Measurements Of Mass Distribution Research Articles

Re-investigation of the interplay of fission modes and non-equilibrium fission processes in heavy actinide nuclei 249Bk and 257Md

Measurements of mass and angular distributions of fission fragments from actinide nuclei 249Bk and 257Md, produced in fusion reactions 11B and 19F + 238U, are presented. Experimentally observed mass ratio distributions indicate “multi-chance fission” through the interplay of fission modes in the fission process, and they agree well with predictions from calculations using the GEF (“GEneral description of Fission observables”) model code. Furthermore, to test the signatures of events from non-compound nuclear processes in the fission of 249Bk and 257Md nuclei, Monte Carlo statistical decay model calculations using GEMINI++ were performed for the measured mass distribution at all energies. For comparison purposes, the fission fragment mass distributions of neighboring heavy actinide nuclei, previously measured in the fission of 250Cf and 254Fm nuclei produced by 12C and 16O projectiles on a 238U target, are also presented. The measured angular anisotropy data for the 19F + 238U reaction differ from the results of the Transition State Model (TSM) at energies below the fusion barrier. As a result of the present study, we suggest considering the interplay between K relaxation time, dynamic dissipation, and their influence on shell correction to understand the evolution of fission dynamics in heavy-ion-induced actinide nuclei.

Single-stage NBI sampler for PM1 mass and five-stage NBI-NMCI sampler for PM1 mass distribution measurements

In recent years, concerns about the health and environmental risks associated with PM1 particles have increased. However, existing PM1 sampling instruments remain to be improved mainly because their PM1 inlets have particle loading and bounce issues. To address these challenges, PM1 inlets based on the Non-Bouncing Impactor (NBI) technique were developed. These inlets employ vacuum oil-wetted glass fiber filter (GFF) substrates to eliminate particle bounce and incorporate a daily vacuum oil injection to prevent particle loading. The 16.7 L/min PM1 NBI, modified from the PM2.5 M-WINS design with a reduced diameter of the single nozzle, was designed to adapt readily with current standard sampling and monitoring systems. The cut-size (Dpa50) of 0.99 ± 0.02 μm was determined by considering the effects of Reynold number and the ratio of jet-to-plate distance and nozzle diameter. Field tests comparing the 16.7 L/min PM1 NBI sampler to the 9-stage NCTU Micro-orifice Cascade Impactor (NMCI9) revealed small sampling biases, with a mean difference of +0.26 ± 2.28 μg/m3 for PM1 measurements when silicone oil-coated aluminum foil (AF) and GFF-AF were used in the NMCI9. The NBI with the oil-wetted GFF substrate effectively removed particles larger than 1.0 μm, resulting in more accurate PM1 mass concentration measurements. Additionally, the development of a 5-stage NMCI with the 30 L/min PM1 NBI as the first stage enabled detailed measurement of PM1 mass distribution in two modes, which was challenging when measuring the entire mass distribution of ambient aerosols. The distribution of size-dependent water-soluble inorganic ions in PM1 showed dominance of SO42− and NH4+ in PM1 compared to PM2.5. In summary, the PM1 NBI enhances accuracy for long-term atmospheric sampling by addressing particle loading and bounce, making it a more reliable standard sampling instrument.

The Not-so Dramatic Effect of Advective Flows on Gas Accretion

Super-Earths and mini-Neptunes are the most common types of exoplanets discovered, yet the physics of their formation are still debated. Standard core accretion models in gas-rich environments find that typical mini-Neptune mass planets would blow up into Jupiters before the underlying disk gas dissipates away. The injection of entropy from the protoplanetary disk into forming gaseous envelopes has recently been put forward as a mechanism to delay this runaway accretion, specifically at short orbital distances. Here, we reevaluate this line of reasoning by incorporating recycling flows of gas into a numerical one-dimensional thermodynamic model with a more realistic equation of state and opacities and the thermal state of the advective flow. At 0.1 au, we find that advective flows are only able to produce mini-Neptunes if they can penetrate below ∼0.25 of the planet’s gravitational sphere of influence. Otherwise, the gas-to-core mass ratio (GCR) reaches above ∼10%, which is too large to explain the measured properties of mini-Neptunes, necessitating other gas-limiting processes such as late-time core assembly. The effect of entropy advection on gas accretion weakens even further beyond 0.1 au. We present an updated scaling relation between GCR and the penetration depth of the advective flows, which varies nontrivially with orbital distances, core masses, and dusty versus dust-free opacity. We further demonstrate how measurements of planet mass distribution beyond ∼1 au using future instruments such as the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope could be used to disambiguate between different formation conditions of gas-poor planets.

