The Kirkendall effect in binary diffusion couples

• The Kirkendall and lattice plane migration in binary diffusion couples are studied.
• The simulations are performed using constant and composition dependent intrinsic diffusion coefficients.
• The results show that the position and stability of the Kirkendall plane can be predicted using the entropy curve.

The understanding of the phenomenological process related to the position of the Kirkendall plane is still lacking. In this study some aspects of Kirkendall and lattice plane migration in binary diffusion couples are studied by means of numerical simulations by the bi-velocity method. The simulations are performed using constant and composition dependent intrinsic diffusion coefficients. The results show that the position and stability of the Kirkendall plane as well as a number of other interesting features can be predicted using the entropy–density curve calculated by the bi-velocity method.