Microstructure and corrosion characteristics of CrCuFeMoNi HEA coatings with different compositions in high-temperature and high-pressure water

Abstract

Surface modification technology consists of a coating technique is one important method to improve the operational performance of nuclear fuel cladding. In this paper, different compositions of a CrCuFeMoNi high-entropy alloy (HEA) coating were deposited on a Zr-4 substrate by magnetron co-sputtering. The microstructures, mechanical properties and high-temperature corrosion behaviors of the CrCuFeMoNi HEA coatings were investigated. All as-deposited HEA coatings have an fcc structure and are well adhered to the Zr-4 substrate. The nanoindentation and autoclave test results showed that the as-deposited Cr0.26Cu0.3Fe0.1Mo0.15Ni0.19 HEA coating had superior hardness (12.5 GPa) and high-temperature corrosion resistance relative to others. The corrosion mechanisms of the CrCuFeMoNi HEA coatings with different compositions are also discussed.