DESC:FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
As amended by the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005
&
The Patents Rules, 2003
As amended by the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2016

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)
TITLE
“LIGHTWEIGHT MULTICOMPONENT ALLOY (AlCoCuFeNi) WITH EXCELLENT TRIBOLOGICAL PROPERTIES AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF”
APPLICANT
(a) Name : Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited
(b) Nationality : Indian
(c) Address : PO Kanchanbagh, Hyderabad, Telangana – 500058, India

The following specification particularly describes the application and the manner in which it is to be performed.
PRIORITY STATEMENT
The present application hereby claims priority from Indian patent application with the application number 202341024833, filed on 31 March 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to metal alloys. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to novel AlCoCuFeNi, a multicomponent alloys with improved mechanical and tribological properties.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
High-entropy alloys are novel alloys that are formed by combining multiple essential elements, resulting in a high entropy of mixing and high distortion of lattice. Due to their unique properties, such as high rigidity, high-wearing feature, and high corrosion resistance, they have become an area of great interest for materials scientists and engineers. In particular, light weight multicomponent alloys have been extensively studied for their high strength to weight ratio, making them suitable for applications in automotive, aerospace and manufacturing.
High-entropy alloys (HEAs) represent a relatively recent development in the field, emerging in the early 2000s. Traditional alloys are typically composed of one or two principal elements with minor alloying additions. In contrast, HEAs are characterized by the presence of multiple principal elements in roughly equiatomic or near-equiatomic proportions.
The concept of high-entropy alloys originated from the idea that mixing multiple elements in roughly equal proportions could result in unique and potentially beneficial properties compared to conventional alloys. This departure from the conventional alloy design paradigm opened up new avenues for material scientists to explore.
AlCoCuFeNi is a specific composition of high-entropy alloy that gained attention due to its promising mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties. The combination of aluminum (Al), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), and nickel (Ni) in equiatomic or near-equimolar ratios forms a solid solution with a high degree of configurational entropy. This high entropy leads to the stabilization of a single-phase, face-centered cubic (FCC) structure, which contributes to the alloy's remarkable mechanical strength, ductility, and thermal stability.
The background of the invention of the AlCoCuFeNi high-entropy alloy likely involves extensive research and development efforts aimed at understanding its phase stability, microstructure, and property-performance relationships. Researchers likely conducted experiments to optimize the alloy composition, processing methods, and heat treatment protocols to achieve desired properties for specific applications.
Bearings are often prone to wear damage during the starting and stopping of the machinery. The bearing wear not only alter the geometric shape but also the designed clearance of the bearing. As a result of this, the bearing performance in terms of power transfer, stiffness and the load-bearing capacity gets affected. For this, the bearings are to be made up of wear-resistant material that does not wear off prematurely. Thrust bearings grasp the axial locus of the rotor in any rotatory machine and transfer the load. The bearings are designed keeping in view to distribute the pressure with minimum deflection. In general, the material suitable for thrust bearing should shave sufficient compressive strength both at room and operating temperatures and be corrosion and wear resistance. The key features of bearing material are resistance to sticking phenomena, which lead to seizure and the ability to accommodate the presence of foreign particles in the lubricant. Moreover, during operation, there is a rise in temperature, and hence the bearing material should be able to retain its strength at elevated temperature.
Therefore, multicompany alloy AlCoCuFeNi alloy synthesized by tuning the material composition by incorporating the material with different atomic radio achieved the desired tribological performance at room and high temperature.

Limitations associated with conventional alloys, in contrast to high-entropy alloys like AlCoCuFeNi, include:

Limited Property Optimization: Conventional alloys are typically composed of one or two principal elements with minor alloying additions. This limited composition may constrain the optimization of properties such as strength, hardness, ductility, and corrosion resistance, leading to suboptimal performance in specific applications.

Composition Sensitivity: Conventional alloys often have narrow composition ranges for achieving desired properties. Minor variations in composition can significantly affect the alloy's properties, making it challenging to consistently produce alloys with uniform performance.

Phase Stability: Many conventional alloys exhibit limited phase stability, especially at elevated temperatures or under mechanical stress. Phase transformations, precipitation, or grain growth can occur, leading to degradation of mechanical properties and reduced service life.

Limited Tailoring of Properties: The properties of conventional alloys are often limited by the intrinsic characteristics of the constituent elements. This limitation restricts the ability to tailor alloys for specific applications or to achieve a broader range of desired properties simultaneously.

