A method for structural analysis of disordered particle systems

Abstract

We present a brief overview of a method which can identify different 3D local structures in ordered and disordered systems. Its effectiveness is demonstrated in the analysis of the structures of sphere packings, the structural evolution of a rapid cooling process of silver liquid, and the inner structure of a metal nanocluster. Quantifying local structures by means of a topological criterion, this method is parameter-free and scale-independent, and can generally be used for structural analysis of amorphous systems involving atoms or particles at different length scales. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.