Automated determination of size and morphology information from soot transmission electron microscope (TEM)-generated images

The thermophoretic sampling of particulates from hot media, coupled with transmission electron microscope (TEM) imaging, is a combined approach that is widely used to derive morphological information. The identification and the measurement of the particulates, however, can be complex when the TEM images are of low contrast, noisy, and have non-uniform background signal level. The image processing method can also be challenging and time consuming, when the samples collected have large variability in shape and size, or have some degree of overlapping. In this work, a three-stage image processing sequence is presented to facilitate time-efficient automated identification and measurement of particulates from the TEM grids. The proposed processing sequence is first applied to soot samples that were thermophoretically sampled from a laminar non-premixed ethylene-air flame. The parameter values that are required to be set to facilitate the automated process are identified, and sensitivity of the results to these parameters is assessed. The same analysis process is also applied to soot samples that were acquired from an externally irradiated laminar non-premixed ethylene-air flame, which have different geometrical characteristics, to assess the morphological dependence of the proposed image processing sequence. Using the optimized parameter values, statistical assessments of the automated results reveal that the largest discrepancies that are associated with the estimated values of primary particle diameter, fractal dimension, and prefactor values of the aggregates for the tested cases, are approximately 3, 1, and 10 %, respectively, when compared with the manual measurements.     

升液过程中熔融铝合金液面的动态观察

用快速摄影拍摄了升液管中熔融铝合金液面的运动状态,发现在升液过程中,存在着沿液面切向的流动。这种流动具有撇除表面氧化膜、净化合金液的作用。为实现平稳充型和减少热损耗,设计了正弦速度函数。用实验方法确定了速度振幅。     

Ultrasonically determined thickness of long cortical bones: Three-dimensional simulations of in vitro experiments

It was reported in a previous study that simulated guided wave axial transmission velocities on two-dimensional (2D) numerically reproduced geometry of long bones predicted moderately real in vitro ultrasound data on the same bone samples. It was also shown that fitting of ultrasound velocity with simple analytical model yielded a precise estimate (UTh) for true cortical bone thickness. This current study expands the 2D bone model into three dimensions (3D). To this end, wave velocities and UTh were determined from experiments and from time-domain finite-difference simulations of wave propagation, both performed on a collection of 10 human radii (29 measurement sites). A 3D numerical bone model was developed with tuneable fixed material properties and individualized geometry based on X-ray computed tomography reconstructions of real bones. Simulated UTh data were in good accordance (root-mean-square error was 0.40 mm; r(2)=0.79, p<0.001) with true cortical thickness, and hence the measured phase velocity can be well estimated by using a simple analytical inversion model also in 3D. Prediction of in vitro data was improved significantly (by 10% units) and the upgraded bone model thus explained most of the variability (up to 95% when sites were carefully matched) observed in in vitro ultrasound data.     

Time-resolved measurement of atomic emission enhancement by fs--ns dual-pulsed laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Time-resolved measurement of atomic emission enhancement is performed by using a 500-fs KrF laser pulse incident upon a high density supersonic O_{2} gas jet, synchronized with an orthogonal ns frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser pulse. The ultra-short pulse serves as an igniter of the gas jet, and the subsequent ns-laser pulse significantly enhances the atomic emission. Analysis shows that the contributions to the enhancement effect are made mainly by the bremsstrahlung radiation and cascade ionization.     

多色脉冲激光光源研究

采用钛宝石锁模飞秒激光器作为泵浦光源,利用1.8 μm纤芯的保偏光子晶体光纤的高非线性特性产生超连续谱,通过调节泵浦光源和光子晶体光纤之间的耦合,在可见光区,获得了中心波长分别在431 nm, 497 nm, 520 nm, 575 nm的mW量级的不同颜色的激光输出,并且测量输出的脉冲序列重复频率与泵浦光的一致,具有良好的稳定性.     

闪烁体荧光传输特性对ETOF探测器性能的影响

为了对BESⅢ端盖飞行时间探测器(ETOF)的测试结果给出合理的解释, 采用Monte Carlo模拟软件包Geant4, 对该探测器测量高能带电粒子的性能进行模拟研究. 详细探讨了当粒子击中ETOF模块不同位置时, 其闪烁体荧光传输特性与探测器模块输出信号之间的关联, 以及PMT输出信号甄别阈值的选取对闪烁探测器本征时间分辨的影响, 并寻找可能的改善时间分辨的方法. 为进一步提高ETOF的性能提供参考.     

聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯掺杂Ce3+的飞秒激光三维信息存储

用飞秒激光(200 fs,1 kHz,800 nm)脉冲在掺杂稀土离子Ce3 的聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PMMA)膜中进行了光存储实验研究,包括对样品的吸收光谱、激光照射前后的电子旋转共振(Electron spin resonance,ESR)光谱的测量和讨论。结果表明掺杂稀土离子Ce3 的聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯膜具有较低的写入阈值,有利于高速、并行的三维光存储。实验结果采用传统光学显微镜并行读出。给出了四层存储结果(点间距和层间距分别是4μm和16μm),并讨论了脉冲能量的大小对空腔尺寸的影响,进行高密度存储时,在保证读出信号灰度值足够大的情况下,应选择尽量小的激光脉冲写入能量。实验结果表明这种材料可以应用于三维光信息存储。     

钾掺杂对三联苯的超导特性探寻

新型超导材料的设计合成及其超导机理的探索是目前凝聚态物理学领域的重要研究方向. 本文采用高真空热烧结方法制备了钾掺杂对三联苯粉末材料并表征了它们的晶体结构、分子振动、磁学及超导特性. X射线衍射图谱和拉曼光谱表明在烧结样品中除存在钾掺杂对三联苯和KH外, 还含有苯环重组的C₆₀和石墨成分. 拉曼光谱中部分峰位的红移进一步证实钾成功掺入对三联苯分子晶体中并将4 s电子转移到C原子上. 零场冷却磁性测量结果表明: 多数样品在整个温度测量区间表现为居里顺磁性, 但少数样品呈现出抗磁性, 而且在17.86, 10.00 和6.42 K三个温度点出现磁化率突降的反常行为, 其中17.86 K处的突降很可能源于钾掺杂C₆₀引起的超导转变, 而后两者可能与钾掺杂对三联苯导致的超导相关. 研究结果有助于理解金属掺杂芳香烃有机超导体这一新兴超导家族的晶体生长和物理特性, 同时也提供了一种低温制备C₆₀和石墨的新方法.