A new airborne Polar Nephelometer for the measurement of optical and microphysical cloud properties. Part II: Preliminary tests

International audienceA new optical sensor, the airborne Polar Nephelometer, has been tested in an open wind tunnel. The wind tunnel was operated in cloudy conditions including either cloud water droplets or ice crystals, or a mixture of these particles. The sensor is designed to measure the optical and microphysical parameters of cloud particles sized from a few micrometers to about 500 µm diameter. Basically, the probe measures the scattering phase function of an ensemble of cloud particles which intersect a collimated laser beam near the focal point of a paraboloidal mirror. From the measured scattering phase function the retrieval of the droplet-size spectra and subsequent derived quantities such as liquid water content and size parameters can be calculated using an inversion method. The particle phase discrimination (water droplets/ice particles) can be derived from the shape of the scattering phase function and the sensitivity of the probe allows the detection of small ice crystals (typically of 5 µm diameter). The paper describes the preliminary results obtained by the prototype version of the Polar Nephelometer in various cloudy conditions. These results are compared with direct microphysical measurements obtained by usual PMS probes also mounted in the wind tunnel. Complementary results obtained in a cold chamber are presented in order to illustrate the reliability of the Polar Nephelometer in the presence of small ice crystals

Some effects of ice crystals on the FSSP measurements in mixed phase clouds

In this paper, we show that in mixed phase clouds, the presence of ice crystals may induce wrong FSSP 100 measurements interpretation especially in terms of particle size and subsequent bulk parameters. The presence of ice crystals is generally revealed by a bimodal feature of the particle size distribution (PSD). The combined measurements of the FSSP-100 and the Polar Nephelometer give a coherent description of the effect of the ice crystals on the FSSP-100 response. The FSSP-100 particle size distributions are characterized by a bimodal shape with a second mode peaked between 25 and 35 μm related to ice crystals. This feature is observed with the FSSP-100 at airspeed up to 200 m s<sup>−1</sup> and with the FSSP-300 series. In order to assess the size calibration for clouds of ice crystals the response of the FSSP-100 probe has been numerically simulated using a light scattering model of randomly oriented hexagonal ice particles and assuming both smooth and rough crystal surfaces. The results suggest that the second mode, measured between 25 μm and 35 μm, does not necessarily represent true size responses but corresponds to bigger aspherical ice particles. According to simulation results, the sizing understatement would be neglected in the rough case but would be significant with the smooth case. Qualitatively, the Polar Nephelometer phase function suggests that the rough case is the more suitable to describe real crystals. Quantitatively, however, it is difficult to conclude. A review is made to explore different hypotheses explaining the occurrence of the second mode. However, previous cloud in situ measurements suggest that the FSSP-100 secondary mode, peaked in the range 25–35 μm, is likely to be due to the shattering of large ice crystals on the probe inlet. This finding is supported by the rather good relationship between the concentration of particles larger than 20 μm (hypothesized to be ice shattered-fragments measured by the FSSP) and the concentration of (natural) ice particles (CPI data). In mixed cloud, a simple estimation of the number of ice crystals impacting the FSSP inlet shows that the ice crystal shattering effect is the main factor in observed ice production

Coulomb-Volkov approach of ionization by extreme ultraviolet laser pulses in the subfemtosecond regime

In conditions where the interaction betweeen an atom and a short high-frequency extreme ultraviolet laser pulse is a perturbation, we show that a simple theoretical approach, based on Coulomb-Volkov-type states, can make reliable predictions for ionization. To avoid any additional approximation, we consider here a standard case : the ionization of hydrogen atoms initially in their ground state. For any field parameter, we show that the method provides accurate energy spectra of ejected electrons, including many above threshold ionization peaks, as long as the two following conditions are simultaneously fulfilled : (i) the photon energy is greater than or equal to the ionization potential ; (ii) the ionization process is not saturated. Thus, ionization of atoms or molecules by the high order harmonic laser pulses which are generated at present may be addressed through this Coulomb-Volkov treatment.Comment: 19 pages including 5 figures and figure caption

Specification of Eight 2400 W @ 1.8 K Refrigeration Units for the LHC

The cooling capacity below 2 K for the superconducting magnets in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), at CERN, will be provided by eight refrigeration units at 1.8 K, each of them coupled to a 4.5 K refrigerator. Taking into account the cryogenic architecture of the LHC and corresponding process design constraints, a reference solution based on a combination of cold centrifugal and warm volumetric compressors was established in 1997. The process and technical requirements expressed in the specification issued in 1998 and the procurement scenario based on pre-series acceptance prior to final series delivery between 2002 and 2004 are presented in this paper

Pancreaticogastrostomy After Pancreatoduodenectomy

The aim of this study was to evaluate the place of pancreaticogastrostomy (PG) in reducing pancreatic fistula after pancreatoduodenectomy. From January 1988 to June 1991, 32 consecutive patients (mean age, 57 years) were operated on, 25 for malignant disease (78%). The pancreatic remnant was normal in 17 patients (53%) and sclerotic in the others. There was one operative death (3.1%) unrelated to PG. Post-operative complications occurred in five patients (16%). Only two complications were related to PG: 1 patient had anastomotic intra-gastric bleeding and was reoperated on, 1 patient with a normal pancreatic remnant developed a pancreatic fistula (3.1%) treated conservatively

Application of Object-Based Industrial Controls for Cryogenics

The first application of the CERN Unified Industrial Control system (UNICOS) has been developed for the 1.8 K refrigerator at point 1.8 in mid-2001. This paper presents the engineering methods used for application development, in order to reach the objectives of maintainability and reusability, in the context of a development done by an external consortium of engineering firms. It will also review the lessons learned during this first development and the improvements planned for the next applications