Cluster-Mediated Solute Stabilization and Shear-Bypass Synergistic Strengthening in High-Alloyed Systems.

High alloy content and multiphase synergistic strengthening have become crucial strategies in contemporary metallic materials design for performance enhancement. A major challenge in this field lies in addressing compositional segregation arising from differences in solute diffusion, especially‌ in high-alloy systems such as aluminum-lithium (Al-Li) alloys. This study explores the 2060 Al-Li alloy, a representative high-alloy system, produced using twin-roll casting, a segregation-sensitive process, and analyzes segregation behavior through a customized solute field model. The results reveal that nanoclusters with high solute tolerance effectively reduce segregation-induced degradation, leading to significant improvements in both strength and ductility, with an 18.7% increase in strength and a 41.5% increase in elongation. Furthermore, a shear-bypass synergistic strengthening mechanism was identified. This work not only unlocks the potential of the twin-roll casting process by leveraging sub-rapid solidification advantages but also offers a promising technical and theoretical approach to mitigating compositional segregation, addressing a long-standing challenge within the high-alloy metallic materials industry.