CIVL2110 Trigger Words and

Notes
Topic 3
Crystalline
Atoms pack in well-defined, periodic, 3D arrays
Typical of metals, many ceramics and some polymers

Non-Crystalline
No periodic packing
Occurs in complex structures and due to rapid cooling

Amorphous
Simply means non-crystalline
Random spatial position of atoms
Rapid cooling of metals can give rise to amorphous structure (metallic glass
has superior metallic properties)

Polymorphism/Allotropy
Refers to metals existing in more than one crystalline form
Temperature and pressure change leads to change in crystalline form
E.g. Iron exists in both BCC and FCC form depending on temp

Unit Cell
The block of atoms which repeats itself to form space lattice.
Only seven different types of unit cell are necessary to create all point lattices
Four basic types:
Simple
1 Atom at each corner of cell
Face Centred (FCC)
1 Atom at each corner of cell + 1 Atom at the centre of each face
Body Centred (BCC)
1 Atom at each corner of cell + 1 Atom at centre

Base Centred
1 atom at each corner of cell + 1 atom in the centre of 2 faces opposing each
other

Space Lattice
The lattice made up of unit cells creating a structure for a material

Coordination Number
The number of atoms or ions immediately surrounding a central atom in a
complex or crystal.

Lattice Constant (a)

Lattice constant refers to the constant distance between unit cells in a crystal
lattice.

Atomic Packing Factor

The Atomic Packing Factor is the fraction of volume in a crystal structure that is
occupied by atoms.
Atomic Packing Factor = Volume of atoms in unit cell/ Volume of unit cell
Where Volume of atoms in unit cell = No. of atoms * Volume of an atom
Volume of an atom = 4/3 (pi) r^3

Hexagonal Close-Packed Structure

Coordination no. = 12
APF = 0.74
c/a = 1.633 (where c is height of structure and a is length of the six sides)
6 atoms in unit cell
e.g. Cd, Mg, Ti, Zn

Density
Density =

Mass of atomsunit cell

nA
=
Total Volume of unit cell V C N A

n = no. atoms/unit cell

A = Atomic Weight
Vc = Volume of unit cell = a^3
Na = Avogadros number = 6.023*10^23 atoms/mol

Crystallographic Directions/Planes
Vectors can start at any point within the unit cell, so long as they dont go
outside of the 1,1,1 square.
No fractions, double to make integers 1,0,1/2 = 2,0,1

To derive a plane follow Miller Indices:

1.
2.
3.
4.

Read off intercepts of plane with axes in terms of a,b,c

Take reciprocals of intercepts (i.e. 1/a, 1/b, 1/c)
Reduce to smallest integer values
Enclose in parentheses, no commas i.e. (hkl) which are the Miller Indices

Linear Density
Linear Density is equal to the number of atoms/unit length of the direction vector
Unit length of vector will be a, root2a or root3a depending on whether goes along
edge of unit cell, diagonal across side or diagonal through middle

Planar Density
Planar density is equal to the number of atoms on the area of a plane

X-Ray Diffraction

Topic 4
Polycrystalline Metals
Composed of aggregates of crystals

Solidification
Nucleation
Nuclei Growth

Thermal Gradiets
Homogenous
Heterogenous
Grain Types
Imperfections
Equilibrium Concentration
Activation Energy
Vacancy Concentration
Hume-Rothery Rules
Solubility
Weight Percent
Atom Percent
Interstitials
Microscopy
Grain Size Measurement