Martensitic transformation in CrCoNi medium-entropy alloy at cryogenic temperature

We investigated the in situ deformation behavior of the CrCoNi medium-entropy alloy at a cryogenic temperature of 140 K and compared it with deformation at room temperature. The sample exhibited higher strength and larger ductility at the cryogenic temperature. The CrCoNi alloy remained single-phase face-centered cubic at room temperature, while deformation at 140 K resulted in a martensitic transformation to the hexagonal close-packed structure. The phase transformation, an additional deformation mechanism to stacking faults, twinning, and dislocation slip, resulted in a higher work hardening at cryogenic temperature. The study addresses the structure metastability in the CrCoNi alloy, which led to the formation of epsilon-martensite from the intrinsic stacking faults.