HEA) is limited by their poor plastic deformability. To address this, Al HEA powder (Al 90.05 Ni 4.3 Y 4.4 Co 0.9 Sc 0.35 (at. %)) is blended with soft Al 6061 in a 1:1 wt% ratio and cold sprayed. The microstructure of the composite deposits reveals that while Al HEA splats undergo limited deformation, Al 6061 splats deform extensively. Extreme deformation of Al 6061 captures the hard Al HEA particles, resulting in a composite deposit of 5 mm thickness, compared to 0.2 mm for pure Al HEA. Within the composite, Al HEA particles deform through shear band propagation and viscous flow, whereas Al 6061 splats deform via dislocation slip motion. These deformation mechanisms induce interface nanocrystallization, leading to a 123 % increase in lattice strain, a 67 % reduction in crystallite size, and an 800 % increase in dislocation density compared to the initial feedstock. This microstructural evolution, combined with the presence of hard Al HEA regions, results in a mean hardness of 2.56 GPa and an elastic modulus of 76 GPa. These values represent a 47 % and 6 % improvement over conventional polycrystalline cold-sprayed aluminum deposits. Thus, this study provides insights into the microstructural and interface evolution and its effect on indentation characteristics for making high-strength Al HEA deposits. • High strength hybrid amorphous aluminum high entropy (Al HEA) and Al 6061 deposit by cold spray • Soft Al 6061 enhances deposition efficiency, increasing thickness by 6x, effectively capturing hard Al HEA powders. • Interface microstructural evolution: nanocrystallization in Al HEA and dynamic recrystallization in Al 6061. • The hybrid deposit demonstrates 47 % increase in hardness and 6 % higher elastic modulus compared to conventional Al alloy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]