Stress corrosion cracking of high entropy alloys: Mechanism, microstructure and performance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62638/ZasMat1635Abstract
Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) presents a significant threat to structural components subjected to the synergistic combination of tensile stress and corrosive environments. While extensively studied in conventional alloys, the SCC behaviour of the emerging class of high-entropy alloys (HEAs) remains a frontier of research. This review synthesizes current knowledge to bridge this gap, systematically examining how the unique attributes of HEAs governed by their core effects of high entropy, severe lattice distortion, sluggish diffusion, and cocktail effect dictate their SCC response. The fundamental mechanisms of anodic dissolution and hydrogen embrittlement were analysed within the context of HEA's complex microstructures and compositional landscapes. Furthermore, the review critically assesses the influential roles of temperature and microstructural evolution on passive film stability and crack initiation. By integrating findings from key HEA systems, it is demonstrated that the core effects can be strategically leveraged to enhance SCC resistance by stabilizing protective films and impeding crack-propagation kinetics. However, this inherent complexity can also introduce vulnerabilities like micro-galvanic corrosion if improperly managed. This work concludes that a fundamental understanding of the interplay between electrochemistry, mechanics, and HEA thermodynamics is paramount for advancing the application of these materials in demanding environments like nuclear power, aerospace, and marine engineering.
Keywords:
stress corrosion cracking, high entropy alloys, core effects, passive film stability, anodic dissolution, hydrogen embrittlement.References
K. Sieradzki and R. C. Newman, ‘Stress-corrosion cracking’, Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids, vol. 48, no. 11, pp. 1101–1113, Jan. 1987, https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3697(87)90120-X
P. Varshney and N. Kumar, ‘Exploring the influence of tensile load on the nature of passive film during stress corrosion cracking in a TRIP Fe39Mn20Co20Cr15Si5Al1 (at.%) high entropy alloy’, Electrochimica Acta, vol. 497, p. 144591, Sept. 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2024.144591.
S. Ramamurthy and A. Atrens, ‘Stress corrosion cracking of high-strength steels’, Corrosion Reviews, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 1–31, Mar. 2013, https://doi.org/10.1515/corrrev-2012-0018.
S. Beckinsale, C. MALLINSON, and H. Moore, ‘The season-cracking of brass and other copper alloys’, J INST MET, vol. 25, pp. 35–126, 1921.
M. Aliofkhazraei, Developments in Corrosion Protection. BoD – Books on Demand, 2014.
C. A. Loto, ‘Stress corrosion cracking: characteristics, mechanisms and experimental study’, Int J Adv Manuf Technol, vol. 93, no. 9–12, pp. 3567–3582, Dec. 2017, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-017-0709-z.
R. H. Jones, ‘Mechanisms of Stress-Corrosion Cracking’, Jan. 2017, doi: 10.31399/asm.tb.sccmpe2.t55090001.
R. H. Jones, ‘Stress-Corrosion Cracking’, Jan. 2003, https://doi.org/10.31399/asm.hb.v13a.a0003633.
R. H. Jones, J. S. Vetrano, and C. F. Windisch, ‘Stress Corrosion Cracking of Al-Mg and Mg-Al Alloys’, Corrosion, vol. 60, no. 12, pp. 1144–1154, Dec. 2004, https://doi.org/10.5006/1.3299228.
D. Du et al., ‘SCC crack growth rate of cold worked 316L stainless steel in PWR environment’, Journal of Nuclear Materials, vol. 456, pp. 228–234, Jan. 2015, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2014.09.054.
B. Cantor, I. T. H. Chang, P. Knight, and A. J. B. Vincent, ‘Microstructural development in equiatomic multicomponent alloys’, Materials Science and Engineering: A, vol. 375–377, pp. 213–218, July 2004, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2003.10.257.
A. Gali and E. P. George, ‘Tensile properties of high- and medium-entropy alloys’, Intermetallics, vol. 39, pp. 74–78, Aug. 2013, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intermet.2013.03.018.
E. P. George, W. A. Curtin, and C. C. Tasan, ‘High entropy alloys: A focused review of mechanical properties and deformation mechanisms’, Acta Materialia, vol. 188, pp. 435–474, Apr. 2020, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2019.12.015.
