Investigation of interdiffusion behavior in the Ti–Zr–Cu ternary system

Abstract The interdiffusion behavior of diffusion couples Ti-25Zr/Cu, Ti-50Zr/Cu and Ti-75Zr/Cu (at.%) at 973–1073 K was investigated by using electron probe microanalysis. The results show that the diffusion paths in all diffusion couples deviate away from the faster-diffusing Cu – Ti side. The diffusion paths pass the tie-line, across or parallel to, corresponding to the different diffusion layer structures and phase morphologies. The average effective interdiffusion coefficients and activation energies of Cu in both solid solutions and intermetallic compounds were determined. The diffusion coefficients of Cu in β(Ti, Zr) solid solution increase slightly and then decrease with the increase in Zr content, while the diffusion coefficients of Cu in Cu(Ti,Zr) 2 intermetallic compound decrease with the increase in Zr content. The diffusion coefficients of Cu in Cu 51 Zr 14 are the largest among all the intermetallic compounds in diffusion couples.