Diffusion

WHY Study Diffusion

• Materials of all types are often heat-treated to improve, their
properties.
• The phenomena that occur during a heat treatment almost always
involve atomic diffusion.
• In the processing/structure/properties/performance scheme,
reasons for studying diffusion are as follows:
– Diffusional processes (conducted at elevated temperatures) are
often utilized to introduce impurity atoms into silicon
semiconductors. Thus, a knowledge of the time and
temperature dependences of appropriate diffusion parameters
is necessary.
– Likewise, the heat treatment of steels (and the development of
their mechanical properties) involves diffusion.
 Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter you should be able to do the following:
1.Name and describe the two atomic mechanisms of diffusion.
2.Distinguish between steady-state and nonsteady-state diffusion.
3.(a) Write Fick’s first and second laws in equation form and
define all parameters.
(b) Note the kind of diffusion for which each of these equations is
normally applied.
4.Write the solution to Fick’s second law for diffusion into a semi-
infinite solid when the concentration of diffusing species at the
surface is held constant. Define all parameters in this equation.
5.Calculate the diffusion coefficient for some material at a
specified temperature, given the appropriate diffusion constants.
 Introduction

• Many reactions and processes that are

important in the treatment of materials rely
on the transfer of mass either within a
specific solid (ordinarily on a microscopic
level) or from a liquid, a gas, or another
solid phase. This is necessarily
accomplished by diffusion, the
phenomenon of material transport by
atomic motion
 DIFFUSION: THE PHENOMENA (1)
• Interdiffusion or impurity diffusion: In an alloy, atoms tend to
migrate from regions of large concentration. Cu atoms have migrated or diffused into
the Ni, and that the Ni has diffused into Cu

Initially After some time

Adapted from
Figs. 5.1 and
5.2, Callister
6e.

Cu Ni
100% 100%

0 0
Concentration Profiles Concentration Profiles
 DIFFUSION: THE PHENOMENA (2)
• Self-diffusion: In an elemental solid, atoms
also migrate. This occurs for pure metals, but all atoms
exchanging positions are of the same type.

Label some atoms After some time

C
C
A D
A
D
B
B

4
 DIFFUSION: THE PHENOMENA (3)
Substitutional Diffusion:
• applies to substitutional impurities
• atoms exchange with vacancies
• rate depends on:
--number of vacancies
--activation energy to exchange.

increasing elapsed time

5
 Definition
• Diffusion means atoms moving and changing places.
This happens in solids and liquids, exactly in the
same way that an unpleasant smell moves from one
part of a room to another even without wind, then
dissipates after some time.

• Atoms move in a predictable fashion to eliminate

concentration differences and produce
homogeneous, uniform composition

• These movements are required for many treatments

that we perform on materials
 Definition
 Diffusion is relative flow of one material into another
 Mass flow process by which species change their position relative to their
neighbours.
 Diffusion of a species occurs from a region of high concentration to low
concentration (usually). More accurately, diffusion occurs down the chemical
potential (µ) gradient.
 Mass flow process by which species change their position relative to their
neighbours.
 Diffusion is driven by thermal energy and a ‘gradient’ (usually in chemical
potential). Gradients in other physical quantities can also lead to diffusion.
 Usually, concentration gradients imply chemical potential gradients; but there are
exceptions to this rule. Hence, sometimes diffusion occurs ‘uphill’ in concentration
gradients, but downhill in chemical potential gradients.
 Thermal energy leads to thermal vibrations of atoms, leading to atomic jumps.
 In the absence of a gradient, atoms will still randomly ‘jump about’, without any net
flow of matter.
 General Notes
• Diffusion is a flux of matter in which the atoms or molecules of
a certain type move differently (rate, amount etc) with respect
to the atoms/molecules of other type.
 Please note the difference from gas or liquid flow, in this case
ALL components move in the same way.
 The definition: “Diffusion is the movement of molecules from a
high concentration to a low concentration” is wrong because
there are cases when diffusion process does just opposite.
 Flux of matter can be caused not only by the difference in
concentration of the atom that diffuses, but also the difference
in concentration of other atoms and or gradient of physical
parameters ( temperature, pressure, electric or magnetic field).
 Gradient (Driving Force)

