Nitrogen diffusion and nitrogen depth profiles in expanded austenite: experimental assessment, numerical simulation and role of stress

The present paper addresses the experimental assessment of the concentration dependent nitrogen diffusion coefficient in stress free expanded austenite foils from thermogravimetry, the numerical simulation of nitrogen concentration depth profiles on growth of expanded austenite into stainless steel during gaseous nitriding, a qualitative discussion of the role of stress on local equilibrium conditions of growing expanded austenite and a discussion of the erroneous concentration dependent diffusivity of nitrogen in expanded austenite as obtained from applying the Boltzmann-Matano method to composition-depth profiles.