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Understanding Diffusion in Solids

Chapter 5 discusses diffusion in solids, focusing on mechanisms such as vacancy and interstitial diffusion, and their significance in processing materials. It highlights how diffusion occurs through atomic motion and the factors affecting its rate, including structure and temperature. The chapter also covers practical applications like case hardening, where carbon atoms diffuse into iron to enhance hardness.

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10 views7 pages

Understanding Diffusion in Solids

Chapter 5 discusses diffusion in solids, focusing on mechanisms such as vacancy and interstitial diffusion, and their significance in processing materials. It highlights how diffusion occurs through atomic motion and the factors affecting its rate, including structure and temperature. The chapter also covers practical applications like case hardening, where carbon atoms diffuse into iron to enhance hardness.

Uploaded by

e33927fec0
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Chapter 5: Diffusion in Solids

ISSUES TO ADDRESS...
• How does diffusion occur?

• Why is it an important part of processing?

• How can the rate of diffusion be predicted for


some simple cases?

• How does diffusion depend on structure


and temperature?

Chapter 5 - 1
Diffusion
Diffusion - Mass transport by atomic motion

Mechanisms
• Gases & Liquids – random (Brownian) motion
• Solids – vacancy diffusion or interstitial diffusion

Chapter 5 - 2
Diffusion
• Interdiffusion: In an alloy, atoms tend to migrate
from regions of high conc. to regions of low conc.
Initially After some time

Adapted from
Figs. 5.1 and
5.2, Callister
7e.

Chapter 5 - 3
Diffusion Mechanisms
Vacancy Diffusion:
• atoms exchange with vacancies
• applies to substitutional impurities atoms
• rate depends on:
--number of vacancies
--activation energy to exchange.

increasing elapsed time


Chapter 5 - 4
Diffusion Mechanisms
• Interstitial diffusion – smaller atoms can
diffuse between atoms.

Adapted from Fig. 5.3 (b), Callister 7e.

More rapid than vacancy diffusion


Chapter 5 - 5
Processing Using Diffusion
• Case Hardening:
Adapted from
--Diffuse carbon atoms chapter-opening
into the host iron atoms photograph,
Chapter 5,
at the surface. Callister 7e.
(Courtesy of
--Example of interstitial Surface Division,
Midland-Ross.)
diffusion is a case
hardened gear.

• Result: The presence of C


atoms makes iron (steel)
harder.

• Diffusion coefficient increases with increasing T.


• Related process is done in a properly equipped
industrial furnace at high temperature. Chapter 5 - 6
Summary
Diffusion FASTER for... Diffusion SLOWER for...

• open crystal structures • close-packed structures

• materials w/secondary • materials w/covalent


bonding bonding

• smaller diffusing atoms • larger diffusing atoms

• lower density materials • higher density materials

Chapter 5 - 7

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