• Chemical Potential
• Electric
• Magnetic
• Stress
 Important Terms
 Concentration gradient. Concentration can be designated in many ways (e.g.
moles per unit volume). Concentration gradient is the difference in concentration
between two points (usually close by).
 We can use a restricted definition of flux (J) as flow per unit area per unit time:
→ mass flow / area / time  [Atoms / m2 / s].
 Steady state. The properties at a single point in the system does not change with
time. These properties in the case of fluid flow are pressure, temperature,
velocity and mass flow rate.
 In the context of diffusion, steady state usually implies that, concentration of a
given species at a given point in space, does not change with time.
 In diffusion problems, we would typically like to address one of the following
problems.
(i) What is the composition profile after a contain time (i.e. determine c(x,t))?
 Roles of Diffusion

Oxidation Creep
Metals Many mechanisms
Sintering Aging
Precipitates

Doping Carburizing
Semiconductors Steels

Many more… Material Joining Diffusion bonding

 Stability of atoms
• Imperfections could be introduced into the lattice of a crystal.
These imperfections are not stable or at rest.
• Atoms posses some thermal energy and they will move. They
may move from a normal lattice point to occupy nearby
vacancy, or move from one interstitial site to another.
• The ability of atoms and imperfections to diffuse increases as
the temperature increases or thermal energy increases. The
rate of movement is related to temperature or thermal energy
by the Arrhenius equation

• Where
– K = rate constant
– A = pre-exponential factor
– EA= activation energy
– R = universal gas constant (8.314 J/molK)
– T = temperature (K)
Mechanism of diffusion in solids

Diffusion of an individual
atom is random and
probabilistic. Thus, the
interstitial black atom has
an equal probability of
moving up, down, left or
right.
 Mechanism of diffusion in solids

If we have a concentration
gradient, overall atomic
movement is not random,
even though individual
atom movement is.

In this example, since some of the black atoms will move to

the right on average, the concentration of black atoms will increase
on the right and decrease on the left. This is similar
to the dissipation of the concentrated unpleasant odor in the room.
 Mechanisms of diffusion in solids

At equilibrium, there will

be a random distribution of
black atoms, and no
concentration gradient.

A common heat treatment for cast metal alloys is

homogenization, or heating for a long time at high temperature
to allow the chemical segregation to even out in this way.
 Diffusion mechanism
• There are four important mechanism by
which atoms diffuse:
– Self diffusion
– Vacancy diffusion
– Interstitial diffusion
– Interchange diffusion
 Mechanisms of Diffusion
• Diffusion is the stepwise migration of atoms from lattice site to lattice
site.
• 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.
• Every atom in a solid material is vibrating rapidly about its lattice
position within the crystal.
Self-diffusion: there is no gradient of chemical potential:
a) Interstitial b) Vacancy c) Kick-out
 Self diffusion
• Even in absolutely pure solid materials, atoms move from one
lattice position to another.
• This process, known as self diffusion, can be detected by using
radioactive tracers.
• Although self diffusion occurs continually in all materials, the effect
on the material’s behaviour is insignificant
 Vacancy diffusion
• In self diffusion, an atom leaves its vacant lattice to be filled by
another nearby atoms.
• As diffusion continues, a counter-current flow of atoms and
vacancies occurred, called vacancy diffusion

