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ASSIGNMENT DETAILS
Unit Code ENG10002 Unit Title Engineering Materials
Tutorial/Lab Group Lecturer/Tutor Name Dr. Chung Ping Ping
Assignment Title Lab 1 - Crystal Structure of Solid Engineering Materials
Due date 04/19/2023 Date Received 04/19/2023
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Student 1 101216264 Moey Ching Ren
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EXTENSION CERTIFICATE
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Version 4, 2 August 2016. Owner: The Academic Board, Sarawak.

This cover sheet is a live document available on the Swinburne Sarawak intranet; a print copy may not be the latest version
Table of Contents
1. Introduc�on .................................................................................................................................. 1
2. Objec�ves ..................................................................................................................................... 1
3. Experiment Procedures ................................................................................................................. 1
4. Results........................................................................................................................................... 2
4.1 Crystal Structure Model ........................................................................................................ 2
4.2 Predicted edge length ao using the formula for ao, as a func�on of radius............................ 3
4.3 Atomic Packing Factor ........................................................................................................... 4
4.4 Co-ordina�on number for each of the crystal types.............................................................. 6
5. Discussions .................................................................................................................................... 6
6. Conclusion..................................................................................................................................... 7

List of Tables
Table 1. Photograph of the model of major unit cells ........................................................................... 2
Table 2. Measured radius and la�ce parameter (edge length) for each of the cells............................. 3
Table 3. The formula for the cube edge length and comparison of edge lengths between predicted
and measured values. ........................................................................................................................... 3
Table 4. Atomic Packing factor for unit cells of different structures ...................................................... 4
Table 5. The coordina�on number for the cell ...................................................................................... 6
1. Introduction
The organization of atoms in a crystal lattice is an essential aspect of solid engineering
materials. The crystal structure, which is a repetitive pattern of atoms, governs numerous
properties of the material, including its conductivity, strength, and ductility. Different crystal
structures, such as simple cubic (SC), face-centered cubic (FCC), body-centered cubic (BCC),
and hexagonal close-packed (HCP) structures, have distinct characteristics that can be
controlled through material design to achieve specific engineering objectives. Comprehending
crystal structures is a fundamental component of material science and engineering, and it is
crucial in the development of innovative materials with enhanced properties and performance.

2. Objectives
Experiments related to crystal structures of solid engineering materials are typically conducted
to explore how the arrangement of atoms in different crystal structures affects the material's
properties. The specific objective of this experiment is as shown below:
• To analyze different types of solid crystal structures.
• To determine the lattice parameters for each crystal structure.
• To study the difference between the predicted edge length and the measured edge length.
• To compare the values of atomic packing factors (APF) of each crystal structure with
values from the textbook.
• To determine the relationship between atomic packing factor (APF) and coordination
number for each crystal structure.

3. Experiment Procedures
Crafting a sequence of steps for a laboratory experiment constitutes a crucial component of
scientific methodology. An effectively composed set of steps serves as a lucid and succinct
roadmap for others to follow, guaranteeing that the experiment can be reproduced, and its
outcomes can be authenticated. In this experiment, the procedures are shown below.
1. Before commencing the experiment, a roster of necessary supplies was compiled such
as a vernier calliper, toothpicks, polyform balls, and a camera phone.
2. Measure the radius of the polyform balls with a vernier caliper and recorded the values
in Table 2.
3. Start constructing different solid crystal structures such as the Simple cubic (SC), Body-
centered cubic (BCC), Face-centered cubic (FCC), and Hexagonal close-packed (HCP)
by connecting the polyform balls with toothpicks.
4. After construction, pictures were taken by a camera and inserted in Table 1.
5. The edge length a0, which is also called the lattice parameter, is then measured from the
center to the center of the polyform balls by using a vernier caliper. After that, the data
is recorded in Table 2.
6. The height, c for the Hexagonal close-packed (HCP) structure is also measured using a
vernier caliper. Then, the c/a0 ratio is calculated and recorded in Table 2.
7. Tables 3 & 4 will be followed by appropriate calculations and discussions were made.

