Unveiling a Bulk WTaV Multicomponent Alloy With Superior Thermal Properties and Manufacturability

Many tungsten (W)-based medium and high entropy alloys (HEA) demonstrate superior microstructural stability and enhanced mechanical properties as compared to pure W, effectively rendering them as viable candidate materials for extreme environments such as nuclear fusion, aerospace applications, and so on. However, service applicability of these alloys has two major challenges: (i) bulk manufacturing while maintaining desired phases, and (ii) inferior thermal performance. Here, we present a successfully manufactured arc-cast WTaV multicomponent alloy based on input from thermodynamic and atomistic Monte-Carlo simulations. A single-phase body-centered cubic (BCC) structure devoid of brittle intermetallics was produced with a microhardness value of ∼535 HV. A minimal reduction of microhardness (∼30 HV) after a 24 h-1800°C heat-treatment indicates not only high temperature thermal stability, but also enhanced mechanical properties. Remarkably, this alloy exhibits exceptional thermal conductivity (∼57 Wm⁻ ¹ K⁻ ¹ at room temperature and ∼134 Wm⁻ ¹K⁻ ¹ at 1000°C) surpassing that of W at high temperature, positioning it as one of the highest known multicomponent refractory alloys reported to date. Unlike W, which shows decreasing thermal conductivity with increasing temperature, this WTaV multicomponent alloy exhibits an opposite trend of increased thermal conductivity with temperature. The results clearly demonstrate potential candidacy of this material for demanding applications, providing an optimum balance of cost-effectiveness, chemical simplicity, easier manufacturability, and acceptable thermal properties in the bulk form.