Position of
substitutional atom
after diffusion
 Interstitial diffusion
• When a small interstitial atom is present in the crystal structure, the
atom will move from one interstitial site to another.
• No vacancies is required for this mechanism, partly because there
are many more interstitial sites than vacancies
• Interstitial diffusion is expected to be rapid
 Important
• During self-diffusion there is no change of chemical potential.
• Realization of each of the mechanisms depends on
– Type of intrinsic defects that prevails in the solid
– Activation energy for each of the mechanisms, if more than one may be
realized.
– Presence of other defects (vacancies).
• Realization of vacancy or kick-out diffusion is possible only at the temperatures
with sufficient concentration of vacancies. Therefore, prevailing mechanism may
change with temperature.
• In general, EVERY component in solid undergoes self-diffusion, however, if a
solid contains more than one component, the ratio between self-diffusion
coefficient depends on the type of bonding:
– Solids with covalent bonding typically have very low self-diffusion
coefficients.
– Solids with ionic bonding may have very different self-diffusion coefficients for
anion and cation.
– Metals and metal alloys usually show fast self-diffusion.
Diffusion of impurities.
a) Interstitial b) Vacancy b) Kick-out

Important.
The diffusion mechanism of an impurity depends on many factors:
•type of the solution: interstitial or substitutional;
•size of the diffusant and size of the host sites;
•temperature;
•presence of other impurities;
•electronic structure of the host: metal, dielectric or
semiconductor.
 Interchange diffusion
• Diffusion of dissimilar atoms in material
• Also called substitutional diffusion
• Example: diffusion of atoms into nickel. Eventually, the
copper atom are randomly distributed throughout the
nickel
Other Diffusion Mechanisms

Direct exchange

Zener ring
 Steady and non-steady state diffusion
 Diffusion can occur under steady state or non-steady state
(transient) conditions.
 Under steady state conditions, the flux is not a function of the
position within the material or time. Under non-steady state
conditions this is not true.
 This implies that under steady state the concentration profile does not
change with time.
 In each of these circumstances, diffusivity (D) may or may not be a
function of concentration (c). The term concentration can also be
replaced with composition.
 MODELING DIFFUSION: FLUX
• Diffusion Flux: J = M/At or
1 dM  kg  atoms 
J   or  2 
A dt 2
m s   m s 
• Directional Quantity x-direction
y J
y

Jx Unit area A
Jz x through
z which
• Flux can be measured for: atoms
--vacancies move.
--host (A) atoms Note: If J does not change with
time, steady state condition exists.
--impurity (B) atoms Most practical diffusion situations
are nonstedy-state.
 CONCENTRATION PROFILES & FLUX
When C is plotted vs position (distance) within the solid x, the resulting
curve is termed concentration profile and the slope at a particular
point on this curve is the concentration gradient

• Concentration Profile, C(x): [kg/m3]

Cu flux Ni flux

Concentration Concentration Adapted

of Cu [kg/m 3 ] of Ni [kg/m 3 ] from Fig.
5.2(c),
Callister 6e.
Position, x
• Fick's First Law: 2 /s]
flux in x-dir. Diffusion coefficient [m
[kg/m 2 -s] dC
Jx  D concentration
dx gradient [kg/m 4 ]

• The steeper the concentration profile,

the greater the flux!
 Fick’s First Law (an equation)
 Assume that only species ‘S’ is moving across an area ‘A’. Concentration gradient
for species ‘S’ exists across the plane.
 The concentration gradient (dc/dx) drives the flux (J) of atoms.
 Flux (J) is assumed to be proportional to concentration gradient.
 The constant of proportionality is the Diffusivity or Diffusion Coefficient (D).
 ‘D’ is assumed to be independent of the concentration gradient.
 Diffusivity is a material property. It is a function of the composition of the
material and the temperature.
 In crystals with cubic symmetry the diffusivity is isotropic (i.e. does not depend
on direction).
 Even if steady state conditions do not exist (concentration at a point is changing
with time, there is accumulation/depletion of matter), Fick’s I-equation is still valid
(but not easy to use).
The negative sign implies that
diffusion occurs down the
A material property Flow direction
concentration gradient

dc dc 1 dn dc dn dc
J J  D J  D   DA
dx dx A dt dx dt dx Area
Fick’s first law (equation)
Let us emphasize the terms in the equation
Diffusion coefficient/Diffusivity