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 8. Further discussion will be made after the coordination number for each crystal structure
is obtained in Table 5.

4. Results
4.1Crystal Structure Model
Table 1. Photograph of the model of major unit cells

Simple cubic (SC) Body-centered cubic (BCC)

Face-centered cubic (FCC) Hexagonal close-packed (HCP)

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Table 2. Measured radius and lattice parameter (edge length) for each of the cells.

Measured Measured edge Measured Calculated

Cell Type
radius, r (mm) length, a0 (mm) height, c (mm) c/a0 ratio

SC 18.470 36.775 N/A N/A

FCC 18.470 52.630 N/A N/A

BCC 18.470 42.770 N/A N/A

HCP 18.470 36.955 60.100 1.626

The calculation for c/ao for HCP is shown below:

𝑐𝑐 60.100
= = 𝟏𝟏. 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔
𝑎𝑎𝑜𝑜 36.955

4.2Predicted edge length ao using the formula for ao, as a function of

radius
Table 3. The formula for the cube edge length and comparison of edge lengths between predicted and measured values.

The equation for the

Cell Type edge length as a Predicted edge length Measured edge length
function of radius, ( mm ) ( mm )
i.e., a = f(r)
SC 𝑎𝑎 = 2𝑅𝑅 36.940 36.775

FCC 𝑎𝑎 = 2√2𝑅𝑅 52.240 52.630

4𝑅𝑅
BCC 𝑎𝑎 = 42.650 42.770
√3

HCP 𝑎𝑎 = 2𝑅𝑅 36.940 36.955

The calculation for each cell type is shown below:

SC
𝑎𝑎 = 2𝑅𝑅
𝑎𝑎 = 2(18.47)
= 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑. 𝟗𝟗𝟗𝟗𝟗𝟗 𝒎𝒎𝒎𝒎
FCC

𝑎𝑎 = 2√2𝑅𝑅

3
 𝑎𝑎 = 2√2(18.47)
= 𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓. 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 𝒎𝒎𝒎𝒎
BCC
4𝑅𝑅
𝑎𝑎 =
√3
4(18.47)
𝑎𝑎 =
√3
= 𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒. 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔 𝒎𝒎𝒎𝒎
HCP
𝑎𝑎 = 2𝑅𝑅
𝑎𝑎 = 2(18.47)
= 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑. 𝟗𝟗𝟗𝟗𝟗𝟗 𝒎𝒎𝒎𝒎

4.3Atomic Packing Factor

Table 4. Atomic Packing factor for unit cells of different structures

Atomic Packing factor predicted Textbook values of atomic

Cell Type packing factor
based on your measurements
SC 0.531 0.52

FCC 0.724 0.74

BCC 0.675 0.68

HCP 0.743 0.74

The formula for calculating atomic packing factor (APF) is

4
𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁. 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 × 3 𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 3
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 =
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
Then, the APF for cell types SC, FCC, BCC, and HCP can be calculated. The calculations are
shown below:
SC
4
𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁. 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 × 3 𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 3
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 =
𝑎𝑎𝑜𝑜3

4
 4
1 × 3 𝜋𝜋(18.470)3
=
36.7753
= 𝟎𝟎. 𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓

FCC
4
𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁. 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 × 3 𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 3
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 =
𝑎𝑎𝑜𝑜3
4
4 × 3 𝜋𝜋(18.470)3
=
52.6303
= 𝟎𝟎. 𝟕𝟕𝟕𝟕𝟕𝟕

BCC
4
𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁. 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 × 3 𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 3
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 =
𝑎𝑎𝑜𝑜3
4
2 × 3 𝜋𝜋(18.470)3
=
42.7703
= 𝟎𝟎. 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔

HCP
4
𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁. 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 × 3 𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 3
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 =
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
4
6 × 3 𝜋𝜋(18.470)3
=
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
Take note that Vcell of HCP is no longer 𝑎𝑎𝑜𝑜3 ,
1
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 = 6( × 𝑎𝑎2 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠60° × 𝑐𝑐)
2
Where
c = 1.626a
a = 36.955 mm
Hence, we get

