Materials science and fuel technologies of uranium and plutonium mixed oxide

Kato, Masato; Machida, Masahiko; Hirooka, Shun; Nakamichi, Shinya; Ikusawa, Yoshihisa; Nakamura, Hiroki; Kobayashi, Keita; Ozawa, Takayuki; Maeda, Koji; Sasaki, Shinji; et al.

Materials Science and Fuel Technologies of Uranium and Plutonium mixed Oxide, 171 Pages, 2022/10

https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003298205

Innovative and advanced nuclear reactors using plutonium fuel has been developed in each country. In order to develop a new nuclear fuel, irradiation tests are indispensable, and it is necessary to demonstrate the performance and safety of nuclear fuels. If we can develop a technology that accurately simulates irradiation behavior as a technology that complements the irradiation test, the cost, time, and labor involved in nuclear fuel research and development will be greatly reduced. And safety and reliability can be significantly improved through simulation of nuclear fuel irradiation behavior. In order to evaluate the performance of nuclear fuel, it is necessary to know the physical and chemical properties of the fuel at high temperatures. And it is indispensable to develop a behavior model that describes various phenomena that occur during irradiation. In previous research and development, empirical methods with fitting parameters have been used in many parts of model development. However, empirical techniques can give very different results in areas where there is no data. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to construct a scientific descriptive model that can extrapolate the basic characteristics of fuel to the composition and temperature, and to develop an irradiation behavior analysis code to which the model is applied.

Study of quasielastic barrier distributions as a step towards the synthesis of superheavy elements with hot fusion reactions

Tanaka, Taiki*; Morita, Kosuke*; Morimoto, Koji*; Kaji, Daiya*; Haba, Hiromitsu*; Boll, R. A.*; Brewer, N. T.*; Van Cleve, S.*; Dean, D. J.*; Ishizawa, Satoshi*; et al.

Physical Review Letters, 124(5), p.052502_1 - 052502_6, 2020/02

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.052502

First direct mass measurements of nuclides around = 100 with a multireflection time-of-flight mass spectrograph

Ito, Yuta*; Schury, P.*; Wada, Michiharu*; Arai, Fumiya*; Haba, Hiromitsu*; Hirayama, Yoshikazu*; Ishizawa, Satoshi*; Kaji, Daiya*; Kimura, Sota*; Koura, Hiroyuki; et al.

Physical Review Letters, 120(15), p.152501_1 - 152501_6, 2018/04

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.152501

Masses of Es, Fm and the transfermium nuclei Md, and No, produced by hot- and cold-fusion reactions, in the vicinity of the deformed neutron shell closure, have been directly measured using a multi-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrograph. The masses of Es and Md were measured for the first time. Using the masses of Md as anchor points for decay chains, the masses of heavier nuclei, up to Bh and Mt, were determined. These new masses were compared with theoretical global mass models and demonstrated to be in good agreement with macroscopic-microscopic models in this region. The empirical shell gap parameter derived from three isotopic masses was updated with the new masses and corroborate the existence of the deformed neutron shell closure for Md and Lr.

Determination of fusion barrier distributions from quasielastic scattering cross sections towards superheavy nuclei synthesis

Tanaka, Taiki*; Narikiyo, Yoshihiro*; Morita, Kosuke*; Fujita, Kunihiro*; Kaji, Daiya*; Morimoto, Koji*; Yamaki, Sayaka*; Wakabayashi, Yasuo*; Tanaka, Kengo*; Takeyama, Mirei*; et al.

Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 87(1), p.014201_1 - 014201_9, 2018/01

https://doi.org/10.7566/JPSJ.87.014201

Excitation functions of quasielastic scattering cross sections for the Ca + Pb, Ti + Pb, and Ca + Cm reactions were successfully measured by using the gas-filled recoil-ion separator GARIS. Fusion barrier distributions were extracted from these data, and compared with the coupled-channels calculations. It was found that the peak energies of the barrier distributions for the Ca + Pb and Ti + Pb systems coincide with those of the 2n evaporation channel cross sections for the systems, while that of the Ca + Cm is located slightly below the 4n evaporation ones. This results provide us helpful information to predict the optimum beam energy to synthesize superheavy nuclei.

Observation of doubly-charged ions of francium isotopes extracted from a gas cell

Schury, P.*; Wada, Michiharu*; Ito, Yuta*; Kaji, Daiya*; Haba, Hiromitsu*; Hirayama, Yoshikazu*; Kimura, Sota*; Koura, Hiroyuki; MacCormick, M.*; Miyatake, Hiroari*; et al.

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B, 407, p.160 - 165, 2017/06

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2017.06.014

Various isotopes of Ac, Ra, Fr, and Rn were produced by fusion-evaporation reactions using a Ca beam. The energetic ions were stopped in and extracted from a helium gas cell. The extracted ions were identified using a multi-reflection time-of-fight mass spectrograph. In all cases, it was observed that the predominant charge state for the extracted ions, including the alkali Fr, was 2+.

First online multireflection time-of-flight mass measurements of isobar chains produced by fusion-evaporation reactions; Toward identification of superheavy elements via mass spectroscopy

Schury, P.*; Wada, Michiharu*; Ito, Yuta*; Kaji, Daiya*; Arai, Fumiya*; MacCormick, M.*; Murray, I.*; Haba, Hiromitsu*; Jeong, S.*; Kimura, Sota*; et al.