No. of atoms dn dc Cross-sectional area

crossing area A   DA Concentration gradient
per unit time
dt dx
ve sign implies matter transport is down the concentration gradient
Flow direction
A
 As a first approximation assume D  f(t)

Let us look at the units of Diffusivity

 dc   number   number 1 
 J  D     [ D ]  
 dx   m2 s   m
3
m

 m2 
 s   [ D]
 
Note the strange unit of D: [m2/s]
 STEADY STATE DIFFUSION
• Steady State: the concentration profile doesn't
change with time.
Steady State:
J x(left) J x(right) J x(left) = J x(right)
x
Concentration, C, in the box doesn’t change w/time.
dC
• Apply Fick's First Law: J x  D
dx
dC  dC 
• If Jx)left = Jx)right , then     
dx left dx right

• Result: the slope, dC/dx, must be constant

(i.e., slope doesn't vary with position)!
 EX: STEADY STATE DIFFUSION
• Steel plate at 3
kg/ m
700C with = 1. 2 3
C1 g/m
geometry 0. 8k
=
shown: Carbon C2 Steady State =
rich straight line! Adapted from
gas Carbon
Fig. 5.4,
Callister 6e.
deficient
gas
D=3x10 -11 m 2 /s
0 x1 x2

10
• Q: How much 5m

m
m

m
carbon transfers
from the rich to C2  C 1 kg
J  D  2 .4  10 9
the deficient side? x2  x 1 m 2s

13
 What affects diffusion rates?
• Diffusion is a thermally-activated process. This means
that it is accelerated by temperature. Using a higher
temperature will result in more diffusion in a given time if
there is a composition gradient present (could accomplish
the same effect by prolonging the time to diffuse at a
lower temperature)
• Time: straightforward result of Fick’s First Law:

J is mass/(time x area) or atoms/(time x area). Total mass

diffusing across a plane of area A is just J x t, if J is
constant. Otherwise M = Jdt
 What affects diffusion rates?

• Temperature: Comes in mainly through the diffusivity, D:

ALE: Take the natural log of both sides of Eqn 6.8,

and construct a plot that would be useful for looking at D(T)
 NON STEADY STATE DIFFUSION
dx
• Concentration profile,
C(x), changes J (left) J (right)
w/ time.
Concentration,
C, in the box
• To conserve matter: • Fick's First Law:
J (right)  J (left)  d C dC
 J  D or
dx dt dx
dJ  dC dJ  d2 C (if D does
 D not vary
dx dt dx dx 2 with x)

equate
• Governing Eqn.:
dC d 2C
=D 2
dt dx 14
 Fick’s Second Law
 The equation as below is often refered to as the Fick’s II law (though
clearly this is an equation and not a law).
 This equation is derived using Fick’s I-equation and mass balance.
 The equation is a second order PDE requiring one initial condition and two
boundary conditions to solve.
 c    c 
   D  Derivation of this equation will taken up next.
 t  x  x 
If ‘D’ is not a function of the position, then it can be ‘pulled out’.

 c   2c
 D 2
 t  x
Solution to the Fick’s second law (based on application of boundary conditions)
C(x, t )  C o   x 
1  erf  
2 Dt 
Cs  Co
erf: Gaussian error function
 Nonsteady-State Diffusion
• Most practical diffusion situations are nonsteady-state. That is, the concentration
gradient = f(time), i.e. dC/dx changes.
• To understand these problems, we need to solve a differential equation called Fick’s
Second Law
• It is clear that the concentration gradient can vary with time through the term dC/dt.

