Design of High Entropy Alloys using a Hybrid Experimental Machine-Learning Approach - Steel Sector application (Resilience Fund)

高价值和其他制造部门的最终用户报告说，对涂料及其加工的长期性能缺乏信心，这是引入依赖于表面工程和先进涂料的新产品的障碍。为响应市场需求，该项目旨在将“应用现有材料”的模式转变为“设计所需材料”，通过增强对表面工程技术的信心，开发重要的全球市场。高熵合金（HEAs）通过非凡的材料性能和独特的性能组合，为这一方向提供了一个变革性的机会，使高性能制成品在国际市场上具有竞争力。新的高熵高温合金将围绕Al-Co-Cr-Cu-Fe-Ni合金体系进行设计，促进面心立方相和耐磨纳米氧化物相的形成。为了实现材料的快速开发，该联盟将设计一种混合研发方法，将高通量实验和神经网络软件相结合，使计算机能够筛选超过100万种可能性，以寻找适合操作环境特征的有前途的混合物。新方法旨在“以较低的成本，以两倍的速度发现、制造和部署先进材料”。新技术将首先展示给承受越来越大压力的钢铁行业。英国的钢厂将从项目成果中受益，帮助他们维持和增加劳动力。一个成功的项目结果将导致在供应链中创造和保留就业机会。该项目将通过替代致癌的六价铬和减少在全球硬面应用中过度使用的钴基材料，对环境产生重大影响。

End users in high value and other manufacturing sectors report low confidence in the long-term performance of both coatings and their processing as a barrier to the introduction of new products dependent on surface engineering and advanced coatings. Responding to this market need this project aims to shift the paradigm from "apply the material you have" to "engineer the material you need" developing significant global markets through increased confidence in surface engineering technology. High entropy alloys (HEAs) provide a transformative opportunity in this direction enabling high-performance manufactured goods that are competitive in the international marketplace through extraordinary material properties and unique property combinations. The new High Entropy Superalloys will be engineered around the Al-Co-Cr-Cu-Fe-Ni alloy system promoting both the face-centred cubic phase and the wear resistant nano-oxides phase. To achieve rapid material development, the consortium will devise a hybrid R&D approach combining high throughput experimentation and a neural network software that would allow a computer to sift through more than a million possibilities in search of promising mixtures tailored to the operating environment characteristics. The new approach aims to "discover, manufacture, and deploy advanced materials twice as fast, at a fraction of the cost. The new technology will be first demonstrated to the steel sector that is under ever increasing pressure. Steel mills in the UK will benefit from the project outcomes helping them to maintain and increase their workforce. A successful project outcome will result in jobs created and retained in the supply chain. The project will have a major environmental impact through the substitution of carcinogenic hexavalent chrome and the reduction of cobalt based materials excessively used in hard facing applications worldwide.