P. Varshney, R. S. Mishra, and N. Kumar, ‘Stress Corrosion Cracking of TRIP Fe39Mn20Co20Cr15Si5Al1 (at.%) High Entropy Alloy’, in TMS 2021 150th Annual Meeting & Exhibition Supplemental Proceedings, The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society, Ed., in The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. , Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021, pp. 742–750. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65261-6_67.
A. Turnbull, ‘Test methods for environment assisted cracking’, British Corrosion Journal, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 271–289, Jan. 1992, https://doi.org/10.1179/bcj.1992.27.4.271.
U. Kamachi Mudali, J. Jayaraj, R. K. S. Raman, and B. Raj, ‘Corrosion: An Overview of Types, Mechanism, and Requisites of Evaluation’, in Non‐Destructive Evaluation of Corrosion and Corrosion‐assisted Cracking, 1st edn, R. Singh, B. Raj, U. Kamachi Mudali, and P. Singh, Eds, Wiley, 2019, pp. 56–74. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118987735.ch2.
P. L. Andresen and F. Peter Ford, ‘Life prediction by mechanistic modeling and system monitoring of environmental cracking of iron and nickel alloys in aqueous systems’, Materials Science and Engineering: A, vol. 103, no. 1, pp. 167–184, Aug. 1988, https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-5416(88)90564-2.
P. Pedeferri, Corrosion Science and Engineering. in Engineering Materials. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2018.
J. R. Saithala, S. McCoy, A. Houghton, J. D. Atkinson, and H. S. Ubhi, ‘Stress Corrosion Cracking of Super Duplex Stainless Steels above and below the Pitting Potential’, in CORROSION 2009, Atlanta, GA: NACE International, Mar. 2009, pp. 1–12. https://doi.org/10.5006/C2009-09300.
B. Spisák and S. Szávai, ‘Mechanisms of Stress Corrosion Cracking’, in MultiScience - XXXIII. microCAD International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conference, University of Miskolc, 2019. https://doi.org/10.26649/musci.2019.052.
R. C. Newman, ‘2001 W.R. Whitney Award Lecture: Understanding the Corrosion of Stainless Steel’, Corrosion, vol. 57, no. 12, pp. 1030–1041, Dec. 2001, https://doi.org/10.5006/1.3281676.
I. K. Marshakov, ‘Anodic Dissolution and Selective Corrosion of Alloys’, Protection of Metals, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 118–123, Mar. 2002, https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014908930959.
C. Cui, R. Ma, and E. Martínez-Pañeda, ‘Electro-chemo-mechanical phase field modeling of localized corrosion: theory and COMSOL implementation’, Engineering with Computers, vol. 39, no. 6, pp. 3877–3894, Dec. 2023, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00366-023-01833-8.
S. Lynch, ‘Hydrogen embrittlement phenomena and mechanisms’, Corrosion Reviews, vol. 30, no. 3–4, pp. 105–123, June 2012, https://doi.org/10.1515/corrrev-2012-0502.
A. Barnoush and H. Vehoff, ‘Recent developments in the study of hydrogen embrittlement: Hydrogen effect on dislocation nucleation’, Acta Materialia, vol. 58, no. 16, pp. 5274–5285, Sept. 2010, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2010.05.057.
M. L. Martin, M. Dadfarnia, A. Nagao, S. Wang, and P. Sofronis, ‘Enumeration of the hydrogen-enhanced localized plasticity mechanism for hydrogen embrittlement in structural materials’, Acta Materialia, vol. 165, pp. 734–750, Feb. 2019, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2018.12.014.
S. Lynch, ‘Hydrogen embrittlement phenomena and mechanisms’, Corrosion Reviews, vol. 30, no. 3–4, pp. 105–123, June 2012, https://doi.org/10.1515/corrrev-2012-0502.
M. Dadfarnia et al., ‘Recent Advances in the Study of Structural Materials Compatibility with Hydrogen’, Advanced Materials, vol. 22, no. 10, pp. 1128–1135, Mar. 2010, https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.200904354.
S. Lynch, ‘Mechanistic and fractographic aspects of stress corrosion cracking’, Corrosion Reviews, vol. 30, no. 3–4, pp. 63–104, June 2012, https://doi.org/10.1515/corrrev-2012-0501.
