Energy efficiency is motivating the search for new high-temperature (high-T) metals. Some new body-centered-cubic (BCC) random multicomponent “high-entropy alloys (HEAs)” based on refractory elements (Cr-Mo-Nb-Ta-V-W-Hf-Ti-Zr) possess exceptional strengths at high temperatures but the physical origins of this outstanding behavior are not known. Here we show, using integrated in-situ neutron-diffraction (ND), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and recent theory, that the high strength and strength retention of a NbTaTiV alloy and a high-strength/low-density CrMoNbV alloy are attributable to edge dislocations. This finding is surprising because plastic flows in BCC elemental metals and dilute alloys are generally controlled by screw dislocations. We use the insight and theory to perform a computationally-guided search over 10⁷ BCC HEAs and identify over 10⁶ possible ultra-strong high-T alloy compositions for future exploration.

能源效率正在推动寻找新的高温 (high-T) 金属。一些基于难熔元素 (Cr-Mo-Nb-Ta-VW-Hf-Ti-Zr) 的新型体心立方 (BCC) 随机多组分“高熵合金 (HEAs)”在高温下具有卓越的强度，但这种杰出行为的物理起源尚不清楚。在这里，我们使用集成的原位中子衍射 (ND)、高分辨率透射电子显微镜 (HRTEM) 和最新理论表明，NbTaTiV 合金的高强度和强度保持率以及高强度/低密度CrMoNbV 合金可归因于刃位错。这一发现令人惊讶，因为 BCC 元素金属和稀合金中的塑性流动通常受螺旋位错控制。我们使用洞察力和理论来执行计算引导搜索超过 10⁷ BCC HEA 并确定超过 10 ^{6 种}可能的超强高 T 合金成分以供未来探索。