Modeling habit forms of sapphire crystals using the principles of periodic-bond-chain method

The potential of the periodic-bond-chain method for calculating the sequence of manifestation of faces of corundum single crystals is considered. The leading role of the faces of the pinacoid, high rhombohedron, and hexagonal prism is demonstrated. The calculation results are compared with the experimental data on faceting the lateral surface of cylindrical sapphire single crystals grown by the Stepanov method and with the faceting data for crystals grown by the flux method and natural crystals.