Determination of interdiffusion coefficients in melts from data on contact fusion

An efficient method of studying diffusion in metallic melts is contact fusion conducted in a nonsteady diffusion regime. The Matano-Boltzmann method, which in principle solves the problem of determining interdiffusion coefficients, is very time-consuming and has a low accuracy. Well-known theoretical methods involve assumptions which are not always justified. Here we propose a method of calculating interdiffusion coefficients, the position of the Matano surface, and the concentration profile from data on the width of the liquid layer obtained by contact fusion for a certain period of time and the compositions of the liquid at the boundary with the crystals. The results for the systems Sn-Bi and Ga-In, obtained by computer calculation using the proposed method, are in agreement with well-known empirical data.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 10, pp. 54–58, October, 1986.