APPLIED PHYSICS

TOPIC:ATOMIC PACKING FACTOR

TEAM MEMBERS:MAHA JAI GANESH P S 23BTRE122

MANOHARA K 23BTRE123
M O H A M M E D A R S H AT A 2 3 B T R E 1 2 4
MOHAMMED MEHRAB 23BTRE125
M O H A M M E D T U FA I L 2 3 B T R E 1 2 6
SECTION F
 Introduction
The Atomic Packing Factor (APF)
• The atomic packing factor (APF) is a dimensionless quantity that describes the
packing efficiency of atoms in a crystal structure. It represents the fraction of
space within a crystal lattice that is occupied by atoms. The atomic packing
factor depends on the type of crystal structure and is different for simple cubic
(SC), face-centered cubic (FCC), and body-centered cubic (BCC) structures.

PAGE 2 2
3
SIMPLE CUBIC (SC)
Coordination Number: 6 (each atom contacts six neighbors).
• Simple Cubic (SC):

• Unit Cell Structure: In SC, each lattice point is at the corner of a cube.

• Number of Atoms per Unit Cell: 1

• Atomic Packing Factor (APF): Volume of one atom/Volume of unit 4by3πr^3/a^3 ​, where r is the atomic radius and
a is the edge length of the cube.

• APF for SC: Approximately 0.52

4
5
FACE-CENTERED CUBIC
(FCC):
Coordination Number: 12 (each atom contacts twelve neighbors).

• Unit Cell Structure: In FCC, each lattice point is not only at the corner but also at the center of each face of the cube.

• Number of Atoms per Unit Cell: 4

• Atomic Packing Factor (APF): Volume of four atoms/Volume of unit cell=4*4/3πr3/a3, where r is the atomic radius and a is
the edge length of the cube.

• APF for FCC: Approximately 0.74%

6
7
 BODY-CENTERED CUBIC
(BCC)
Coordination Number: 8 (each atom touches 8 neighboring

• atoms).
Unit Cell Structure: In BCC, each lattice point is at the corner of a cube, and there is an additional atom at the center of the
cube.

• Number of Atoms per Unit Cell: 2

• Atomic Packing Factor (APF): Volume of two atoms/Volume of unit cell= 2*4/3πr3/a3, where r is the atomic radius and a is
the edge length of the cube.

• APF for BCC: Approximately 0.68

8
 Overview

These values give an indication of how efficiently space is utilized in each crystal structure. FCC has
the highest packing efficiency, followed by BCC, and then SC.

BODY-CENTERED
SIMPLE CUBIC FACE-CENTERED CUBIC
CUBIC
0.52% 0.74%
0.68%
CO-ORDINATE CO-ORDINATE NUM:
CO-ORDINATE NUM:
NUM:6ATOMS 12ATOMS
8ATOMS
UNIT CELL 1 UNIT CELL 4
UNIT CELL 2

9
 QUIZ

Which crystal structure

has the highest APF? What is the APF for a Face-
In a simple cubic lattice, what
Centered Cubic (FCC) crystal
is the APF? a) Simple Cubic
structure?
a) 0.52 b) Body-Centered Cubic
(BCC) a) 0.52
b) 0.74
c) Face-Centered Cubic b) 0.74
c) 0.68
(FCC) c) 0.68
d) 0.50
d) Hexagonal Close-Packed d) 0.78
(HCP)

10
Thank you

11