Technical Papers and Discussions - Copper and Copper-rich Alloys - Zinc Diffusion in Alpha Brass L. (Metals Tech., Oct. 1946, T. P. 2071.) With discussion

This is the third paper in a series on the diffusion of zinc in alpha brass.' At the time of the first paper it was accepted that diffusion in a substitutional type of solid solution depended upon an equal interchange of solute and solvent atoms across the diffusion interface (or past a given lattice reference point). Discrepancies in the size of the areas under the diffusion curves on each side of the interface, if observed, were explained on some other basis than the fact that the solute atoms might cross the diffusion interface without an equal number of solvent atoms diffusing across the interface in the opposite direction. The second paper presented evidence indicating that zinc atoms in alpha brass diffuse across the interface more rapidly in one direction than the copper atoms diffuse across the interface in the opposite direction. This phenomenon forced the interface to move in the opposite direction of the diffusion of zinc atoms to provide space for the additional zinc atoms dissolved in the alpha brass. That the interface and columnar grain structure on one side would remain intact during this mass movement was not expected; how ever, it is gratifying that they did. While the evidence was sufficiently satisfying to the author, it was decided that additional experiments were in order to prove that zinc diffuses more rapidly than copper in alpha brass. It is the purpose of this paper to present the results of these experiments. Procedure A bar of 70-30 wrought brass was selected, to avoid the relatively large volume change in going from beta to alpha brass as in the previous investigation. A bar 7 in. (18-cm.)* long and about 3/4 in. (1.9 cm.) wide was surface ground and polished with abrasive paper on plate glass to 0.4184 0.0002 in. (1.062j + 0.0005 cm.) thick. Six0.00j-in. (0.013-cm.) diameter molybdenum wires, chosen because of their very low solubility in coppcr and alpha brass, were strctched lengthwise along each of the two plane surfaces. Glass tubes placed at right angles to the wires every 1/2 in. held the wires tightly against the brass. The sample was then emersed in an acid copper sulphate plating bath and electroplated to a depth of about 0.020 in. (0.050 cm.) copper on all sides. The glass tubes were no longer necessary to hold the molybdenum wires in place and were removed. The sample was then electroplated to a depth of