Properties of

Engineering Materials
Diffusion

Dr. Eng. Yazan Al-Zain

Department of Industrial Engineering
University of Jordan
Introduction
 Diffusion: the phenomenon of
material transport by atomic
motion; it is the transfer of mass
either within a specific solid or
from a liquid, a gas, or another
solid phase.

 Let’s consider the diffusion

couple shown in Fig. 5.1. This
represents the metals before
heating.
Figure 5.1 (a) A copper–nickel diffusion couple
before a high-temperature heat treatment. (b)
Schematic representations of Cu (red circles) and
Ni (blue circles) atom locations within the diffusion
couple. (c) Concentrations of copper and nickel as
a function of position across the couple.
 Introduction
 Diffusion: the phenomenon of
material transport by atomic
motion; it is the transfer of mass
either within a specific solid or
from a liquid, a gas, or another
solid phase.

 Now consider the same couple

shown in Fig. 5.2 after heating to
a temperature below the melting
point of the two metals for an
extended period of time. Figure 5.2 (a) A copper–nickel diffusion couple after a
high-temperature heat treatment, showing the alloyed
diffusion zone. (b) Schematic representations of Cu
Cu atoms have migrated or diffused (red circles) and Ni (blue circles) atom locations within
into the Ni, and that Ni has diffused the couple. (c) Concentrations of copper and nickel as
into Cu (Interdiffusion). a function of position across the couple.
Diffusion Mechanisms
 From an atomic perspective, diffusion is just the stepwise migration
of atoms from lattice site to lattice site.

 In fact, the atoms in solid materials are in constant motion, rapidly

changing positions.

 For an atom to make such a move, two conditions must be met:

 (1) there must be an empty adjacent site, and

 (2) the atom must have sufficient energy to break bonds with its
neighbor atoms and then cause some lattice distortion during the
displacement.
 Diffusion Mechanisms
 Two models for atomic motion:

 Vacancy Diffusion: the interchange of an atom from a normal lattice

position to an adjacent vacant lattice site or vacancy.

 The higher the temperature the more the vacant sites and the higher the
ability of an atom to diffuse (as it possesses higher energy).

The vacancy moves in a direction

opposite to that of the atom’s.

Both self-diffusion (within one metal)

and interdiffusion occur by this
mechanism.
 Diffusion Mechanisms
 Two models for atomic motion:

 Interstitial Diffusion: interdiffusion of impurities such as H, C, N, and

O, which have atoms that are small enough to fit into the interstitial
positions.

 Involves atoms that migrate from an interstitial position to a neighboring

one that is empty.

Interstitial diffusion occurs much more

rapidly than diffusion by the vacancy
mode.

Interstitial atoms are small and more

mobile, and there are more empty
interstitial positions than vacancies.
Processing Using Diffusion
Adapted from
• Case Hardening: chapter-opening
photograph,
-- Diffuse carbon atoms Chapter 5,
Callister &
into the host iron atoms Rethwisch 8e.
(Courtesy of
at the surface. Surface Division,
Midland-Ross.)
-- Example of interstitial
diffusion is a case
hardened gear.

• Result: The presence of C

atoms makes iron (steel) harder.

7
Steady – State Diffusion
 Diffusion flux (J in kg/m2.s or atoms/m2.s): a term used to describe
how fast diffusion occurs. It is defined as the mass M diffusing
through and perpendicular to a unit cross-sectional area of solid per
unit of time.

M A denotes the area across which diffusion is

J occurring and t is the elapsed diffusion time.
At

1 dM
J In differential form
A dt
Steady – State Diffusion
 Steady-state diffusion: one in which diffusion flux does not
change with time.

 Example is the diffusion of atoms of a gas through a plate of metal for

which the concentrations (or pressures) of the diffusing species on
both surfaces of the plate are held constant.
Steady – State Diffusion

Figure 5.4 (a) Steady-state diffusion across a thin plate. (b) A

linear concentration profile for the diffusion situation in (a).
 Steady – State Diffusion

Concentration gradient: the slope

at a particular point on this curve.

dC
concentration gradient 
dx

If concentration C C A  C B
concentration gradient  
profile is linear x x A  xB

dC
The flux is proportional to J  D D: diffusion coefficient (m2/s).
the concentration gradient dx
Fick’s first law
Steady – State Diffusion
 One practical example of steady-state diffusion is found in the
purification of hydrogen gas.

 One side of a thin sheet of palladium metal is exposed to the impure

gas composed of hydrogen and other gaseous species such as nitrogen,
oxygen, and water vapor.

 The hydrogen selectively diffuses through the sheet to the opposite side,
which is maintained at a constant and lower hydrogen pressure.
Steady – State Diffusion
 Example 5.1: Diffusion Flux Computation
 Nonsteady – State Diffusion
 Most practical diffusion
situations are
nonsteady-state ones.

 That is, the diffusion

flux and the
concentration gradient
at some particular point
in a solid vary with time

C  C
 (D ) Fick’s second law
t x x Figure 5.5 Concentration profiles for
nonsteady-state diffusion taken at three
different times.
If D is independent C  2C
D 2
of composition t x
 Nonsteady – State Diffusion
• Copper diffuses into a bar of aluminum.
Surface conc.,
Cs of Cu atoms bar
pre-existing conc., Co of copper atoms

Cs

Boundary conditions
(B.C.) must be specified

B.C. at t = 0, C = Co for 0  x  
at t > 0, C = CS for x = 0 (constant surface conc.)
C = Co for x = 
Nonsteady – State Diffusion
 Applying B.C. to Fick’s second law yields the following:

C( x ,t )  C0 x CS
 1  erf ( )
Cs  C0 2 Dt

C(x,t)

Error function Co
Nonsteady – State Diffusion
 Example 5.2:
Nonsteady – State Diffusion
 Example 5.3:
Factors That Influence Diffusion
Diffusing Species

 The higher the diffusion coefficient (D) the higher the rate at which
the atoms diffuse.

 The diffusing species as well as the host material influence the

diffusion coefficient.

 For example, there is a significant difference in magnitude between

self-diffusion and carbon interdiffusion in  iron at 500°C, the D
value being greater for the carbon interdiffusion.

 Self-diffusion occurs by a vacancy mechanism, whereas carbon

diffusion in iron is interstitial.
Factors That Influence Diffusion
Diffusing Species

Table 5.2 A Tabulation of Diffusion Data

 Factors That Influence Diffusion
Temperature

 Temperature has a most profound influence on the coefficients

and diffusion rates.

 For example, for the self-diffusion of Fe in -Fe, the diffusion

coefficient increases approximately six orders of magnitude on rising
temperature from 500°C to 900°C.

 The temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficient is:

Qd
D  D0 exp(  ) D0 = a temperature-independent preexponential (m2/s)
RT Qd = the activation energy for diffusion (J/mol or eV/atom)
R = the gas constant, 8.31 J/mol.K or 8.62×10-5 eV/atom.K
T = absolute temperature (K)
Factors That Influence Diffusion
Temperature

 Example 5.4: