Diffusion is the process by which molecules, atoms, ions, point defects, or other particle types migrate from a region of higher concentration to one of lower concentration. This article focuses on the diffusivity data and modeling of lattice diffusion in solid-state materials, presenting their diffusion equations. It discusses different methods for evaluating the diffusivity of a material, including the measurement of diffusion coefficients, composition profiles, and layer growth widths. The article reviews the various types of direct and indirect diffusion experiments to extract tracer, intrinsic, and chemical diffusivities. It provides information on the applications of single-phase and multiphase diffusion.

This article presents various equations that are essential for the modeling of both single-phase and multiphase profiles. It includes the fundamental laws of diffusion, along with its equations and solutions. The article provides information on the series of applications that illustrate how various diffusional processes can be modeled.

The goals of modeling diffusion bonding can be regarded as twofold: to optimize the selection of the process variables for a given material and to provide an understanding of the mechanisms by which bonding is achieved. This article describes the existing models of diffusion bonding with an assumption that the surfaces to be joined are free of contaminants and oxide, that bonding occurs between similar materials, and that the materials are single-phase metals. It discusses the mechanisms considered for diffusion bonding and limitations of existing models.

This article focuses on the analyzing and modeling of stress-strain behavior of polycrystals of pure face-centered cubic (fcc) metals in the range of temperatures and strain rates where diffusion is not important. It presents a phenomenological description of stress-strain behavior and provides information on the physical background, alternative interpretations, and directions of research. The quantitative description of strain hardening of fcc polycrystals is provided. The article also discusses the modeling of stress-strain behavior in body-centered cubic metals, hexagonal metals, stage IV work hardening, and the various classes of single-phase alloys.

The measurement of thermophysical properties of metal alloys, especially at high temperatures, is difficult because of the reactivity of some alloys. This article reviews the methods available for measurement of thermal and other physical properties for liquid, semi-solid, and solid commercial alloys, including adiabatic calorimetry, modulated calorimetry, Calvet calorimetry, single-pan calorimetry, and drop calorimetry. It describes differential scanning calorimetry and differential temperature analysis for measuring transition temperatures such as phase transformation or glass transition temperatures. The article schematically illustrates the laser flash apparatus for measuring the thermal diffusivity of solids and oscillation viscometer for measurements of the viscosity of metals. A summary of the measurement methods is presented in tables.

Interdiffusion microstructures appear as a region on either side of the original interface of contact between two materials. This article outlines the principles used in analyzing various interdiffusion microstructures: binary systems, copper-base systems, nickel-base systems, and silicide-forming systems. The analysis can be helpful in classifying microstructures and in understanding how they change with alloy composition, especially when thermal history is known. The microstructures also help in identifying microstructural artifacts caused by polishing and in recognizing errors in reported heat treating schedules.

Spinodal transformation is a phase-separation reaction that occurs from kinetic behavior. This article discusses the theory of spinodal decomposition, and outlines the methods used in the characterization of spinodal structures in metal matrices.

Boronizing is a case hardening process for metals to improve the wear life and galling resistance of metal surfaces. Boronizing can be carried out using several techniques. This article discusses the powder pack cementation process for carrying out boronizing. It describes the structures of boride layers in ferrous materials and boride-layer structures in nickel-base superalloys. The primary reason for boriding metals is to increase wear resistance against abrasion and erosion. The article reviews the wear resistance and coefficient of friction of boride layers, as well as galling resistance of borided surfaces. It concludes with a discussion on boronizing plus physical vapor deposition (PVD) overlay coating.

This introductory article provides basic information on the various aspects of solid-state transformation: multiphase microstructures, substructures, and crystallography, which assist in characterizing the morphology of phase transformations. It contains a flowchart that illustrating the classification of transformations by growth processes.

Massive transformations are thermally activated phenomena and exhibit nucleation and growth characteristics primarily controlled by the interface between parent and product phases that is generally considered incoherent. This article focuses on the nucleation and growth kinetics involved in massive transformations and illustrates the resulting phases and structures in ferrous and nonferrous metals and alloys.

For most nondestructive evaluation (NDE) applications, the term thermography actually refers to surface-excited thermography (SET) that involves thermal mapping of surface temperature as heat flows from, to, or through a test object in response to excitation applied to the sample surface. This article discusses the strategies for implementing thermography for NDE, including the steady-state/whole-body approach and transient heat conduction. It describes the most common signal-processing methods, such as thermographic signal reconstruction, lock-in thermography, and pulsed-phase thermography. The article concludes with a discussion on the use of thermal methods for thermal diffusivity measurement and characterization of multilayer structures.

This article begins with a schematic illustration of a eutectic system in which the two components of the system have the same crystal structure. Eutectic systems form when alloying additions cause a lowering of the liquidus lines from both melting points of the pure elements. The article describes the aluminum-silicon eutectic system and the lead-tin eutectic system. It discusses eutectic morphologies in terms of lamellar and fibrous eutectics, regular and irregular eutectics, and the interpretation of eutectic microstructures. The article examines the solidification of a binary alloy of exactly eutectic composition. It concludes with a discussion on terminal solid solutions.

One impressive example of plane front solidification (PFS) is the industrial production of large silicon single crystals, used mainly as substrates for integrated circuits. This article explores the PFS of a single phase, without taking convection into account. It discusses the solute build-up at the solid-liquid interface forming transients and steady state, the morphological stability/instability and perturbation theory, and rapid solidification effects, including solute trapping and oscillatory instabilities. The article presents a microstructural selection map that presents an overview of interface stability as a function of composition for a given alloy.

In some phase diagrams, the appearance of several reactions is the result of the presence of intermediate phases. These are phases whose chemical compositions are intermediate between two pure metals, and whose crystalline structures are different from those of the pure metals. This article describes the order-disorder transformation that typically occurs on cooling from a disordered solid solution to an ordered phase. It provides a table that lists selected superlattice structures and alloy phases that order according to each superlattice. The article informs that spinodal decomposition has been particularly useful in the production of permanent magnet materials, because the morphologies favor high magnetic coercivities. It also describes the theory of spinodal decomposition with a simple binary phase diagram.

This article reviews the fundamental solidification concepts for understanding microstructural evolution in fusion welds. The common concepts, namely, nucleation, competitive grain growth, constitutional supercooling, solute redistribution, and rapid solidification, depend on the solidification parameters during welding, are discussed. The article discusses important solidification parameters, including temperature gradient, solid/liquid interface growth rate, and cooling rate.

Homogenization, in a broad sense, refers to the processes designed to achieve uniform distribution of solutes or phases in a given matrix. This article addresses the root cause for inhomogeneities in cast components. It is nearly a standard industrial practice to homogenize alloys before thermomechanical processing. The article lists the objectives of homogenization and benefits of homogenization treatments. The benefits include increased resistance to pitting corrosion, increased resistance to stress-corrosion cracking, improved ductility, and uniform precipitate distribution during subsequent aging. The article provides a schematic illustration of an energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscope (EDS) scattered data of solute distributions across a dendrite due to microsegregation of chromium and molybdenum. It concludes with information on the computational modeling for simulation of microsegregation of chromium and molybdenum.