Creep behavior of high-entropy alloys : A critical review

Title data

Zhang, Mingwei ; Glatzel, Uwe ; Heilmaier, Martin ; George, Easo P.:
Creep behavior of high-entropy alloys : A critical review.
In: Intermetallics. Vol. 192 (2026) . - 109242.
ISSN 0966-9795
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intermet.2026.109242

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Abstract in another language

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) have been extensively investigated during the last two decades. While substantial progress has been made in understanding their phase stability, microstructure, and deformation mechanisms at room and cryogenic temperatures, the long-term creep behavior (>100 h) of HEAs at high temperatures (>0.6 Tm, where Tm is the melting temperature) remains relatively underexplored. This knowledge gap is critical, as many engineering applications, including those for power generation and propulsion, require materials with good creep resistance to maintain structural integrity over extended service lifetimes. This review provides a focused and critical assessment of the current understanding of high-temperature deformation and creep behavior of HEAs, with particular attention paid to face-centered cubic HEAs and body-centered cubic refractory HEAs. The underlying deformation mechanisms governing their creep response and the influence of phase stability at elevated temperatures are examined in detail. Recent studies reveal mechanistic differences between HEAs and conventional dilute alloys that do not always lead to improved creep resistance belying their initial promise. Based on these findings, we discuss the challenges in designing HEAs for high-temperature structural applications and outline future research directions that may lead to creep-resistant HEAs.