  The identification of defects in crystal structures is crucial for the
analysis of atomistic simulations. Many methods to characterize defects that
are based on the classification of local atomic arrangement are available for
simple crystalline structures. However, there is currently no method to
identify both, the crystal structures and internal defects of topologically
close-packed (TCP) phases such as Laves phases. We propose a new method, Laves
phase Crystal Analysis (LaCA), to characterize the atomic arrangement in Laves
crystals by interweaving existing structural analysis algorithms. The new
method can identify the polytypes C14 and C15 of Laves phases, typical
crystallographic defects in these phases, and common deformation mechanisms
such as synchroshear and non-basal dislocations. Defects in the C36 Laves phase
are detectable through deviations from the periodic arrangement of the C14 and
C15 structures that make up this phase. LaCA is robust and extendable to other
TCP phases.
