Influence of particle size distribution on accurate X-ray quantitative analysis of tetracalcium aluminoferrite

The influence of particle statistics of a tetracalcium aluminoferrite (C₄AF)–aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃) mixture on the accuracy of X-ray quantitative analysis was investigated by the reference intensity ratio (RIR) and the Rietveld method, supported by two-dimensional synchrotron diffraction image and integral one-dimensional diffraction pattern as a standard control. The quantitative results of tetracalcium aluminoferrite–aluminium oxide mixture show that both the RIR and Rietveld method can perform correctly quantitative analysis when most of the particles (>95%) have sizes in the range between 1 and 5 μm. The actual particle size distribution is between 0·7 μm and 5·1 μm. The amorphous rate of tetracalcium aluminoferrite is 2·8% during such grinding processes. The errors increase dramatically if large particles of tetracalcium aluminoferrite (>5 μm) exist, even though such particles are as low as 3·2% in numerical statistics.