Context

The combinations of characteristics that metal alloys can offer (mechanical strength, toughness, ductility/formability, weldability, etc.) make them essential materials in all industrial sectors (transport, energy, chemical engineering, biomedical, etc.). The evolution of application technologies has led to a constant need for superior properties and sets of characteristics that are often antagonistic or difficult to improve simultaneously (e.g. mechanical strength, ductility, density, cost). This global trend has led to a progressive increase in the complexity of alloys, in terms of the number of elements they contain.

In the Bronze Age, several thousand years ago, it was known that mixing copper and tin in different proportions led to a variety of properties. Closer to home, there are still categories of alloys based on binary systems, the best known being copper-reinforced...