On the formation of biogenic secondary organic aerosol in chemical transport models: an evaluation of the WRF-CHIMERE (v2020r2) model with a focus over the Finnish boreal forest

Abstract. We present an evaluation of the regional chemical transport model (CTM) WRF-CHIMERE (v2020r2) for the formation of biogenic secondary organic aerosol (BSOA) with a focus over the Finnish boreal forest. Formation processes of biogenic aerosols are still affected by different sources of uncertainties, and model predictions vary greatly depending on the levels of details of the adopted chemical and emissions schemes. In this study, air quality simulations were conducted for the summer of 2019 using different organic aerosol (OA) schemes (as currently available in the literature) to treat the formation of BSOA. First, we performed a set of simulations in the framework of the volatility basis set (VBS) scheme carrying different assumptions for the treatment of the aging processes of BSOA. The results of the model were compared against high-resolution (i.e., 1 h) organic aerosol mass and size distribution measurements performed at the Station for Measuring Ecosystem–Atmosphere Relations (SMEAR-II) site located in Hyytiälä, in addition to other gas-phase species such as ozone (O3), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) measurements of isoprene (C5H10) and monoterpenes. We show that WRF-CHIMERE could reproduce well the diurnal variation of the measured OA concentrations for all the investigated scenarios (along with the standard meteorological parameters) as well as the increase in concentrations during specific heat wave episodes. However, the modeled OA concentrations varied greatly between the schemes used to describe the aging processes of BSOA, as also confirmed by an additional evaluation using organic carbon (OC) measurement data retrieved from the EBAS European databases. Comparisons with isoprene and monoterpene air concentrations revealed that the model captured the observed monoterpene concentrations, but isoprene was largely overestimated, a feature that was mainly attributed to the overstated biogenic emissions of isoprene. We investigated the potential consequences of such an overestimation by inhibiting isoprene emissions from the modeling system. Results indicated that the modeled BSOA concentrations increased in the northern regions of the domain (e.g., Finland) compared to southern European countries, possibly due to a shift in the reactions of monoterpene compounds against available radicals, as further suggested by the reduction in α-pinene modeled air concentrations. Finally, we briefly analyze the differences in the modeled cloud liquid water content (clwc) among the simulations carrying different chemical schemes for the treatment of the aging processes of BSOA. The results of the model indicated an increase in clwc values at the SMEAR-II site, for simulations with higher biogenic organic aerosol loads, most likely as a result of the increased number of biogenic aerosol particles capable of activating cloud droplets.

Measurement bias in spICP-TOFMS: insights from Monte Carlo simulations.

Single-particle inductively coupled plasma time-of-flight mass spectrometry (spICP-TOFMS) is used to measure the mass amounts of elements in individual nano and submicron particles. In spICP-TOFMS, element signals can only be recorded as "particles" if they are above the critical value, which is the threshold used to distinguish between particle-derived and background signals. If elements in particles are present in amounts close to or below the critical value, then these elements cannot be quantitatively measured, and the shape of the measured mass distributions will not be accurate. In addition, recorded spICP-TOFMS signal distributions are impacted by measurement uncertainty due to counting statistics inherent to the mass analyzer. Counting noise is most pronounced for elements detected with low signal levels and can lead to systematic biases in the observed element masses and mass ratios from a particle event. In turn, spICP-TOFMS data can lead to incorrect conclusions about element composition and/or size of recorded particles. To better understand how biases and noise can alter the interpretation of data, we employ Monte Carlo simulations to model spICP-TOFMS signals as a function of measurement parameters, such as particle size distribution (PSD), multi-element composition, absolute sensitivities (TofCts g-1), and measurement noise from ion-counting (Poisson) statistics. Monte Carlo simulations allow for the systematic comparison of known (simulated) element mass distributions to experimental (measured) data. To demonstrate the accuracy of our model in predicting spICP-TOFMS signal structure, we highlight the match between data from in-lab measurements and simulations for the detection of CeO2, ferrocerium mischmetal, and bastnaesite particles. Through Monte Carlo simulations, we explore how analyte PSDs and other measurement parameters can lead to the determination of biased particle sizes, particle numbers, element ratios, and multi-element compositions.

