Development of Next Generation High Entropy Alloy Coatings for Extreme Environments

The integrity and performance of hydraulic components in the maritime sector may be altered due to extreme environmental conditions that result in wear and corrosion. The industry in Canada spends around $0.92B per annum for maintenance (around 69% of GDP) to improve component service life. Therefore, materials that can sustain high life during extreme operating conditions are in demand. Next-generation advanced materials, known as high entropy alloys (HEAs), have gained attention of the scientific community by breaking the bottleneck of conventional alloy design strategy. These materials possess immense properties such as higher strength-ductility with significant wear and corrosion resistance than traditional alloy counterparts. This proposed research project will be structured to design and develop next-generation HEAs with the help of semi-autonomous cold-spray technology that can significantly contribute to sustainable industries through economic advancement. The next-generation HEAs coupled with cold-spray technology require detailed studies involving i) good correlations between the chemical compositions of the alloy and microstructure, microstructure and mechanical properties, and ii) where microstructure and wear/corrosion resistance will be established to understand the mechanisms of HEA coatings.

Faculty Supervisor:

André McDonald

Student:

Rakesh Bhaskaran Nair

Partner:

Springboard Atlantic

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Alberta