Processing Constraints: Conventional alloy processing techniques may have limitations in terms of achieving desired microstructures and property combinations. For instance, certain alloy compositions may be challenging to cast, forge, or machine, limiting the range of available processing routes and final product forms.

Environmental Impact: The production of conventional alloys may involve the use of raw materials with environmental or health concerns, such as toxic elements or energy-intensive processes. Additionally, the disposal of alloy scrap and waste materials can pose environmental challenges.

Limited Innovation Potential: Conventional alloys have been extensively studied and optimized over time, leading to fewer opportunities for significant breakthroughs in material performance. Incremental improvements may be achieved, but transformative advancements in alloy properties may be more challenging to attain.

Addressing these limitations often involves the development and adoption of advanced materials, such as high-entropy alloys, which offer unique opportunities for property optimization, phase stability, and application versatility. However, conventional alloys continue to be widely used and play essential roles in various industries due to their established performance, familiarity, and cost-effectiveness in many applications.

However, many single-phase multicomponent alloys formed using low-melting-point metals suffer from severe softening at high temperatures, which can lead to rapid deterioration of their mechanical properties and tribological properties.
Existing materials depict the high wear rate and extreme friction resistance and poor service life. Though metal matrix composites (MMCs) are suitable material that possesses the optimum properties to qualify for the bearing material. However, the processing of such kind of material is difficult and expensive.
With this background, the present invention discloses a multicomponent alloy with improved mechanical and tribological properties for bearing applications

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The primary objective of the invention is to develop a material with superior mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties compared to conventional alloys.
Another objective of the present invention is to create material that is versatile and suitable for a wide range of applications across different industries.
Another objective of the invention is to provide material with customizable properties that can be tailored to meet specific application requirements.
By addressing the above objective, the AlCoCuFeNi high-entropy alloy aims to offer a promising new material that can meet the evolving needs of various industries and contribute to advancements in materials science and engineering.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention discloses multicomponent AlCoCrFeNi alloy with excellent tribological and mechanical properties for bearing application.
The present invention relates to a novel high entropy alloy, designated as AlCoCurFeNi, which comprises five major metallic elements. This alloy exhibits exceptional properties owing to its unique composition, with the mole fraction of each major metallic element falling within the range of 5% to 33%. The major metallic elements encompass a broad spectrum of transition metals and other main group elements, including but not limited to chromium, copper, manganese, and nickel. The alloy is meticulously fabricated using a vacuum induction melting method, followed by multiple melting and remelting cycles to ensure thorough homogenization of each elemental composition. Notably, the coefficient of friction (COF) obtained for this alloy ranges between 0.25 to 0.4, significantly lower than that of conventional nickel-based superalloys. This groundbreaking high entropy alloy offers unparalleled mechanical and tribological properties, making it a promising candidate for a wide array of industrial applications, including aerospace, automotive, and engineering.
The invention of the AlCoCuFeNi high-entropy alloy represents a significant advancement in materials science, offering a new class of materials with potential applications across various industries, including aerospace, automotive, energy, and more. Its unique combination of properties makes it an attractive candidate for applications where traditional alloys may fall short, such as in extreme environments or demanding operating conditions making them suitable for applications in automotive, aerospace and manufacturing.
The multicompany alloy AlCoCrFeNi alloy synthesized by tuning the material composition by incorporating the material with different atomic radio achieved the desired tribological performance at room and high temperature.
,CLAIMS:CLAIMS
We claim:
1. A novel high entropy alloy, AlCoCurFeNi consisting essentially of five major metallic elements, with the mole fraction of each major metallic element in the alloy falling between 5% and 33%.

2. The novel high entropy alloy as claimed in claim 1, wherein the major metallic elements are selected from the group consisting of transition metals and other main group elements like beryllium, magnesium, aluminium, scandium, titanium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, yttrium, zirconium, niobium, molybdenum, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, silver, hafnium, tantalum, tungsten, platinum, gold, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, and terbium.

3. The novel high entropy alloy as claimed in claim 1, wherein the major metallic elements are selected from the group consisting of chromium, copper, manganese, and nickel.

4. The novel high entropy alloy as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said alloy is produced by vacuum induction melting method followed by multiple melting and remelting cycles to ensure complete homogenization of each elemental composition.

5. The novel high entropy alloy as claimed in claim 1, wherein COF obtained for said alloy lies between 0.25 to 0.4 which is well below the nickel based super alloy.