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At least 271 records · Page 15

Landscape of pear-shaped even-even nuclei

The phenomenon of reflection-asymmetric nuclear shapes is relevant to nuclear stability, nuclear spectroscopy, nuclear decays and fission, and the search for new physics beyond the standard model. Global surveys of ground-state octupole deformation, performed with a limited number of models, suggest that the number of pear-shaped isotopes is fairly limited across the nuclear landscape. Here, we carry out a global analysis of ground-state octupole deformations for particle-bound even-even nuclei with Z ≤ 110 and N ≤ 210 using nuclear density functional theory (DFT) with several nonrelativistic and covariant energy density functionals. In this way, we can identify the best candidates for reflection-asymmetric shapes. The calculations are performed in the frameworks of axial reflection-asymmetric Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov theory and relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov theory using DFT solvers employing harmonic oscillator basis expansion. We consider five Skyrme and four covariant energy density functionals. We predict several regions of ground-state octupole deformation. In addition to the “traditional” regions of neutron-deficient actinide nuclei around 224 Ra and neutron-rich lanthanides around 146 Ba, we identified vast regions of reflection-asymmetric shapes in very neutron-rich nuclei around 200 Gd and 288 Pu, as well as in several nuclei around 112 Ba. Our analysis suggests several promising candidates with stable ground-state octupole deformation, primarily in the neutron-deficient actinide region, that can be reached experimentally. Detailed comparison between Skyrme and covariant models is performed. Octupole shapes predicted in this study are consistent with the current experimental information. This work can serve as the starting point of a systematic search for parity doublets in odd-mass and odd-odd nuclei, which will be of interest in the context of new physics searches.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Microscopic origin of reflection-asymmetric nuclear shapes

The presence of nuclear ground states with stable reflection-asymmetric shapes is supported by rich experimental evidence. Theoretical surveys of odd-multipolarity deformations predict the existence of pear-shaped isotopes in several fairly localized regions of the nuclear landscape in the vicinity of near-lying single-particle shells with Δℓ = Δj = 3. We analyze the role of isoscalar, isovector, neutron-proton, neutron-neutron, and proton-proton multipole interaction energies in inducing the onset of reflection-asymmetric ground-state deformations. The calculations are performed in the framework of axial reflection-asymmetric Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov theory using two Skyrme energy-density functionals and density-dependent pairing force. We show that reflection-asymmetric ground-state shapes of atomic nuclei are driven by the odd-multipolarity neutron-proton (or isoscalar) part of the nuclear interaction energy. This result is consistent with the particle-vibration picture, in which the main driver of octupole instability is the isoscalar octupole-octupole interaction giving rise to large E3 polarizability. The necessary condition for the appearance of localized regions of pear-shaped nuclei in the nuclear landscape is the presence of parity doublets involving Δℓ = Δj = 3 proton or neutron single-particle shells. This condition alone is, however, not sufficient to determine whether pear shapes actually appear, and, if so, what the corresponding reflection-asymmetric deformation energies are. The predicted small reflection-asymmetric deformation energies result from dramatic cancellations between even- and odd-multipolarity components of the nuclear binding energy.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Prolate-Oblate Asymmetric Shape Phase Transition in the Interacting Boson Model with SU(3) Higher-Order Interactions

Prolate-oblate shape phase transition is an interesting topic in nuclear structure, which is useful for understanding the intrinsic interactions between nucleons. Recently, the interacting boson model with SU(3) higher-order interactions was proposed, in which the prolate shape and the oblate shape are not described in a mirror symmetric way. This asymmetric description seems more realistic. The level evolutions, B(E2) values, and other important indicators showing the prolate-oblate asymmetric transitions are investigated in detail, and realistic structure evolutions from 180Hf to 200Hg are compared. A key finding is that the average deformation of the prolate shape is nearly twice the one of the oblate shape. These results, together with the successful description of the B(E2) anomaly in 168,170Os, 172Pt, the γ -soft properties of 196Pt, 82Kr, and the normal states of 110Cd, support the validity of the new model.