Competition between fusion and quasifission in the angular momentum dependent dynamics of heavy element synthesis reactions

Background: Mass and angle distribution measurements have illuminated many aspects of the physical variables controlling quasifission. However, mapping from detection angle to reaction time is clouded by the wide range of contributing angular momenta $L\ensuremath{\hbar}$, ranging from $0\ensuremath{\hbar}$ to the maximum of the reaction ($⪆100\ensuremath{\hbar}$), which complicates the mapping, and thus limits our understanding of the reaction dynamics.Purpose: To investigate the angular momentum dependence of the reaction dynamics in quasifission and determine the fission fragment mass evolutions in the reaction.Method: The mass and angular distributions of products of the reactions $^{52}\mathrm{Cr}+^{198}\mathrm{Pt}$ and $^{54}\mathrm{Cr}+^{196}\mathrm{Pt}$ were measured. The distributions were compared with quasifission simulation results.Results: Mass angle distributions are reproduced by utilizing a new quasifission mass evolution model, and including a mass-symmetric component associated with low $L$. The latter increases in yield at higher beam energy.Conclusions: The symmetric component represents the total of slow quasifission and fusion-fission. The increase in contribution with energy above the Coulomb barrier suggests that an extra-push energy is required to achieve fusion.

Development of THGEM-based Detectors for Nuclear Fission Studies

To optimize the exploration of Super Heavy Elements (SHE), the key challenge is to understand the dynamics of the fusion-fission through the measurements of mass and angular distribution of the fission fragments. For the detection of fission fragments, position sensitive Multi-Wire Proportional Counters are generally used due to their high gain, good temporal and position resolution. However, these detectors use fragile anode wires having a diameter of only 10 μm and therefore they are vulnerable. In the present work, a detector based on robust Thick Gaseous Electron Multiplier (THGEM) has been proposed. A numerical demonstration of THGEM-Multi Wire hybrid detector technology as a possible candidate for the new generation low-energy fission studies and their evaluation as a function of different possible geometric and electric configuration in low-pressure gas is discussed here.

Distribution of Liquid Mass in Transient Sprays Measured Using Laser-Plasma-Driven X-Ray Tomography

We report, the use of laser-plasma-driven x rays to reveal the three-dimensional (3D) structure of a highly atomizing water spray. Soft x rays approximately 5 keV are generated by means of a laser-plasma accelerator. Transmission radiography measurements are performed at different angles, by rotating a multihole injector. Using computer tomography, the local liquid volume distribution and its spatial variation are retrieved in 3D, showing up to 55% liquid fraction at the nozzle outlet, which decreases to below 7% within only 1 mm. The resolution of the liquid volume fraction is 0.5% while the spatial resolution of the radiographic images is $11.5\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$. The x-ray source used here provides successful measurements of liquid mass distribution over a relatively large volume and is very promising for the analysis of a variety of challenging transient spray systems, e.g., the injection of liquid synthetic and biofuels used for future clean-combustion applications.