Gas

Gear surface Gear interior

 Non-steady State Diffusion
C  x , t   Co  x 
 1  erf  
Cs  Co  2 Dt 

C(x,t) = Conc. at point x at CS

time t
erf (z) = error function
2 z C(x,t)

y 2
 e dy
 0
Co
erf(z) values are given in
Table 5.1
Adapted from Fig. 5.5,
Callister & Rethwisch 8e.
ERF Table

x 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
0.0 0.00000 0.01128 0.02256 0.03384 0.04511 0.05637 0.06762 0.07886 0.09008 0.10128
0.1 0.11246 0.12362 0.13476 0.14587 0.15695 0.16800 0.17901 0.18999 0.20094 0.21184
0.2 0.22270 0.23352 0.24430 0.25502 0.26570 0.27633 0.28690 0.29742 0.30788 0.31828
0.3 0.32863 0.33891 0.34913 0.35928 0.36936 0.37938 0.38933 0.39921 0.40901 0.41874
0.4 0.42839 0.43797 0.44747 0.45689 0.46623 0.47548 0.48466 0.49375 0.50275 0.51167
0.5 0.52050 0.52924 0.53790 0.54646 0.55494 0.56332 0.57162 0.57982 0.58792 0.59594
0.6 0.60386 0.61168 0.61941 0.62705 0.63459 0.64203 0.64938 0.65663 0.66378 0.67084
0.7 0.67780 0.68467 0.69143 0.69810 0.70468 0.71116 0.71754 0.72382 0.73001 0.73610
0.8 0.74210 0.74800 0.75381 0.75952 0.76514 0.77067 0.77610 0.78144 0.78669 0.79184
0.9 0.79691 0.80188 0.80677 0.81156 0.81627 0.82089 0.82542 0.82987 0.83423 0.83851
1.0 0.84270 0.84681 0.85084 0.85478 0.85865 0.86244 0.86614 0.86977 0.87333 0.87680
1.1 0.88021 0.88353 0.88679 0.88997 0.89308 0.89612 0.89910 0.90200 0.90484 0.90761
1.2 0.91031 0.91296 0.91553 0.91805 0.92051 0.92290 0.92524 0.92751 0.92973 0.93190
1.3 0.93401 0.93606 0.93807 0.94002 0.94191 0.94376 0.94556 0.94731 0.94902 0.95067
1.4 0.95229 0.95385 0.95538 0.95686 0.95830 0.95970 0.96105 0.96237 0.96365 0.96490
1.5 0.96611 0.96728 0.96841 0.96952 0.97059 0.97162 0.97263 0.97360 0.97455 0.97546
1.6 0.97635 0.97721 0.97804 0.97884 0.97962 0.98038 0.98110 0.98181 0.98249 0.98315
1.7 0.98379 0.98441 0.98500 0.98558 0.98613 0.98667 0.98719 0.98769 0.98817 0.98864
1.8 0.98909 0.98952 0.98994 0.99035 0.99074 0.99111 0.99147 0.99182 0.99216 0.99248
1.9 0.99279 0.99309 0.99338 0.99366 0.99392 0.99418 0.99443 0.99466 0.99489 0.99511
2.0 0.99532 0.99552 0.99572 0.99591 0.99609 0.99626 0.99642 0.99658 0.99673 0.99688
2.1 0.99702 0.99715 0.99728 0.99741 0.99753 0.99764 0.99775 0.99785 0.99795 0.99805
2.2 0.99814 0.99822 0.99831 0.99839 0.99846 0.99854 0.99861 0.99867 0.99874 0.99880
2.3 0.99886 0.99891 0.99897 0.99902 0.99906 0.99911 0.99915 0.99920 0.99924 0.99928
2.4 0.99931 0.99935 0.99938 0.99941 0.99944 0.99947 0.99950 0.99952 0.99955 0.99957
2.5 0.99959 0.99961 0.99963 0.99965 0.99967 0.99969 0.99971 0.99972 0.99974 0.99975
2.6 0.99976 0.99978 0.99979 0.99980 0.99981 0.99982 0.99983 0.99984 0.99985 0.99986
2.7 0.99987 0.99987 0.99988 0.99989 0.99989 0.99990 0.99991 0.99991 0.99992 0.99992
2.8 0.99992 0.99993 0.99993 0.99994 0.99994 0.99994 0.99995 0.99995 0.99995 0.99996
2.9 0.99996 0.99996 0.99996 0.99997 0.99997 0.99997 0.99997 0.99997 0.99997 0.99998
3.0 0.99998 0.99998 0.99998 0.99998 0.99998 0.99998 0.99998 0.99999 0.99999 0.99999
3.1 0.99999 0.99999 0.99999 0.99999 0.99999 0.99999 0.99999 0.99999 0.99999 0.99999
3.2 0.99999 0.99999 0.99999 1.00000 1.00000 1.00000 1.00000 1.00000 1.00000 1.00000
43
Geometric Factor and Diffusion Coefficient
dn
J  D J  J12  J 21
dx

