X-Ray Diffractometry Applications for Geological Engineering and Geology Undergraduates

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Geological and other engineers who routinely work with fine grained Earth materials are rarely trained in the X-ray diffractometry techniques needed to identify the minerals that make up those materials. Diffractometry is not normally applied until after material failure has ocurred, when specialists are brought in to determine the cause of failure. In this project, the Department of Geological Engineering and Sciences is installing a modern X-ray diffractometer and developing a series of laboratory modules that will cover diffractometry applications that are of most use to practicing engineers. These modules include: basic mineral identification methods, quantitative diffraction techniues, particle size analysis, and especially the specialized diffractometry procedures needed to accurately characterize the clay menerals, a mineral group that is of major use in engineering. The objective is to produce graduates that will be able to decide when X-ray diffractometry techniques need to be applied, how to prepare representative analyses, where the analyses can be carried out, and how to interpret the results in a meaningful way. This educational approach is adapted from the geology departments at Smith, Carleton, Central Washington, Indiana, and Purdue Universities. The long term objective is to make other professional engineers aware of the usefulness of diffractometry in solving real engineering problems, so that the method becomes much more generally applied than at present.Additional modules, designed for Geology and Earth Science Education majors, will cover a variety of topics with the objective of preparing these students to utilize diffractometry in teaching and research. In conjunction with the A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum, X-ray diffractometry applications in mineralogy will be demonstrated as a means of introducing modern scientific technology to K-12 teachers and members of the general public, in a summer field mineralogy class offered at the museum.