Improved accuracy for calibrated mass distribution measurements of bimetallic nanoparticles

Implementation of hybrid nanoparticles (HNPs), consisting of two different metal components, into applied systems has been hindered by an incomplete understanding of structural and chemical properties responsible for their enhanced, yet inconsistent performance. To address this persistent need, our work focused on using the electrospray differential mobility analyzer hyphenated to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ES-DMA-ICP-MS) to determine mass distributions across the entire NP distribution. Although previous work had applied similar hyphenated measurements to HNP systems, no efforts to develop accurate calibration methods for quantifying NP, and especially HNP, masses have been reported. We chose gold titania catalyst HNPs (Au@TiO2: 4 nm gold NPs adsorbed on 100 nm–300 nm TiO2 NPs) as a representative system because a large body of research exists on this topic. When we used ionic standards and compared it to our Au@TiO2 control, a reproducible difference in the slope was observed that led to an overestimation of both gold (Au) and titanium (Ti) by nearly a factor of four for the HNPs, demonstrating the complexity of quantification and the need to both develop a validated calibration method and identify the major sources for uncertainty in quantification. We determined the mass quantification discrepancy derived from the metal oxide NPs (independent of the presence of Au) and was caused by the DMA and ES (not the ICP-MS). Corrections were made for multiple charging that significantly improved the agreement between the ionic standard and Au@TiO2 metal quantification. Discussion on material properties for improved accuracy across different shapes, sizes, compositions, and surface chemistries is also included to demonstrate the general utility of the calibration across a broad number of fields. ES-DMA-ICP-MS is a powerful technique that provides statistically significant data for simultaneous determination of mass distributions of multi-element HNP systems across the entire sample population and should enhance characterization and development of HNPs when coupled with current core methods.

Refrigerant mass distribution in an invertible air-to-water heat pump: effect of the airflow velocity

This paper presents the results of refrigerant mass distribution measurements carried out in an invertible air-to-water heat pump. The unit works with refrigerant R32 and produces a nominal cooling capacity equal to 60 kW. Experimental tests have been performed during both cooling and heating operations using the quick-closing valves technique to isolate the charge within the components of the system. A mathematical model, developed to predict the refrigerant charge in the heat exchangers of the heat pump and its performance, is described and validated. The model includes a physical description of the heat transfer mechanisms in the condenser and in the evaporator. The model employs void fraction correlations to calculate the refrigerant mass in the two-phase regions of the heat exchangers. In the finned coil heat exchanger, the model can account for the effects of the airflow maldistribution, which has been also experimentally measured. When the not uniform air velocity is considered, the refrigerant charge in the heat exchangers is modelled within ±10%. The results of the model showed that the airflow maldistribution can increase the total refrigerant charge in chiller mode by 12.7% and decrease the performance of the system by 11%, compared to the case of uniform air velocity.

Continuous–discrete cell mass distribution observer design using impulsive ISS Lyapunov functions

The problem of estimating the cell–mass distribution in a yeast cell fermentation process based on non–periodic discrete–time cell mass distribution measurements is addressed. Given that the underlying problem can be cast into a nonlinear error propagation subsystem coupled with an impulsive (i.e., at discrete moments in time) stabilization scheme for the observation error, the design problem is addressed within the framework of impulsive ISS Lyapunov theory. Using a finite–dimensional approximation of the cell population balance equations modeling the cell mass distribution evolution over time, the proposed approach yields conditions on the maximum time between measurements and the resulting ISS gain with respect to the measurement noise disturbance. In order to make the resulting global conditions more accessible and easier to verify in a real process application, the obtained conditions are cast into an additional application–oriented approximation that is amenable to tuning for a given process at hand. The approach is illustrated and tested using experimental data from a yeast batch fermentation.

Sensitive search for near-symmetric and super-asymmetric fusion-fission of the superheavy element Flerovium (Z=114)

Measurements of mass and angular distributions have been made for fission-like outcomes in reactions forming isotopes of flerovium (Z=114), using 48Ca, 50Ti, and 54Cr projectiles. The dominant fast quasifission process, which masks the presence of fusion-fission, has minimum yield at the most backward angles, where the sensitivity to fusion-fission is thus highest. In fitting the backward angle mass spectra, only weak evidence for a component of super-asymmetric fission was found, but a near-symmetric fission component was consistently required for the 48Ca + 244Pu reaction, giving upper limit to the fusion probabilities PCN of ∼10−2, ∼5 times lower than previous results. PCN for the 50Ti reaction was lower than 48Ca, whilst no evidence of fusion-fission was found for the 54Cr reaction.