A. Barnoush and H. Vehoff, ‘Recent developments in the study of hydrogen embrittlement: Hydrogen effect on dislocation nucleation’, Acta Materialia, vol. 58, no. 16, pp. 5274–5285, Sept. 2010, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2010.05.057.
I. M. Robertson et al., ‘Hydrogen Embrittlement Understood’, Metall Mater Trans A, vol. 46, no. 6, pp. 2323–2341, June 2015, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-015-2836-1.
M. Dadfarnia, A. Nagao, S. Wang, M. L. Martin, B. P. Somerday, and P. Sofronis, ‘Recent advances on hydrogen embrittlement of structural materials’, Int J Fract, vol. 196, no. 1–2, pp. 223–243, Nov. 2015, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10704-015-0068-4.
B. Ganesh Reddy Majji, H. Vasudev, and A. Bansal, ‘A review on the oxidation and wear behavior of the thermally sprayed high-entropy alloys’, Materials Today: Proceedings, vol. 50, pp. 1447–1451, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.09.016.
Y. Zhang et al., ‘Microstructures and properties of high-entropy alloys’, Progress in Materials Science, vol. 61, pp. 1–93, Apr. 2014, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmatsci.2013.10.001.
J. ‐W. Yeh et al., ‘Nanostructured High‐Entropy Alloys with Multiple Principal Elements: Novel Alloy Design Concepts and Outcomes’, Adv Eng Mater, vol. 6, no. 5, pp. 299–303, May 2004, https://doi.org/10.1002/adem.200300567.
E. P. George, D. Raabe, and R. O. Ritchie, ‘High-entropy alloys’, Nat Rev Mater, vol. 4, no. 8, pp. 515–534, June 2019, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-019-0121-4.
Y. Qiu, S. Thomas, M. A. Gibson, H. L. Fraser, and N. Birbilis, ‘Corrosion of high entropy alloys’, npj Mater Degrad, vol. 1, no. 1, p. 15, Aug. 2017, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41529-017-0009-y.
T. Li, D. Wang, S. Zhang, and J. Wang, ‘Corrosion Behavior of High Entropy Alloys and Their Application in the Nuclear Industry—An Overview’, Metals, vol. 13, no. 2, p. 363, Feb. 2023, https://doi.org/10.3390/met13020363.
W.-L. Hsu, C.-W. Tsai, A.-C. Yeh, and J.-W. Yeh, ‘Clarifying the four core effects of high-entropy materials’, Nat Rev Chem, vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 471–485, May 2024, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-024-00602-5.
D. B. Miracle and O. N. Senkov, ‘A critical review of high entropy alloys and related concepts’, Acta Materialia, vol. 122, pp. 448–511, Jan. 2017, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2016.08.081.
E. P. George, D. Raabe, and R. O. Ritchie, ‘High-entropy alloys’, Nat Rev Mater, vol. 4, no. 8, pp. 515–534, June 2019, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-019-0121-4.
T. Li, D. Wang, S. Zhang, and J. Wang, ‘Corrosion Behavior of High Entropy Alloys and Their Application in the Nuclear Industry—An Overview’, Metals, vol. 13, no. 2, p. 363, Feb. 2023, https://doi.org/10.3390/met13020363.
V. S. Saji and J. M. Brechtl, High-Entropy Alloy Coatings: Fundamentals and Applications. CRC Press, 2025.
K. Ogle, C. Xie, F. Sun, and J. Han, ‘Self-Healing Properties of High Entropy Alloys:Insights from Element Resolved Electrochemistry’, Meet. Abstr., vol. MA2024-02, no. 15, pp. 1611–1611, Nov. 2024, https://doi.org/10.1149/MA2024-02151611mtgabs.
P. Cavaliere, ‘Hydrogen Embrittlement: The Case of High-Entropy Alloys’, in Hydrogen Embrittlement in Metals and Alloys, Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, 2025, pp. 681–728. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-83681-7_10.
M. Goune, T. Iung, and J.-H. Schmitt, New Advanced High Strength Steels: Optimizing Properties. John Wiley & Sons, 2023.
T. Mao, S. Chen, L. Tang, L. Mo, Y. Wang, and J. Yan, ‘Corrosion behavior of AlCoCrFeNi2.1 high entropy alloy in a simulated oilfield produced fluid environment compared to 2205 duplex stainless steel’, International Journal of Electrochemical Science, vol. 19, no. 1, p. 100405, Jan. 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijoes.2023.100405.
