Diffusion coatings continued

Cementation coatings rely on diffusion to develop the desired surface aUoy layer. Not only does the coating continue to diffuse into the substrate during service, thereby depleting the surface coating, but often the substrate material diffuses into the surface where it can be oxidized. Because the diffusion rate is temperature dependent, this may occur slowly at lower service temperatures. 

Another example is the siliciditing of tantalum, basically an oxidation— reduction reaction. The packing is sodium duoride and siUcon. After deposition, the coating diffuses continuously into the substrate, according to the following reactions ... 

Effects of Flooding and Redox Conditions onfs. I know of no published data on this. Bnt it is likely that the natnre of particle surfaces in intermittently flooded soils wonld restrict snrface mobility. For ions to diffuse freely on the surface there must be a continuous pathway of water molecules over the surface and uniform cation adsorption sites. But in intermittently flooded soils the surface typically contains discontinuous coatings of amorphous iron oxides on other clay minerals, and on flooding reduced iron is to a large extent re-precipitated as amorphons hydroxides and carbonates as discussed above, resulting in much microheterogeneity with adsorption sites with disparate cation affinities. 

Typically, coatings most often in use as intermediate layers are silver, nickel, copper, and gold however, silver is used by far the most often. This is so because of the low dissociation temperature of silver oxide, making it relatively easy to obtain clean surfaces. Also, the typical thickness range of electroplates used, in practice, for diffusion welding is about 15 to 40/rm, but thicknesses as great as 130 )um must sometimes be used. A considerable variety of steel types as well as aluminum and a host of other difficult-to-join metals and even beryllium have been and continue to be diffusion bonded with the use of electroplated intermediate layers. 

In the latter part of stage 1, the cement particles in the paste become fiilly coated with a layer of hydrate products. This protective layer hinders the diffusion of the reacting species in and out of the reaction interphase, thus sharply reducing the rate of the various reactions. The system enters into a period of latency referred to as the induction or dormant period processes initiated during stage I, however, will continue throughout the induction period. 

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