Fission fragment mass and folding angle distributions in the reaction Be9+U238

Background: The excitation energy dependence of the fission fragment mass and folding angle distributions for reactions with loosely bound projectiles are reported to be significantly different compared to the reactions with tightly bound nuclei. Extensive study to understand the reaction mechanism of weakly bound projectiles is required as it can simulate the mechanism of fission induced with radioactive ion beams.Purpose: The effect of loosely bound nuclei on fission fragment folding angle and mass distributions in the $^{9}\mathrm{Be}+^{238}\mathrm{U}$ reaction near the Coulomb barrier energies is investigated and the contributions of incomplete fusion fission in the total fission cross section are studied.Methods: Mass and folding angle distributions of the fission fragments have been measured near the Coulomb barrier energies using two large area multiwire proportional counters. Fragment masses were determined from the time-of-flight difference method. To understand the effect of breakup of loosely bound nuclei, the results are compared with tightly bound proton-, $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-particle-, and carbon-induced reactions, as well as with the predictions from semiempirical calculations.Results: The width of folding angle distributions is found to increase with lowering excitation energy in the $^{9}\mathrm{Be}+^{238}\mathrm{U}$ reaction. This is in contrast to the reaction $^{12}\mathrm{C}+^{232}\mathrm{Th}$ involving tightly bound projectiles, populating similar compound nuclei. The peak-to-valley ratios of the fission fragment mass distributions for all events are found to sharply increase with lowering excitation energy in the $^{9}\mathrm{Be}+^{238}\mathrm{U}$ reaction. The possible contribution of incomplete fusion into the total fission cross section could be extracted. The measured mass distributions were found to be consistent with the semiempirical calculation gef and macro-microscopic two-center shell model calculations considering the admixture of incomplete fusion fission.Conclusion: For actinide targets, mass distributions of inclusive fission are influenced by the breakup/transfer channels of the weakly bound projectiles. At the above-barrier energies, the contribution of incomplete fusion is found to be $\ensuremath{\approx}25\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}4%$ which is similar to the reported value of the complete fusion suppression factor in reactions involving nuclei with low binding energies. The increase in the peak-to-valley ratio with lowering excitation energy in the fission fragment mass distribution could be explained by the combined analysis of folding angle and mass distributions.

Asymmetric-Flow Field-Flow Fractionation of complex waterborne polymer dispersions: Effect of the concentration of water in the measurement of molar mass distributions

Asymmetric-Flow Field-Flow Fractionation is a very powerful technique for measuring the molar mass distribution of polymers with complex microstructures. The analysis of some samples such as self-crosslinkable latexes requires to directly dissolve the polymer dispersion in the eluent (THF) without drying it, and this work studies the effect of the presence of this water in those analysis. Taking a polystyrene latex as model system, it was observed that the measured molar mass and radius of gyration increased as the concentration of water in the sample increased. This was an effect of a decrease in the compatibility between the solvent mixture (THF and water) and the polymer, which formed aggregates, and could be predicted calculating the polymer-solvent interaction parameter. When the study was extended to poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(n-butyl acrylate) and poly(vinyl acetate) the same general trend was observed, however, the impact of the water was less significant as the hydrophilicity of the polymer increased. Most importantly, if the samples with the highest water content were first dissolved in THF and afterwards dried using MgSO4 the measured molar mass and radius of gyration values were the same as for the reference sample (dried in the oven), providing a method to analyze samples that cannot be dried into a film and remove the negative effect of the water at the same time.

Two-Dimensional Pixel-Level Photometric and Colorimetric Mass-Distribution Measurement of Micro-Displays

Based on Microscopic hyperspectral imaging ( μ-HSI) technique, a measurement technique is proposed to precisely determine two-dimensional (2D) pixel-level photometric and colorimetric mass-distributions of micro-displays ( μ-displays). Light from halogen lamp coupled into a 1”-integrating cube is used as calibration light source for spectral radiant distribution (SRD). Therefore, optical and colorimetric parameters of each pixel on μ-displays can be easily obtained. Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) and Micro-LED samples are tested by the proposed method and conventional spectroradiometer with satisfactory consistency. Besides, detailed differences between pixels are accessible for further evaluation from the 2D pixel-level luminance and color distributions of μ-displays.

