Crystals

MSE101 CPMonterola
WHY STUDY The
Structure of Crystalline
Solids?
• A knowledge of the crystal structure for iron
helps us understand transformations that
occur when steels are heat treated to
improve their mechanical properties.
• The production of a glass-ceramic (Chapters
12 and 13) involves the formation of a glass
that is subsequently transformed into a
crystalline solid.
What are Crystals?
A crystalline material is one in which the atoms
are situated in a repeating or periodic array
over large atomic distances.

• All metals, many ceramic materials, and

certain polymers form crystalline structures
under normal solidification conditions.
Unit Cells
• The atomic order in crystalline solids
indicates that small groups of atoms
form a repetitive pattern.
METALLIC CRYSTAL STRUCTURES
1. FCC
2. BCC
3. HCP
Face Centered Cubic Crystal (FCC)
Aluminum
Copper
Gold
Lead
the cube edge length a and
the atomic radius R for
FCC
atomic packing factor (APF)

APF = 0.74 for FCC

The Body-Centered Cubic
Crystal Structure (BCC)

Iron
Chromium
the cube edge length a and
the atomic radius R for BCC
atomic packing factor (APF)

APF = 0.68 for BCC

The Hexagonal Close-Packed
Crystal Structure(HCP)

Titanium
Zinc
DENSITY COMPUTATIONS

n number of atoms associated with each unit cell

NA Avogadro’s number
VC volume of the unit cell
A atomic weight