5
 1
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 = 6( × 𝑎𝑎2 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠60° × 1.626𝑎𝑎)
2
= 213202.38 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚3

∴
4
6 × 3 𝜋𝜋(18.470)3
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 =
213202.38
= 𝟎𝟎. 𝟕𝟕𝟕𝟕𝟕𝟕

4.4Co-ordination number for each of the crystal types

Table 5. The coordination number for the cell

Cell Type Co-ordination number

SC 6

FCC 12

BCC 8

HCP 12

5. Discussions
Table 3
If the calculated and measured edge lengths are the same or very close, it indicates that the
crystal structure is in good agreement with the ideal structure and that the experiment was
conducted with a high degree of accuracy. However, if the calculated and measured edge
lengths differ significantly, it suggests that there may be some sources of error or deviation
from the ideal crystal structure. According to Table 3, the values for the measured edge length
and the predicted edge length are very close, which is less than 1mm. This shows that the
experiment is done with high consistency, which means high accuracy. Besides that, the values
for the measured edge length will bring over to the calculation of atomic packing factor (APF),
in this case, there are fewer differences between the predicted and measured edge length, which
indicates that it will be the same for the calculation of atomic packing factor (APF).
Table 4
When conducting experiments to determine the atomic packing factor (APF) of a crystal
structure, the results obtained may differ from the values in a textbook due to several reasons.
These can include defects in the crystal structure, inaccuracies in the measurement process, or
different methods used to calculate the APF. In addition, in this lab, students were asked to
measure the lattice parameters by using a vernier calliper, human errors can be easily found in
lab experiments, this includes the eye must be perpendicular to the measuring instrument to
minimize the error. Hence, according to Table 4, the results showed that there are only slightly

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different values between the experimental value and theoretical value which is less than 5%.
The calculation for percentage error is shown below.
𝑉𝑉𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 − 𝑉𝑉𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 (%) = � � × 100%
𝑉𝑉𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎

SC
0.52 − 0.531
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 (%) = � � × 100%
0.531
= 𝟐𝟐%
FCC
0.74 − 0.724
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 (%) = � � × 100%
0.724
= 𝟐𝟐. 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐%
BCC
0.68 − 0.675
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 (%) = � � × 100%
0.675
= 𝟎𝟎. 𝟕𝟕𝟕𝟕%
HCP
0.74 − 0.743
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 (%) = � � × 100%
0.743
= 𝟎𝟎. 𝟒𝟒%
Table 5
The atomic packing factor (APF) and coordination number are two parameters that describe
how atoms are arranged in a crystal structure. Generally, if a crystal structure has a high
coordination number, then the atoms are tightly packed and have many bonding interactions,
resulting in a high APF. On the other hand, if the coordination number is low, then the atoms
are less tightly packed and have more space between them, resulting in a lower APF. For
example, according to Table 5, cell type FCC and HCP has the highest coordination number
(12), which indicates both cell type FCC and HCP are tightly packed, the crystal structure
model for both cell type could be found in Table 1. By understanding the relationship between
APF and coordination number, insights into the bonding environment and packing efficiency
of atoms in a crystal lattice can then be defined.

6. Conclusion
In conclusion, the objectives of this experiment were achieved. the experiment on solid crystal
structures provides significant information about the atomic arrangement in materials. Through
the experiment, various types of crystal structures were identified, and their lattice parameters
were determined. The comparison between the predicted and measured edge length showed

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that there was less difference, indicating a high degree of accuracy in the experiment.
Additionally, the values of atomic packing factor (APF) were found to be similar to the
experimental values. This indicates that the higher coordination number of the crystal structures
resulted in higher APF values, which reflects the tightly packed nature of atoms and the strong
bonding interactions between them. Overall, the experiment provided crucial insights into the
crystal structure of materials and their properties, which can be useful for designing new
materials with specific properties.