Particle Size Distribution Dynamics Can Help Constrain the Phase State of Secondary Organic Aerosol.

Particle phase state is a property of atmospheric aerosols that has important implications for the formation, evolution, and gas/particle partitioning of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). In this work, we use a size-resolved chemistry and microphysics model (Statistical Oxidation Model coupled to the TwO Moment Aerosol Sectional (SOM-TOMAS)), updated to include an explicit treatment of particle phase state, to constrain the bulk diffusion coefficient (Db) of SOA produced from α-pinene ozonolysis. By leveraging data from laboratory experiments performed in the absence of a seed and under dry conditions, we find that the Db for SOA can be constrained ((1-7) × 10-15 cm2 s-1 in these experiments) by simultaneously reproducing the time-varying SOA mass concentrations and the evolution of the particle size distribution. Another version of our model that used the predicted SOA composition to calculate the glass-transition temperature, viscosity, and, ultimately, Db (∼10-15 cm2 s-1) of the SOA was able to reproduce the mass and size distribution measurements when we included oligomer formation (oligomers accounted for about a fifth of the SOA mass). Our work highlights the potential of a size-resolved SOA model to constrain the particle phase state of SOA using historical measurements of the evolution of the particle size distribution.

Challenge with a Personal Cascade Impactor Sampler in a Silicon Metal Smelter

ABSTRACT Cascade impactors are useful tools in the measurement of particle size mass distribution of workplace aerosols. The application of cascade impactors, however, is sometimes challenging. Personal aerosol samples were collected by Sioutas cascade impactors and respirable cyclones in parallel in a silicon (Si) metal smelter to investigate the different particulate matter (PM) fractions. In a second campaign, nine new air samples were collected with the Sioutas personal cascade impactors using stationary sampling. It was found that wall deposition was substantial in the upper stages of the Sioutas cascade impactors, which meant that quite often more PM was deposited on the inner walls of the impactor than on the filter substrates. At the same time, wall deposition did most probably not affect the collection of the finest particles (< 0.25 µm). Besides wall deposition of the particles, the effect of high PM concentration on the impactor performance, particle bouncing and blow off, high particle mass loading and impact fragmentation of the particle agglomerates were considered for explaining the malfunctioning of the Sioutas impactors in the Si metal smelter. Furthermore, concentrations of the finest PM fraction (< 0.25 µm) and respirable fraction both collected by personal sampling are reported and discussed in the paper.

Mass-asymmetric fission of Bi205,207,209 at energies close to the fission barrier using proton bombardment of Pb204,206,208

Background: Recent observation of mass-asymmetric fission in neutron-deficient Hg and Pt nuclei has reignited interest in fission fragment mass distributions close to Pb. Investigations at energies close to the fission barrier, where mass-asymmetric fission is expected to be most obvious and the sensitivity to shell effects is maximized, are limited in this mass region.Purpose: To measure fission mass distributions for $^{205,207,209}\mathrm{Bi}$ nuclei at the lowest possible excitation energies to determine how the mass distributions change with excitation energy and the neutron number of the compound nucleus.Method: Proton beams bombarding targets of $^{204,206,208}\mathrm{Pb}$ were used to study the fission of $^{205,207,209}\mathrm{Bi}$ at energies from just above to 10 MeV above their fission barriers. Fission fragments were measured using the CUBE fission spectrometer. Fission fragment mass distributions were determined using a newly developed time difference analysis method. Mass distributions were characterized by triple-Gaussian fits to determine the systematic trends across each isotope with excitation energy.Results: Measured mass distributions of all three Bi isotopes exhibit a component of mass-asymmetric fission at all energies studied. The probability of mass-asymmetric fission decreases significantly with increasing excitation energy, from $\ensuremath{\approx}70$ to $\ensuremath{\approx}40%$ over a 10-MeV range. Comparisons between the three Bi isotopes hint at an increase in the mass-symmetric fission yield with increasing neutron number, which could be due to a decrease in the difference between the symmetric and asymmetric fission barriers. The centroids of the mass-asymmetric peaks suggest that several deformed shell gaps in the fission fragments could be contributing to the presence of the mass-asymmetric fission mode with ${Z}_{\mathrm{light}}\ensuremath{\simeq}38$, ${Z}_{\mathrm{heavy}}\ensuremath{\simeq}45$, and ${N}_{\mathrm{light}}\ensuremath{\simeq}56$ all present in the fission fragments.Conclusions: Measurements of fission mass distributions at the lowest possible excitation energies above the fission barrier provide an excellent platform to investigate the origins of the mass-asymmetric fission mode. Further systematic measurements at these energies offer an opportunity to rigorously test new models of fission in this mass region.

