Rietveld Analysis and Simulation of Twinning Effects in Boron Suboxide Powder Diffraction
Abstract
Boron suboxide (B_{6}O) ceramics have great potential for use in armor systems. Understanding the structure and defects in armor materials is a major part of developing an understanding of ballistic failure. While much structural characterization effort has been concentrated on the similarly structured boron carbide, still relatively little is known about the defect structures and the subsequent compositional dependence (i.e., boron/oxygen ratio) for B_{6}O. Rietveld refinement of powder diffraction data is evaluated as an efficient method for structural analysis of B_{6}O. This report includes examples to assist in setting up a Rietveld refinement of B_{6}O on the General Structure and Analysis Software. Some more-advanced features, such as the use of Fourier maps to locate potential atomic sites within a unit cell, are also covered. A method for simulating the effect of twins on diffraction patterns is presented. The results of these simulations provide evidence, for the first time, that twinning in B_{6}O contributes to broad features as well as variations in relative peak intensities.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1063403
Entities
People
- W. Taylor Shoulders