AlCoCuFeNi high–entropy alloy nanoparticle melting and solidification: a classical molecular dynamics simulation study

Abstract

The processes of melting and solidification of AlCoCuFeNi nanoparticle of about 10 nm is studied by molecular dynamics simulation at three different cooling rates (1∙10¹¹ K/s, 1∙10¹² K/s, and 1∙10¹³ K/s) using the embedded atom model (EAM) potential. The melting and crystallization of the nanoparticle are characterized by studying the temperature dependence of the potential energy. The adaptive common neighbor analysis (CNA) is performed and the radial distribution function (RDF) is calculated to determine the structure and lattice parameters of phases of the AlCoCuFeNi nanoparticle. It is shown that the final structure of the investigated nanoparticle changes from amorphous to crystalline with decreasing of the rate of cooling, and the temperature hysteresis takes place during the melting and crystallization of AlCoCuFeNi HEA nanoparticle.