Systematics of the mass-asymmetric fission of excited nuclei from 176Os to 206Pb

The competition between the dominant mass-asymmetric and rarer narrow mass-symmetric fission modes in actinide nuclei are controlled by deformed and spherical shell effects. The low energy fission of 80180Hg was recently observed to be strongly mass-asymmetric, indicating that despite spherical shell gaps in fragments around 4090Zr, the system does not fission mass-symmetrically. Several theoretical approaches have been used to explain this unexpected result.To investigate the underlying mechanism, systematic measurements of fission mass distributions for isotopes of Os, Pt, Hg and Pb, formed in fusion reactions with p, 12C, 32S, 40,48Ca projectiles, have been made for excitation energies above the fission saddle-point (Eeff⁎) between 2.8 and 28.2 MeV. Evidence for mass-asymmetric fission is widespread, manifested as flat topped mass distributions or significant deviations from a single Gaussian shape. The systematic trends seen cannot be attributed to quasifission. Comparing two-Gaussian fits at a wide range of E⁎, it is concluded that the fit centroids reflect the low energy character of mass-asymmetric fission in the sub-lead region.Quantitative comparisons were made with microscopic calculations by Scamps and Simenel (2019) [33] of fission mass-asymmetries attributed to the influence of shell gaps in both neutrons (N=52, 56 for compact octuple deformations) and protons (Z=34 and Z=42, 44, 46 with large quadrupole deformations). For the predominant fission mode in the calculations, having one elongated and one compact fragment, the results are in extremely good agreement with all experimental values. This provides strong support for both the calculations, and the exploration of mass-asymmetric fission systematics through heavy ion fusion reactions. The total kinetic energy distributions for 176Pt and 180Pt do not show any evidence of a low TKE mass-symmetric fission mode, as had been reported for 178Pt by Tsekhanovich et al. (2019) [39].

Airflow Simulation and Measurement of Brake Wear Particle Emissions with a Novel Test Rig

Particle emissions generated by the braking systems of road vehicles represents a significant non-exhaust contributor. Fine particles such as these are transported through airborne routes. They are known to adversely affect human health and currently there are no policies in place to regulate them. Before this issue can be addressed, it is important to characterise brake wear debris which is the purpose of this study. A newly-developed test rig consisting of a closed but ventilated enclosure surrounds a brake dynamometer equipped with a cast iron rotor. A sampling probe was made in accordance with the isokinetic principles in order to withdraw a representative aerosol sample from the outlet duct. Measurements of real-time particulate numbers and mass distributions are recorded using a Dekati ELPI&lt;sup&gt;®&lt;/sup&gt;+ unit and the brake materials were tested under drag-braking conditions. Prior to measurements, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed to investigate the most suitable sampling points used in the experiments. Preliminary experimental results show that there is a noticeable increase in particle numbers, compared to background levels, with a corresponding change in the mass distribution; coarser particles become more prominent during these braking events. These results provide confidence in the performance of the test rig and its ability to measure airborne brake wear debris in order to compare emissions from various friction pairs.