With great pleasure I am sharing with you our new review paper entitled “A snapshot of high-entropy alloy processing techniques and their effects on resulting mechanical properties” written by Mr. Christopher Matthews, a brilliant alumni student from the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Dakota School of Mines, now a Master Student in Metallurgy at the Montanuniversität Leoben!
In this paper, we reviewed and explored a wide portfolio of high-entropy alloys (HEAs), the multiple existing manufacturing and processing techniques for synthesise them, and the impact of such techniques on the final mechanical properties. We also show how these different syntheses routes can be used to explore the HEAs’ core-effects.
A must read and another great work arising from the collaboration between [X-MAT] and multiple international teams!
Christopher W. Mathews, Ishtiaque K. Robin, Spencer T. Doran, Osman El-Atwani, Matheus A. Tunes, Saryu J. Fensin, A snapshot of high-entropy alloy processing techniques and their effects on resulting mechanical properties, Journal of Materials Research and Technology 39, 5683-5704, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2025.10.187.
Abstract: High-entropy alloys (HEAs) exhibit exceptional strength, corrosion resistance, and thermal stability, making them promising candidates for nuclear, aerospace, and other extreme applications. While most prior work has focused on compositional design, manufacturing techniques themselves can alter microstructure and mechanical properties as dramatically as alloy chemistry. This review compiles and compares the effects of processing routes—including arc melting, induction melting, mechanical alloying with spark plasma sintering, and additive manufacturing—on the structure and properties of HEAs. Quantitative comparisons highlight, for example, that SPS-processed alloys can achieve ∼20–45 % higher yield and tensile strength than arc-melted counterparts, while Bridgman solidification produces nearly single-crystal structures with elongation to failure exceeding 80 %. Additive manufacturing routes such as selective laser melting offer fine microstructures but also introduce anisotropy and porosity, leading to yield strengths spanning 100–600 MPa for the same composition. By synthesizing such results, this review provides actionable insight into how processing routes interact with HEA core effects (high entropy, lattice distortion, sluggish diffusion, and cocktail effect) to determine performance, thereby offering a practical guide for optimizing manufacturing strategies.
Materials at Extremes 