C. Zhang et al., ‘Understanding phase stability of Al-Co-Cr-Fe-Ni high entropy alloys’, Materials & Design, vol. 109, pp. 425–433, Nov. 2016, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2016.07.073.
A. Sasi, R. J. Vikram, and K. Dash, ‘Corrosion and oxidation behavior of high entropy alloys in extreme and harsh environments: A perspective on steam corrosion’, J. Appl. Phys., vol. 138, no. 2, July 2025, https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0273671.
Y. Zhang et al., ‘Microstructures and properties of high-entropy alloys’, Progress in Materials Science, vol. 61, pp. 1–93, Apr. 2014, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmatsci.2013.10.001.
Y. Shi, B. Yang, and P. Liaw, ‘Corrosion-Resistant High-Entropy Alloys: A Review’, Metals, vol. 7, no. 2, p. 43, Feb. 2017, https://doi.org/10.3390/met7020043.
C. B. Nascimento, U. Donatus, C. T. Ríos, M. C. L. D. Oliveira, and R. A. Antunes, ‘A review on Corrosion of High Entropy Alloys: Exploring the Interplay Between Corrosion Properties, Alloy Composition, Passive Film Stability and Materials Selection’, Mat. Res., vol. 25, p. e20210442, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-5373-mr-2021-0442.
T. Li, D. Wang, S. Zhang, and J. Wang, ‘Corrosion Behavior of High Entropy Alloys and Their Application in the Nuclear Industry—An Overview’, Metals, vol. 13, no. 2, p. 363, Feb. 2023, https://doi.org/10.3390/met13020363.
A. Behvar, M. Haghshenas, and M. B. Djukic, ‘Hydrogen embrittlement and hydrogen-induced crack initiation in additively manufactured metals: A critical review on mechanical and cyclic loading’, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 58, pp. 1214–1239, Mar. 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.01.232.
Y. M. Hassen, Y. Yan, L. Wang, and Z. Wang, ‘Corrosion behavior of CrFeCoNi high-entropy alloys through cerium addition’, Corrosion Science, vol. 258, p. 113411, Jan. 2026, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2025.113411.
A. Sasi, R. J. Vikram, and K. Dash, ‘Corrosion and oxidation behavior of high entropy alloys in extreme and harsh environments: A perspective on steam corrosion’, Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 138, no. 2, p. 020701, July 2025, https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0273671.
Y. Zhang et al., ‘Microstructures and properties of high-entropy alloys’, Progress in Materials Science, vol. 61, pp. 1–93, Apr. 2014, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmatsci.2013.10.001.
B. Cantor, I. T. H. Chang, P. Knight, and A. J. B. Vincent, ‘Microstructural development in equiatomic multicomponent alloys’, Materials Science and Engineering: A, vol. 375–377, pp. 213–218, July 2004, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2003.10.257.
A. Behera, ‘High Entropy Materials’, in Advanced Materials, Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022, pp. 291–320. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80359-9_9.
M. Puiggali, A. Zielinski, J. M. Olive, E. Renauld, D. Desjardins, and M. Cid, ‘Effect of microstructure on stress corrosion cracking of an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy’, Corrosion Science, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 805–819, Apr. 1998, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-938X(98)00002-X.
C. B. Nascimento, U. Donatus, C. T. Ríos, and R. A. Antunes, ‘Passive film composition and stability of CoCrFeNi and CoCrFeNiAl high entropy alloys in chloride solution’, Materials Chemistry and Physics, vol. 267, p. 124582, July 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2021.124582.
H. Luo, Z. Li, W. Lu, D. Ponge, and D. Raabe, ‘Hydrogen embrittlement of an interstitial equimolar high-entropy alloy’, Corrosion Science, vol. 136, pp. 403–408, May 2018, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2018.03.040.
Y. Wang, H. Zhao, C. Liu, Y. Ootani, N. Ozawa, and M. Kubo, ‘Mechanisms of chemical-reaction-induced tensile deformation of an Fe/Ni/Cr alloy revealed by reactive atomistic simulations’, RSC Advances, vol. 13, no. 10, pp. 6630–6636, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1039/D2RA07039A.
