Applications of X-Ray Diffraction in Civil Engineering

X-ray diffraction is very powerful non-destructive technique for characterizing crystalline materials. It gives information on structures phases preferred crystal orientations and other structural parameters like average grain size crystalline strain and crystal defects. X-ray diffraction peaks are caused by constructive interference of a monochromatic beam of X-rays scattered at particular angles from each set of lattice planes during a specimen. The peak intensities are observed by the distribution of atoms within the lattice. Consequently the Xray diffraction pattern is that the fingerprint of periodic atomic arrangements during a given material. This review summarizes the scientific trends related to the rapid development of the technique of X-ray diffraction over the past five years concerning the fields of pharmaceuticals forensic science geological applications and glass manufacturing civil engineering as well as in corrosion analysis.