It was noted that the mechanism of generation and motion of interstitial atoms was a possible method of mass transfer during intense plastic deformation under high loads and sufficiently low temperatures. The interstitial atoms produced the effect of an additional mechanical activation of diffusion. The phenomenon of lattice diffusion during low-temperature annealing without deformation was considered, together with similar reactions during treatment in a ball mill.

High-Energy Cold Plastic Deformation, Diffusion, and Mechanochemical Synthesis. Y.A.Skakov: Metal Science and Heat Treatment, 2004, 46[3-4], 137-45