Digging into High Entropy Alloys: Experts Working Together
Event Recap
High Entropy Alloys (or HEAs) are a type of multi-principal element alloy (MPEA) that have the potential to revolutionize a number of manufacturing sectors with applications in light-weighting, high-temperature environments (e.g. turbines), catalysts, coatings, magnetics, rare-earth replacement, and a range of other areas that require extraordinary material properties, unique combinations of properties, or seek to reduce the use of costly materials. MForesight convened a workshop on December 7 in Washington, DC to address the challenges of scaling up manufacturing for all types of MPEAs, including the subset of HEAs.
MForesight’s workshop brought together 45 experts from industry, government, federal labs, and academia to brainstorm challenges, talk about what opportunities the U.S. could grasp if they were addressed, and generate many recommendations for overcoming the key barriers.
Following introductions, Dan Miracle, Senior Scientist at the Air Force Research Laboratory, began the day by delivering a keynote address in which he talked about:
- the wide range of applications for HEAs and MPEAs, and the unique value they provide
- the fundamentally different approach to metallurgy that MPEAs entails, and the associated challenges that come with this, and
- the barriers in producing HEAs and MPEAs at scale.
Attendees then moved into breakout groups to discuss the challenges involved in:
- Alloy discovery & development
- Melting, casting & forming
- Additive, powder, and emerging manufacturing
- High-temperature
- Light-weighting
- Functional and emerging areas
The workshop outcomes and a set of actionable recommendations will be summarized in a report and delivered to key stakeholders. The HEA Workshop Steering Committee, consisting of the following members, will guide the writing of the report:
- Dr. Dan Miracle (Keynote), Air Force Research Laboratory
- Dr. Easo George, University of Tennessee — Knoxville and Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Dr. Carl Koch, North Carolina State University
- Dr. Peter Liaw, University of Tennessee — Knoxville
- Dr. Vivek Sample, Arconic
- Dr. Cem Tasan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
You can read a summary of the report here and download the full report here.
Thank you to all the attendees who took the time to share their insights and ideas for how we can push forward the ability to manufacture high entropy alloys in the United States.