Lattice parameter
a2
D 
 Average stay time at interstitial site

Diffusion constant Geometric factor

11 2  : jump distance
Einstein formula D 
6
Simple cubic FCC BCC
a 
2
a 
3
a
1 2 2
 1 1
6  
12 8
 Temperature dependence of diffusivity
 Diffusion is an activated process and hence the Diffusivity depends
exponentially on temperature (as in the Arrhenius type equation
below).
 ‘Q’ is the activation energy for diffusion. ‘Q’ depends on the kind of
atomic processes (i.e. mechanism) involved in diffusion (e.g.
substitutional diffusion, interstitial diffusion, grain boundary
diffusion, etc.).
 This dependence has important consequences with regard to material
behaviour at elevated temperatures. Processes like precipitate
coarsening, oxidation, creep etc. occur at very high rates at elevated
temperatures.
Diffusion Coefficient and Thermally Activated Process
Thermally activated processes: The processes have exponentially
increasing rates versus temperature.

Vacancy formation, electrical conductivity, creep and

diffusion are thermally activated processes.

 Q 
D  D0 exp  d 
 RT 

D0: temperature independent parameter (m2/s).

Qd: activation energy for diffusion (J/mol).
R: gas constant 8.31J/molK
T: absolute temperature
 Arrhenius Plot
 Q  Q1
rate  C exp   log(rate)  log(C ) 
 RT  RT
1
Arrhenius Plot: log (rate) vs.
T
From the slope the thermal activation energy can be calculated
10-8

10-12

10-15
D (m2/s)

10-18

10-21
10-24
0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4
1000 (1/K)
T
 Diffusion and Temperature

D has exponential dependence on T

1500

1000
T(C)
600

300
10-8
C
in

D (m2/s) C in
Dinterstitial >> D substitutional
-

-F
Fe

e
C in -Fe Al in Al
Fe
Fe

10 -14
C in -Fe
in

Fe in a-Fe
in

-

Al

Fe in g-Fe
Fe
-F

i
nA
e

10-20
0.5 1.0 1.5 1000 K/T
 Diffusion and material processing

• Diffusion process become very important

when materials are used or processed at
elevated temperature
• Consider three cases in which diffusion is
important
– Grain growth
– Diffusion bonding
– Sintering
 Grain growth
• A material composed of many grains contains a
large number of grain boundaries, which represent
a high energy area because of the inefficient
packing of the atoms
• Grain growth involves the movement of the grain
boundaries, permitting some grain to grow at the
expense of other.
• Diffusion of atoms across the grain boundary is
required and consequently the growth of the
grains is related to the activation energy needed
for an atom to jump across the boundary
Grain growth
 Diffusion bonding

• Diffusion bonding is a method to joining material.

