HO2

Hafr-Al-Batin Community College
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals

Hand out # 2
Hafar Al-Batin Community College
MET-NDE Unit
MET 177: Materials Science & Technology
Lecture Notes#2
Edited by: Tajammal Imran Page 1 of 11

Hand out # 2
MET 177 # MATERIALS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
THE STRUCTURE OF CRYSTALLINE SOLIDS-I

INTRODUCTION:
The present chapter is devoted to the next level of the structure of materials,
specifically, the arrangements of atoms in the solid state. In this chapter, following
concepts will be discussed,
1. Crystallinity and Noncrystallinity
2. Unit Cell.
3. The four common crystal structures
4. Atomic Packing Factor and Density Calculations
FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS:
CRYSTALLINE AND NON-CRYSTALLINE MATERIAL
A crystalline material is one in which atoms are situated in a repeating or periodic array
over large atomic distances. Or, upon solidification, the atoms will position themselves
in a repetitive three dimensional pattern (figure-2a). Non-crystalline material is the one
which do not show repeating arrangements over long atomic distances (figure-2b).
Figure 2a-b

Hand out # 2
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE:
This is the manner in which internal components such as atoms, ions, or molecules of a
solid are spatially arranged.
ATOMIC HARD SPHERE MODEL:

1. Atomic Hard Sphere Model assumes that in a crystalline structure, atoms (or
ions) are considered as hard spheres. Where each sphere has well defined
diameter and do not overlap onto each other.
2. Also each sphere is touching to it adjacent sphere and does not fall into each
other.
3. Figures below illustrate the main features of hard sphere model. Atoms (or ions)
can be seen as Hard Spheres. The left figure is of FCC, whereas, the middle on is
of BCC and the right one is of HCP unit cells.

Hand out # 2
FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS ABOUT CRYSTAL STRUCTURE

1. UNIT CELL:
Unit cell is the basic building block of the crystal structure or of an object. Therefore, a
unit cell is chosen to represent the symmetry of the crystal structure. The unit cell
defines the crystal structure by virtue of its geometry and the atom positions inside unit
cell.
IMPORTANT FEATURES OF A UNIT CELL

Lattice:
It is a set of points or a 3-D network of points which may be used to position
atoms of a crystal.
Lattice parameters:
The lengths of the edges of a unit cell and the angles between them are called
the lattice parameters. There are six lattice parameters; a, b, c, α, β, ϒ.
Edge length:
It is the distance between the edges of a unit cell. Shown as “a” is figure below.

Hand out # 2
2. RELATION BETWEEN EDGE LENGTH OF UNIT CELL AND ATOMIC RADIUS

Two types of crystal structure are shown in figure below to explain the relationship
between edge length and atomic radius. It can be noted that distance between the
centers of two atoms in respective unit cells is not same. Also, it is clear that the relation
between “a” and “r” for left figure is different than that of right figure due to an extra
atom present in the middle of unit cell (right figure). It is clear that for left figure the
relationship between “a” and “r” is;
a=2r
However, this is not true for right figure. As atoms are considered as touching hard
sphere then the relation between centers of two atoms and their atomic radius may be
found by using Pythagorean formula.

Hand out # 2
3. COORDINATION NUMBER:
It is the number of neighboring or touching atoms surrounding one particular atom in a
crystal structure.
4. ATOMIC PACKING FACTOR (APF):
4
Volume of atom (or sphere) = π r3
3
Volume of a Unit Cell = a × b × c = a × a × a = a3
volume of atoms in a unit cell

Atomic Packing Factor (APF) =
total unit cell volume

Hand out # 2
ASSIGNMENT #2:
Below is a figure showing a group of atoms. Find out how many unit cells are there in
this figure?

Hand out # 2
HOW MANY TYPES OF METALLIC CRYSTAL STRUCTURES?

Four relatively simple crystal structures are found for most of the common metals;
1. Simple Cubic
2. Face-Centered Cubic,
3. Body-Centered Cubic,
4. Hexagonal Close-Packed.
THE SIMPLE CUBIC CRYSTAL STRUCTURE:
This is a simplest type of crystal structure. In this type, atoms assume cubic symmetry
with atoms located at each corners. Three different representations of simple cubic
structure are given below. The left figure shows the hard sphere representation, the
middle picture represents the unit cell of a simple cubic crystal and the right figure
shows the lattice arrangement of simple cubic crystal structure.
Fig: Simple Cubic crystal structure

In SC unit cell:
• a = 2r , Where, a= cube edge length and r = atomic radius
• Corner atom is shared by 8 unit cells.
Therefore, total number of atoms in SC crystal is:
(1/8) * 8 = 1 atom
• Coordination number for SC crystal is 6 ( 1 at upper face + 1 at lower face + 4
surrounding)
• APF = 0.52 (Max. packing possible for spheres all having the same diameter).

