https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-025-02115-8
Regular Article
High gauge factor in cold-rolled HfTa and HfTaTi refractory alloys for strain sensing
1
Vatolin Institute of Metallurgy of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Amundsen St. 101, 620016, Ekaterinburg, Russia
2
L.F. Vereshchagin Institute of High Pressure Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Kaluga Highway 14, 142190, Troitsk, Moscow, Russia
a
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Received:
21
October
2025
Accepted:
15
December
2025
Published online:
8
January
2026
High-entropy alloys (HEAs), especially refractory systems from subgroup IV-V transition metals, are emerging as promising strain-sensitive materials by combining high electrical resistivity, low temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR), and robust electromechanical stability suitable for extreme environments. Here, cold-rolled ribbons of binary HfTa and ternary HfTaTi are investigated to decouple configurational entropy from intrinsic materials effects, benchmarking against quinary and pentary HEAs that previously exhibited superior gauge sensitivity. X-ray diffraction and texture analysis confirm stable BCC phases and pronounced texture evolution during cold rolling that directly enhances piezoresistive performance. The ribbons deliver high gauge factors of 5.62±0.07 (HfTa) and 4.52±0.23 (HfTaTi), surpassing constantan and setting the highest GF within the explored subgroup IV–V refractory alloys for HfTa. These alloys pair high resistivity with modest TCR and pressure coefficients comparable to manganin, while remaining paramagnetic at ambient conditions. HfTa further shows near-zero thermoelectric EMF relative to copper, enabling straightforward bridge measurements without additional temperature compensation. The results point to manufacturable, industrially viable pathways for next-generation strain sensitive materials.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2026
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