Wang, Tao↗

Microsecond Isomer at the N = 20 Island of Shape Inversion Observed at FRIB

Excited-state spectroscopy from the first experiment at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) is reported. A 24(2)-μs isomer was observed with the FRIB Decay Station initiator (FDSi) through a cascade of 224- and 401-keV γ rays in coincidence with 32 Na nuclei. This is the only known microsecond isomer (1 μs ≤T 1/2 <1 ms) in the region. This nucleus is at the heart of the N=20 island of shape inversion and is at the crossroads of the spherical shell-model, deformed shell-model, and ab initio theories. It can be represented as the coupling of a proton hole and neutron particle to 32 Mg, 32 Mg+π -1 +ν +1 . This odd-odd coupling and isomer formation provides a sensitive measure of the underlying shape degrees of freedom of 32 Mg, where the onset of spherical-to-deformed shape inversion begins with a low-lying deformed 2 + state at 885 keV and a low-lying shape-coexisting 0$^+_2$ state at 1058 keV. Here, we suggest two possible explanations for the 625-keV isomer in 32 Na: a 6 - spherical shape isomer that decays by E2 or a 0 + deformed spin isomer that decays by M2. The present results and calculations are most consistent with the latter, indicating that the low-lying states are dominated by deformation.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Data-driven predictive probability density function control of fiber length stochastic distribution shaping in refining process

Pulp is the most important raw material in paper in paper industries, whose Fiber Length Stochastic Distribution (FLSD) shaping directly determines the energy consumption and paper quality of the subsequent papermaking processes. However, the mean and variance are insufficient to describe the output FLSD shaping, which display non-Gaussian distribution properties. Therefore, the traditional control, method based on the mean and variance of fiber length is difficult to control the FLSD shaping effectively. In this paper, a novel data-driven predictive probability density function (PDF) control method is proposed for output FLSD shaping in refining process. Primarily, in order to improve the approximation accuracy of the PDF employing RBF neural network, the parameters (center value and width) of each RBF basis functions are tuned via utilizing iterative learning control (ILC) law, and the corresponding estimations of weights law can be obtained. Secondly, considering that the conventional linear model of weights vector has drawbacks of low accuracy and weak generalization ability, random vector functional link networks (RVFLNs) based data driven nonlinear modelling method is employed to characterize the prediction model between the input variables and weights vector. Finally, in order to reduce the randomness of the output FLSD, a minimum entropy control method under mean constraint is employed to design the predictive PDF controller for the output FLSD shaping with the help of the established nonlinear stochastic distribution model. Both simulations and experiments are given to illustrate the effectiveness and practicability of the proposed method.

Probability debsity function, Fiber length distrib↗

Heat Transfer and Pressure Loss of Additively Manufactured Internal Cooling Channels With Various Shapes

Abstract Additive manufacturing (AM) provides the ability to fabricate highly customized internal cooling passages that are relevant to gas turbine components. This experimental study examines the pressure loss and heat transfer performance of a range of fundamental channel shapes that were produced using direct metal laser sintering. Circular, hexagonal, pentagonal, elliptical, diamond, square, rectangular, trapezoidal, and triangular channel cross sections were investigated. To maintain the same convective surface area between shapes, the wetted perimeters of the channel cross sections were kept constant. Parallel computational fluid dynamic simulations were performed to understand the relationships in cooling performance between several channel shapes. Several characteristic length scales were evaluated to scale the pressure loss and heat transfer measurements. Among the channel shapes investigated, the diamond channel showed the lowest Nusselt number and friction factor. The pentagon exhibited a similar Nusselt number as the circular channel despite having a lower friction factor. There was no difference in scaling the friction factor or Nusselt number results of the different channel shapes between using the square root of cross-sectional area compared to hydraulic diameter as the characteristic length scale

Engineering↗

Extending the Gutowski model to kidney-bean and elliptically shaped fibers

Efforts by manufacturers to produce more cost-effective carbon fibers have resulted in fibers with irregular cross-section often referred to as kidney-bean shaped fibers. In this research, compaction experiments were performed with a modified laser light section method to evaluate the compaction behavior of kidney-bean shaped carbon fibers. The kidney-bean shaped fibers followed a different compaction behavior compared to the Gutowski model for circular fibers. Additionally, these fibers required an order of magnitude larger force to compact than circular fibers to achieve similar fiber volume fraction, which has implications in infiltration and consolidation efficiency for composites manufacturing. A shape correction factor based on the fiber cross-sectional aspect ratio was proposed to extend the Gutowski model to fibers with irregular cross-sectional shapes. The modified Gutowski model provided an appropriate order of magnitude fit for the kidney-bean fibers. Furthermore, this modification to the Gutowski model recovered the original solution for circular fibers (cross-sectional aspect ratio = 1).

