Deformation Behaviors in Single BCC‐Phase Refractory Multi‐Principal Element Alloys under Dynamic Conditions

The mechanical behavior and microstructural evolution of a BCC‐phase NbTaTiV refractory multi‐principal element alloy (RMPEA) is studied over a wide range of strain rates (10 −3 to 10 3 s −1 ) and temperatures (room temperature to 850 °C). The mechanical property of present RMPEA shows less strain‐rate dependence and strong resistance to softening at high temperatures. Under high strain‐rate loading, the formation of thin type‐I twins is observed, which could lead to an increase in strain‐hardening rates. However, this hardening mechanism competes with adiabatic heating effects, resulting in the deterrence of strain‐hardening behaviors. In contrast, substantial strain‐hardening occurs at cryogenic temperatures due to the formation of twins, which act as stronger barriers to dislocation motion and interact with each other. To further understand the different strain‐hardening behaviors, density functional theory (DFT) calculations predict relatively low stacking fault energies and high twinning stress for the NbTaTiV RMPEA.