Physical Review C, 95(1), p.011305_1 - 011305_6, 2017/01

AA2016-0638.pdf:0.71MB

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.95.011305

Using a multireflection time-of-flight mass spectrograph located after a gas cell coupled with the gas-filled recoil ion separator GARIS-II, the masses of several -decaying heavy nuclei were directly and precisely measured. The nuclei were produced via fusion-evaporation reactions and separated from projectilelike and targetlike particles using GARIS-II before being stopped in a helium-filled gas cell. Time-of-flight spectra for three isobar chains, Fr-Rn-At-Po, Fr- Rn-At-Po-Bi, and Fr-Rn-At, were observed. Precision atomic mass values were determined for Fr, Rn, and At. Identifications of Bi, Po, Rn, and At were made with N10 detected ions, representing the next step toward use of mass spectrometry to identify exceedingly low-yield species such as superheavy element ions.

Decomposition studies of group 6 hexacarbonyl complexes, 1; Production and decomposition of Mo(CO) and W(CO)

Usoltsev, I.*; Eichler, R.*; Wang, Y.*; Even, J.*; Yakushev, A.*; Haba, Hiromitsu*; Asai, Masato; Brand, H.*; Di Nitto, A.*; Dllmann, Ch. E.*; et al.

Radiochimica Acta, 104(3), p.141 - 151, 2016/03

https://doi.org/10.1515/ract-2015-2445

Conditions of the production and decomposition of hexacarbonyl complexes of short-lived Mo and W isotopes were investigated to study thermal stability of the heaviest group 6 hexacarbonyl complex Sg(CO). A tubular flow reactor was tested to decompose the hexacarbonyl complexes and to extract the first bond dissociation energies. A silver was found to be the most appropriate reaction surface to study the decomposition of the group 6 hexacarbonyl. It was found that the surface temperature at which the decomposition occurred was correlated to the first bond dissociation energy of Mo(CO) and W(CO), indicating that the first bond dissociation energy of Sg(CO) could be determined with this technique.

Performance of new gas-filled recoil ion separator GARIS-II for asymmetric fusion reaction

Kaji, Daiya*; Morimoto, Koji*; Wakabayashi, Yasuo*; Takeyama, Mirei*; Yamaki, Sayaka*; Tanaka, Kengo*; Haba, Hiromitsu*; Huang, M.*; Murakami, Masashi*; Kanaya, Jumpei*; et al.

JPS Conference Proceedings (Internet), 6, p.030107_1 - 030107_4, 2015/06

https://doi.org/10.7566/JPSCP.6.030107

Performance of the new gas-filled recoil ion separator GARIS-II was investigated using asymmetric Ne-induced fusion reactions. The use of He-H mixture gas for the gas-filled magnet significantly reduced background scattered particles detected at the focal-plane Si detector, and increased a transmission of the asymmetric reaction products. A target-identification system was newly installed for efficient measurements of excitation functions without changing beam energy nor target.

Production of Nb and Ta for chemical studies of element 105, Db, using the GARIS gas-jet system

Huang, M.*; Haba, Hiromitsu*; Murakami, Masashi*; Asai, Masato; Kaji, Daiya*; Kanaya, Jumpei*; Kasamatsu, Yoshitaka*; Kikunaga, Hidetoshi*; Kikutani, Yuki*; Komori, Yukiko*; et al.

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 304(2), p.845 - 849, 2015/05

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-014-3877-4

A technique to utilize radioisotopes of Nb and Ta was developed for chemical studies of element 105, Db, by coupling a gas-jet transport system to the RIKEN gas-filled recoil ion separator (GARIS). The short-lived Nb and Ta were produced with nuclear reactions using a F beam whose energy was the same as that to produce Db. Then, they were separated with GARIS and extracted to a chemistry laboratory with the gas-jet transport system. By changing only magnetic field of GARIS and inserting an energy degrader and a shutter for recoil ions, we could deliver the Nb and Ta to a chemistry device for Db without changing other experimental conditions.

Synthesis and detection of a Seaborgium carbonyl complex

Even, J.*; Yakushev, A.*; Dllmann, Ch. E.*; Haba, Hiromitsu*; Asai, Masato; Sato, Tetsuya; Brand, H.*; Di Nitto, A.*; Eichler, R.*; Fan, F. L.*; et al.

Science, 345(6203), p.1491 - 1493, 2014/09

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1255720

A new superheavy element complex, a seaborgium carbonyl, has been successfully synthesized, and its adsorption property has been studied using a cryo-thermochromatography and -detection apparatus COMPACT. Nuclear reaction products of short-lived Sg preseparated with a gas-filled recoil ion separator GARIS at RIKEN were directly injected into a gas cell filled with He/CO mixture gas, and chemical reaction products of volatile carbonyl complexes were trasported to COMPACT. The Sg carbonyl complex detected with COMPACT was found to be very volatile with adsorption enthalpy of 50 kJ/mol, from which we have concluded that this complex should be a Sg hexacarbonyl Sg(CO). This is the first synthesis of organometallic compounds of transactinide elements for which only simple inorganic comounds have been synthesized so far.