About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
MS&T26: Materials Science & Technology
|
| Symposium
|
Progress in High Entropy Materials: Integrating Experiments, Computation, and Machine Learning
|
| Presentation Title |
Chemical Short-Range Order in Covalent High-Entropy Ceramics and Its Impact on Radiation Tolerance |
| Author(s) |
Izabela A. Szlufarska, Shuguang Wei, Waqas M Qureshi |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Izabela A. Szlufarska |
| Abstract Scope |
High-entropy ceramics (HECs) offer vast compositional design space and promise for extreme environments, but their design is limited by challenges in predicting phase stability and linking atomic-scale disorder to macroscopic performance. Here, we integrate ab initio–informed modeling, newly developed machine learning interatomic potentials for HECs, and state-of-the-art electron microscopy to uncover the role of local chemical environments in radiation response. We introduce a predictive framework for phase stability in complex carbides and provide the first direct evidence of chemical short-range order (CSRO) in covalently bonded HECs. We show that CSRO governs defect energetics, diffusion, and damage accumulation, while also controlling radiation-induced segregation at grain boundaries. Remarkably, irradiation simultaneously increases hardness and fracture toughness, breaking the conventional trade-off. These results establish mechanistic links between local order and performance, enabling design of radiation-tolerant ceramics. |
