Beryllium diffusion in zirconium

The diffusion coefficients of ⁷Be in both α and β phases of Zr, are reported. The temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficient in the α phase may be expressed by $\text{D}{}^{\mathrm{Be}}{}_{\mathrm{\alpha -Zr}}\text{= 0.33 exp(?31900/RT) cm}{}^2\text{/s}$. The measured values in the β phase are in agreement with previously literature reported data, which give a temperature dependence expressed by $\text{D}{}^{\mathrm{Be}}{}_{\mathrm{\beta -Zr}}\text{= 8.33 × 10}{}^{\mathrm{?2}}\text{exp(?31800/RT) cm}{}^2\text{/s}$. Be diffusion in Zr, which is consistent with an interstitial-like behavior, is analyzed in terms of the Anthony and Turnbull conditions, and atomic size criteria. It is concluded that the latter is a very important parameter when assessing the possibility of significant interstitial-like dissolution.