Materials Science↗

Aerodynamic Sensitivities over Separable Shape Tensors

Here, we present a comprehensive aerodynamic sensitivity analysis of airfoil parameterization informed by separable shape tensors. This parameterization approach uniquely benefits the design process by isolating various well-studied shape characteristics, such as airfoil thickness, and providing a well-regulated low-dimensional parameter domain for aerodynamic designs. Exploring the aerodynamic sensitivities of this novel parameterization can provide valuable insights for more robust designs and future manufacturing efforts. We construct a data-driven parameter space of airfoils using principal geodesic analysis of separable shape tensors informed by a curated database containing almost 20,000 suitable engineering airfoils. Analyzing the shape reconstruction error and the maximum mean discrepancy between joint distributions of aerodynamic quantities, we study the dimensionality of the learned parameter space. This simple numerical experiment demonstrates a dramatic dimension reduction that retains design effectiveness and promotes regularity of the shape representations. Finally, we generate new airfoils and use the HAM2D Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes solver to predict lift, drag, and moment coefficients. We compute multiple sensitivity metrics to quantify and assert the consistency of parameter influence on the aerodynamic quantities. We also explore low-dimensional polynomial ridge approximations to motivate physical intuitions and offer explanations of the approximated sensitivities.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Surface-crack shape change in bending fatigue using an inexpensive resonant fatiguing apparatus

An inexpensive device for producing surface cracks of controlled size and shape is described along with results of its use which show how the shape of the surface crack changes as it grows in bending fatigue from a variety of crack starter shapes. The growth pattern for any crack is uniquely defined by the crack starter configuration and appears to be independent of alloy. Shape changes are substantial and all growth curves tend toward a common growth curve. Circular cracks tend to become elliptical with an associated increase in stress intensity factor. This increase accelerates the crack growth rate and proximity to the critical flaw size. Through-cracks produced by the extension of a surface crack in a bending stress field will have length ten times the section thickness. The results demonstrate the necessity of taking into account changing crack shape in the calculation of structural life when bending is a significant component of the stress field.

Pierce, W. S.↗

The equatorial total electron content and shape factor

The diurnal variations of electron content and shape factor observed at an equatorial station during sunspot minimum are shown to be consistent with the electron density profiles observed at Jicamarca during sunspot minimum. The rapid increase in electron content and the shape factor at sunrise results from the EUV production of ionization in the E and F regions. Day-to-day variations in daytime electron content are observed to be quite small at the equator. The evening decrease in the shape factor results from an upward drift of the F region at sunset and the evening decay of the E and bottomside F regions. The nighttime peak or plateau in the shape factor is produced by the slow downward drift of the electron density profile. The deep predawn dip in the shape factor is caused by the main peak of the F layer reaching low altitudes where high loss rates cause a large reduction in ionization below 300 km and very flat electron density profile.

Donnelly, R. F.↗

The shape and stability of rotating liquid drops

Equilibrium shapes and stability of rotating drops held together by surface tension are found by computer-aided analysis that uses expansions in finite-element basis functions. Shapes are calculated as extrema of appropriate energies. Stability and relative stability are determined from curvatures of the energy surface in the neighborhood of the extremum. Families of axisymmetric, two-, three-, and four-lobed drop shapes are traced systematically. Bifurcation and turning points are located and the principle of exchange of stabilities is tested. The axisymmetric shapes are stable at low rotation rates but lose stability at the bifurcation to two-lobed shapes. Two-lobed drops isolated with constant angular momentum are stable. The results bear on experiments designed to further those of Plateau (1863).

Brown, R. A.↗

Calculation of the room-temperature shapes of unsymmetric laminates

A theory explaining the characteristics of the cured shapes of unsymmetric laminates is presented. The theory is based on an extension of classical lamination theory which accounts for geometric nonlinearities. A Rayleigh-Ritz approach to minimizing the total potential energy is used to obtain quantitative information regarding the room temperature shapes of square T300/5208 (0(2)/90(2))T and (0(4)/90(4))T graphite-epoxy laminates. It is shown that, depending on the thickness of the laminate and the length of the side the square, the saddle shape configuration is actually unstable. For values of length and thickness that render the saddle shape unstable, it is shown that two stable cylindrical shapes exist. The predictions of the theory are compared with existing experimental data.

Hyer, M. W.↗

Cauchy integral method for two-dimensional solidification interface shapes

A method is developed to determine the shape of steady state solidification interfaces formed when liquid above its freezing point circulates over a cold surface. The solidification interface, which is at uniform temperature, will form in a shape such that the non-uniform energy convected to it is locally balanced by conduction into the solid. The interface shape is of interest relative to the crystal structure formed during solidification; regulating the crystal structure has application in casting naturally strengthened metallic composites. The results also pertain to phase-change energy storage devices, where the solidified configuration and overall heat transfer are needed. The analysis uses a conformal mapping technique to relate the desired interface coordinates to the components of the temperature gradient at the interface. These components are unknown because the interface shape is unknown. A Cauchy integral formulation provides a second relation involving the components, and a simultaneous solution yields the interface shape.

