This work investigates
the effect of ultrafine-grain microstructure
on the oxidation behavior of AlCoCrFeNi high entropy alloy (HEA).
The ultrafine-grain microstructure is obtained using stationary friction
processing performed at two different rotational speeds, 400 and 1800
rpm, for 5 min duration. Processed samples demonstrate high depth
of refinement (DOR) and ultrafine grain size (0.43–1 μm)
at high rotational speeds along with significant phase transformations
from BCC/B2 to FCC microstructure. Further, surface free energy of
the ultrafine-grain microstructure is enhanced up to 35%. Oxidation
kinetics of the ultrafine-grained sample is decelerated up to 12–48%
in a temperature range of 850–1050 °C for a duration of
100 h. Chromia and alumina were the predominant oxides formed in almost
all the samples oxidized at elevated temperature. In addition, spinel
Co(Cr,Fe)
2
O
4
/Fe(Co,Cr)
2
O
4
formation is also detected in the unprocessed oxidized samples.
Processed samples rich in grain boundaries (GBs) promote internal
oxidation to form Al-rich inner oxides. The enhanced oxidation resistance
of the processed samples is attributed to the microstructural refinement
and homogenization resulting in the formation of protective chromia
followed by Al-rich inner oxides.