Quantifying Fluctuations in the Potential Energy of Concentrated Solid Solutions

In contrast to the conventional dilute alloys, concentrated solid solutions are multicomponent with at least two types of major metallic components at or near equiatomic composition. In a concentrated solution, the potential energy (PE) landscape is used to qualify some bulk properties like cohesive energy or planar fault energy. In most research, there is no doubt that the PE landscape in concentrated solution is considered to be related to the composition. However, in this thesis, both the local organization of atoms and the local composition are shown to impact the PE landscape. Although the fluctuations in the potential energy landscape have been mentioned in several works, a framework to measure these fluctuations is needed to qualify the results. In this thesis, the local composition and the local atomic arrangement are considered during the development of the framework which allows us to optimize and design atomic-scale arrangement of atoms to enhance the properties of engineering materials such as HEAs.