Design Considerations for Large Mass Ultra-Low Background Experiments

Technical Report · Fri Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1021284· OSTI ID:1021284

Aguayo Navarrete, Estanislao; Reid, Douglas J; Fast, James E; Orrell, John L

Summary The objective of this document is to present the designers of the next generation of large-mass, ultra-low background experiments with lessons learned and design strategies from previous experimental work. Design issues divided by topic into mechanical, thermal and electrical requirements are addressed. Large mass low-background experiments have been recognized by the scientific community as appropriate tools to aid in the refinement of the standard model. The design of these experiments is very costly and a rigorous engineering review is required for their success. The extreme conditions that the components of the experiment must withstand (heavy shielding, vacuum/pressure and temperature gradients), in combination with unprecedented noise levels, necessitate engineering guidance to support quality construction and safe operating conditions. Physical properties and analytical results of typical construction materials are presented. Design considerations for achieving ultra-low-noise data acquisition systems are addressed. Five large-mass, low-background conceptual designs for the one-tonne scale germanium experiment are proposed and analyzed. The result is a series of recommendations for future experiments engineering and for the Majorana simulation task group to evaluate the different design approaches.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1021284
• Report Number(s): PNNL-20578; TRN: US1103956
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
CONSTRUCTION
DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS
DESIGN
GERMANIUM
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RECOMMENDATIONS
SHIELDING
SIMULATION
STANDARD MODEL
1TGe One-tonne 76Ge neutrinoless double beta-decay experiment
DAQ data acquisition
EFCu Electroformed copper
FEA finite element analysis
FEE front-end electronics
FET field-effect transistor
HPGe high purity germanium
LAr liquid argon
LN liquid nitrogen
MJD MAJORANA Demonstrator
OHFC oxygen/halogen-free copper
PNNL Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
RTD resistive thermal device