P. Varshney and N. Kumar, ‘Exploring the influence of tensile load on the nature of passive film during stress corrosion cracking in a TRIP Fe39Mn20Co20Cr15Si5Al1 (at.%) high entropy alloy’, Electrochimica Acta, vol. 497, p. 144591, Sept. 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2024.144591.
D. Feng et al., ‘Excellent resistance to stress corrosion cracking of electron beam remelted layer of high-entropy alloy AlCoCrFeNi2.1’, Surfaces and Interfaces, vol. 59, p. 105935, Feb. 2025, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfin.2025.105935.
J. Dong, X. Feng, X. Hao, and W. Kuang, ‘The environmental degradation behavior of FeNiMnCr high entropy alloy in high temperature hydrogenated water’, Scripta Materialia, vol. 204, p. 114127, Nov. 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2021.114127.
Z. Cai et al., ‘Effect of Annealing Temperatures on Phase Stability, Mechanical Properties, and High-Temperature Steam Corrosion Resistance of (FeNi)67Cr15Mn10Al5Ti3 Alloy’, Metals, vol. 12, no. 9, p. 1467, Sept. 2022, https://doi.org/10.3390/met12091467.
C. Tang et al., ‘High-temperature oxidation of AlCrFeNi-(Mn or Co) high-entropy alloys: Effect of atmosphere and reactive element addition’, Corrosion Science, vol. 192, p. 109809, Nov. 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2021.109809.
C. Xiang et al., ‘Effect of Cr content on microstructure and properties of Mo0.5VNbTiCrx high-entropy alloys’, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, vol. 818, p. 153352, Mar. 2020, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2019.153352.
P. Bi, N. Hashimoto, S. Hayashi, H. Oka, and S. Isobe, ‘Effect of Al on oxidation behavior of AlxCrCuFeNi2 (x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6) high entropy alloys’, Corrosion Science, vol. 208, p. 110697, Nov. 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2022.110697.
A. I. Thorhallsson, I. Csáki, L. E. Geambazu, F. Magnus, and S. N. Karlsdottir, ‘Effect of alloying ratios and Cu-addition on corrosion behaviour of CoCrFeNiMo high-entropy alloys in superheated steam containing CO2, H2S and HCl’, Corrosion Science, vol. 178, p. 109083, Jan. 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2020.109083.
X. Huang, Z. Zhan, Q. Zhao, J. Liu, L. Wei, and X. Li, ‘Corrosion behavior of a dual-phase FeNiCrCuAl high entropy alloy in supercritical water’, Corrosion Science, vol. 208, p. 110617, Nov. 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2022.110617.
S. N. Karlsdottir et al., ‘Corrosion behavior of AlCrFeNiMn high entropy alloy in a geothermal environment’, Geothermics, vol. 81, pp. 32–38, Sept. 2019, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geothermics.2019.04.006.
Z. Zhang, C. Xiang, and E.-H. Han, ‘Corrosion behavior of Mo0.5VNbTiCr0.25 high-entropy alloy in superheated steam’, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, vol. 1037, p. 182546, Aug. 2025, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2025.182546.
J. Dong, X. Feng, X. Hao, and W. Kuang, ‘The environmental degradation behavior of FeNiMnCr high entropy alloy in high temperature hydrogenated water’, Scripta Materialia, vol. 204, p. 114127, Nov. 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scriptamat.2021.114127.
T. Li, D. Wang, S. Zhang, and J. Wang, ‘Corrosion Behavior of High Entropy Alloys and Their Application in the Nuclear Industry—An Overview’, Metals, vol. 13, no. 2, p. 363, Feb. 2023, https://doi.org/10.3390/met13020363.
S. Veselkov, O. Samoilova, N. Shaburova, and E. Trofimov, ‘High-Temperature Oxidation of High-Entropic Alloys: A Review’, Materials, vol. 14, no. 10, p. 2595, May 2021, https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14102595.
O. Gumen, ‘High-Temperature Oxidation of High-Entropy FeNiCoCrAl Alloys’, presented at the Quality Production Improvement and System Safety, Oct. 2023, pp. 24–34. https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644902691-4.