Hand out # 2
THE FACE-CENTERED CUBIC CRYSTAL STRUCTURE:

This type of crystal structure is located in many metals. It has a unit cell of cubic
geometry with atoms located at each of the corners and at the centers of all the faces of
unit cell. It is known as the face-centered cubic (FCC) crystal structure. Examples:
copper, aluminum, silver, and gold.
Fig: Face-Centered Cubic crystal structure

In FCC unit cell:
• a = 2 2 r , Where, a= cube edge length and r = atomic radius

• Face centers atoms are shared by 2 unit cell.
Therefore, total number of atoms in FCC crystal is:
(1/8) * 8 + (1/2)*6 = 4 atoms
• Coordination number for FCC crystal is 12 ( 4 in front face + 4 in back face + 4
surrounding)
• APF = 0.74 (Max. packing possible for spheres all having the same diameter).
THE BODY-CENTERED CUBIC CRYSTAL STRUCTURE:

Another common metallic crystal structure also has a cubic unit cell with atoms located
at eight corners and a single atom at the cube center. It is called the body-centered
cubic (BCC) crystal structure. Examples: chromium, iron, tungsten, etc.

Hand out # 2
Fig: Body-Centered Cubic crystal structure

In BCC unit cell:
• a = 4r / 3 where a: cube edge length and r = atomic radius

• One independent atom is in each unit cell at the center.
Therefore, total number of atoms in BCC crystal is:
(1/8) * 8 + 1= 2 atoms
• Coordination number for BCC crystal is 8 ( each center atom has as nearest
neighbor its eight corner atoms)
• APF = 0.68 (lower as compared to FCC).
THE HEXAGONAL CLOSE-PACKED CRYSTAL STRUCTURE

• It has a hexagonal; crystal structure.
• The top and bottom faces of the unit cell consist of six atoms that form regular
hexagons and surround a single atom in the center.
• Another plane that provides three additional atoms to the unit cell is situated
between the top and bottom planes.
Examples: Cadmium, magnesium, titanium, and zinc.

Hand out # 2
Fig: Hexagonal Close-Packed crystal structure
DENSITY COMPUTATION:
nA
ρ=
VC N A
Where n = number of atoms associated with each unit cell
A = atomic weight
VC = volume of the unit cell
NA = Avogadro’s number (6.023 x 1023 atoms/mol)
ASSIGNMENT #3:
Prove that APF of Simple Cubic Crystal Structure is 0.52 and APF of Face Centered Cubic
Crystal Structure is 0.74. (Hint: Use Pythagorean formula to find the relation between
edge length “a” and atomic radius “r” ).

HO2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

HO2

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

HO2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Hafr-Al-Batin Community College

King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals

Hafar Al-Batin Community College

MET 177: Materials Science & Technology

Edited by: Tajammal Imran Page 1 of 11

MET 177 # MATERIALS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

THE STRUCTURE OF CRYSTALLINE SOLIDS-I

CRYSTALLINE AND NON-CRYSTALLINE MATERIAL

Edited by: Tajammal Imran Page 2 of 11

ATOMIC HARD SPHERE MODEL:

Edited by: Tajammal Imran Page 3 of 11

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS ABOUT CRYSTAL STRUCTURE

IMPORTANT FEATURES OF A UNIT CELL

Edited by: Tajammal Imran Page 4 of 11

2. RELATION BETWEEN EDGE LENGTH OF UNIT CELL AND ATOMIC RADIUS

Edited by: Tajammal Imran Page 5 of 11

4. ATOMIC PACKING FACTOR (APF):

Volume of a Unit Cell = a × b × c = a × a × a = a3

volume of atoms in a unit cell

Edited by: Tajammal Imran Page 6 of 11

Edited by: Tajammal Imran Page 7 of 11

HOW MANY TYPES OF METALLIC CRYSTAL STRUCTURES?

THE SIMPLE CUBIC CRYSTAL STRUCTURE:

Fig: Simple Cubic crystal structure

Edited by: Tajammal Imran Page 8 of 11

THE FACE-CENTERED CUBIC CRYSTAL STRUCTURE:

Fig: Face-Centered Cubic crystal structure

• a = 2 2 r , Where, a= cube edge length and r = atomic radius

THE BODY-CENTERED CUBIC CRYSTAL STRUCTURE:

Edited by: Tajammal Imran Page 9 of 11

Fig: Body-Centered Cubic crystal structure

• a = 4r / 3 where a: cube edge length and r = atomic radius

THE HEXAGONAL CLOSE-PACKED CRYSTAL STRUCTURE

Edited by: Tajammal Imran Page 10 of 11

Fig: Hexagonal Close-Packed crystal structure

Edited by: Tajammal Imran Page 11 of 11

You might also like