• Occurs in three step
– Two surfaces are forced together at high temperature
and pressure, flattening the surface, fragment
impurities and producing a high atom-to-atom area
– Atoms diffuse along grain boundaries to the
remaining voids. The atom condense and reduce the
size of any void in the interface
– Elimination of the voids and volume diffusion
Diffusion bonding
 Sintering
• Numbers of material are manufactured into useful
shapes by a process that requires consolidation of
small particles into a solid mass.
• Sintering is the high temperature treatment that
causes particles to join together and gradually
reduces the volume of pore spaces between them
• Sintering is a frequent step in the manufacture of
ceramic components as well as in the production
of metallic parts by powder metallurgy
• A variety of composite material are produces
using the same techniques
 Sintering Sequence
 Parts are heated to 0.7~0.9 Tm.
 Transforms compacted mechanical bonds to much
stronger metallic bonds.

Figure: Sintering on a microscopic scale: (1) particle bonding is initiated

at contact points; (2) contact points grow into "necks"; (3) the pores
between particles are reduced in size; and (4) grain boundaries develop
between particles in place of the necked regions.
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 SUMMARY:
STRUCTURE & DIFFUSION

Diffusion FASTER for... Diffusion SLOWER for...

• open crystal structures • close-packed structures

• lower melting T materials • higher melting T materials

• materials w/secondary • materials w/covalent

bonding bonding

• smaller diffusing atoms • larger diffusing atoms

• cations • anions

• lower density materials • higher density materials

Carburization and decarburization
 SUMMARY
Introduction:
– Solid-state diffusion is a means of mass transport within solid
materials by stepwise atomic motion.
– The term interdiffusion refers to the migration of impurity atoms;
for host atoms, the term self-diffusion is used.

Diffusion Mechanisms:
•Two mechanisms for diffusion are possible: vacancy and interstitial.
•Vacancy diffusion occurs via the exchange of an atom residing on a
normal lattice site with an adjacent vacancy.
•For interstitial diffusion, an atom migrates from one interstitial position
to an empty adjacent one.
•For a given host metal, interstitial atomic species generally diffuse
more rapidly.
 Steady-State Diffusion
• Diffusion flux is defined in terms of • For nonsteady-state diffusion, there
mass of diffusing species, cross-
sectional area, and time.
• Concentration profile is represented
as a plot of concentration versus
distance into the solid material.
• Concentration gradient is the slope
of the concentration profile curve at
some specific point.
• The diffusion condition for which the • For a constant surface composition
flux is independent of time is known
as steady state.
• For steady-state diffusion, diffusion
flux is proportional to the negative
of the concentration gradient
according to Fick’s first law,
• The driving force for steady-state
diffusion is the concentration
gradient (dC/dx).
Nonsteady-State Diffusion
is a net accumulation or depletion
of diffusing species and the flux is
dependent on time.
• The mathematics for nonsteady-
state in a single (x) direction (and
when the diffusion coefficient is
independent of concentration) are
described by Fick’s second law.
boundary condition, the solution to
Fick’s second law involves the
Gaussian error function (erf).
Factors That Influence Diffusion:
•The magnitude of the diffusion coefficient is indicative of the rate of
atomic motion and depends on both host and diffusing species as well
as on temperature.
•The diffusion coefficient is a function of temperature

Equation Summary:
 Q1
How long will it take to carburize a 0.20% C
steel at 900C so that the carbon content will
be 0.40% at a depth of 1 mm when the
carbon concentration at the surface is
assumed to be 1.0%? It has been known
that the value of D0 and Q is 0.21 cm2/s and
33.8 kcal, respectively.

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 Q2
A plain carbon steel, 0.85% C, has been
heated in air for 1 h at 900C and as a result
the carbon content of the outermost layer
has been reduced practically to zero. What
depth of stock must be removed from the
surface if the permissible carbon
concentration in the outer layer is 0.80%.
Take the D value from the foregoing
example.
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 Q3
A plain carbon steel, 0.85% C, has been
heated in air for 1 h at 900C and as a result
the carbon content of the outermost layer
has been reduced practically to zero. What
depth of stock must be removed from the
surface if the permissible carbon
concentration in the outer layer is 0.80%.
Take the D value from the foregoing
example.
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