Siegel, R.↗

Elevated temperature behavior of superplastically formed/weld-brazed titanium compression panels having advanced shaped stiffeners

The 316 C (600 F) buckling behavior of superplastically formed/weld-brazed titanium compression panels having advanced shaped stiffeners was investigated. Fabrication of the advanced shaped stiffeners was made possible by the increased formability afforded by the superplasticity characteristics of the titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V. Stiffeners having the configurations of a conventional hat, a beaded web, a modified beaded web, a ribbed web, and a stepped web were investigated. The data from the panel tests include load-shortening curves, local buckling strengths, and failure loads. The superplastic formed/weld-brazed panels with the ribbed web and stepped web stiffeners developed 25 and 27 percent higher buckling strengths at 316 C (600 F) than panels with conventionally shaped stiffeners. The buckling load reductions for panels tested at 316 C (600 F), compared with panels tested at room temperature, were in agreement with predictions based on titanium material property data. The advantage that higher buckling loads can be readily achieved by superplastically forming of advanced stiffener shapes was demonstrated. Application of these advanced stiffener shapes offers the potential to achieve substantial weight savings in aerospace vehicles.

Royster, D. M.↗

Growth and stability of interacting surface flaws of arbitrary shape

Growth regimes of interacting surface flaws of arbitrary shape are analyzed with the aid of the body force method, and the stability of the process is assessed on the basis of the variation of the load during the growth. It is shown that irregularly shaped flaws are often associated with very high stress intensity factors locally, which tend to change as the flaws grow into more regular shapes. Several examples of various flaw shapes are worked out for illustration, and it is shown that a simple formula seems to provide an accurate estimate of the maximum stress intensity factor for surface flaws of various shapes, which are not very slender. The formula involves the overall maximum tension, as well as the area of the projection of the flaw on the plane normal to the maximum tension.

Murakami, Y.↗

Measurements of local convective heat transfer coefficients on ice accretion shapes

The thin-skin heat rate technique was used to determine local convective heat transfer coefficients for four representative ice accretion shapes. The shapes represented three stages of glaze ice formation and one rime ice formation; the ice models had varying degrees of surface roughness. In general, convective heat transfer was higher in regions where the model's surfaces were convex and lower in regions where the surfaces were concave. The effect of roughness was different for the glaze and rime ice shapes. On the glaze ice shapes, roughness increased the maximum Nu by 80 percent, but the other Nu values were virtually unchanged. On the rime ice shape, the Nu numbers near the stagnation point were unchanged. The maximum Nu value increased by 45 percent, and the Nu number downstream of the peak increased by approximately 150 percent.

Arimilli, R. V.↗

Numerical simulation of the flowfield over ice accretion shapes

The primary goals are directed toward the development of a numerical method for computing flow about ice accretion shapes and determining the influence of these shapes on flow degradation. It is expedient to investigate various aspects of icing independently in order to assess their contribution to the overall icing phenomena. The specific aspects to be examined include the water droplet trajectories with collection efficiencies and phase change on the surface, the flowfield about specified shapes including lift, drag, and heat transfer distribution, and surface roughness effects. The configurations computed were models of ice accretion shapes formed on a circular cylinder in the NASA Lewis Icing Research Tunnel. An existing Navier-Stokes program was modified to compute the flowfield over four shapes (2, 5, and 15 minute models of glaze ice, and a 15 minute accumulation of rime ice).

Scott, J. N.↗

Static shape determination and control for large space structures. I - The flexible beam. II - A large space antenna

A method for determining and controlling the shape of large, continuous space structures by means of discrete or pointwise observations and control devices is presented. The general linear boundary value problem satisfied by a one-dimensional shape function is defined, and the existence of solutions is studied. The static shape control problems for one-dimensional systems with and without rigid body modes and the static shape estimation problem are presented and solved. Eigenfunction expansions are presented which provide approximations to the algorithm terms when the associated Green's function is not known. An integral operator approach is applied to the multidimensional static problem, and the results are illustrated with a finite element model of the disk of a large space antenna which assumes no rigid body modes. It is shown that the shape control algorithm must be modified for systems with rigid body modes.

Weeks, C. J.↗