Modeling refractory high-entropy alloys with efficient machine-learned interatomic potentials: defects and segregation

We develop a fast and accurate machine-learned interatomic potential for the Mo-Nb-Ta-V-W quinary system and use it to study segregation and radiation damage in the body-centred cubic refractory high-entropy alloy MoNbTaVW. In the bulk alloy, we observe clear ordering of mainly Mo--Ta and V--W binaries at low temperatures. In damaged crystals, our simulations reveal clear segregation of vanadium, the smallest atom in the alloy, to compressed interstitial-rich regions like radiation-induced dislocation loops. Vanadium also dominates the population of single self-interstitial atoms. In contrast, due to its larger size and low surface energy, niobium segregates to spacious regions like the inner surfaces of voids. When annealing samples with supersaturated concentrations of defects, we find that in complete contrast to W, interstitial atoms in MoNbTaVW cluster to create only small ($\sim 1$ nm) experimentally invisible dislocation loops enriched by vanadium. By comparison to W, we explain this by the reduced but three-dimensional migration of interstitials, the immobility of dislocation loops, and the increased mobility of vacancies in the high-entropy alloy, which together promote defect recombination over clustering.