Indentation Strain Rate Sensitivity of CoCrFeNiAl_0.3 High‐Entropy Alloy

In this paper, the mechanical properties of CoCrFeNiAl_0.3 high‐entropy alloy (HEA) under different strain rates are investigated using nanoindentation at room temperature. Experimental results show that the contact stiffness increases almost linearly with indentation depth and the elastic modulus is invariable under different indentation strain rates, while the indentation hardness under higher strain rate is relatively larger, and the hardness under large indentation depth is relatively smaller for each indentation strain rate. The indentation size effect of hardness and strain rate sensitivity exponent m under different indentation strain rates are analyzed, then the hardness and m free from the effect of indentation depth are obtained. Finally, this investigation reveals the size effects of the hardness of HEA in light of the strain rate sensitivity and activation volume of the dislocation nucleation.