Structural design of a high energy particle detector using liquid scintillator

摘要

This thesis presents a design for a 10,000 ton liquid scintillator neutrino detector being considered for the MINOS project at Fermilab. Details of designing, manufacturing, and assembling the active detector components are presented. The detector consists of 1080 magnetized steel absorber planes alternating with 1080 active detector planes. Each active plane is made up of plastic extrusions divided into nearly 400 cells for positional resolution. Life tests on the plastic extrusions determine their feasibility for containing the scintillator. The extrusions are sealed at the bottom, filled with liquid scintillator, and have an optical fiber running the entire length of each cell. The fibers terminate at the top of each extrusion in a manifold. An optical-fiber-light-guide connects the fibers in each manifold to a photo-detector. The photo-detector converts the light signals from the scintillator and optical fibers into electrical impulses for computer analysis.