Technology for the production of plastic scintillators, detectors or scintillation assemblies based on polystyrene obtained by block polymerization in aluminum ampoules with partitions

Purpose. The technology allows to obtain several scintillation blanks with the required mechanical and scintillation characteristics at once.

Technical properties. Design production capacity: 9000 kg/year. Product characteristics: maximum luminescence from 420 to 460 nm; light output relative to anthracene is not less than 45%; light attenuation length is not less than 150 cm; appearance is a transparent solid material with a violet tint.

Scope. Instrument engineering.

Advantages. Existing block polymerization technologies cannot provide high optical homogeneity in the volume due to the large temperature gradient due to the large size of the ampoule. Unlike existing ones, the developed technology allows to simultaneously obtain several scintillation blanks of different sizes with high optical homogeneity and low mechanical stresses by separating each volume for the blank and, as a result, reducing the temperature gradient in each individual volume.

Technical and economic effect. Practical implementation of the technology allows to improve the quality of plastic scintillator blanks and achieve a significant reduction in the cost of the product by reducing the use of energy resources, equipment and labor hours.

Description. At the stage of assembling the aluminum ampoule, partitions of the required number and configuration are added inside, dividing the latter into several smaller volumes. The technological process for obtaining plastic scintillator blanks includes the following stages: – cutting, degreasing, welding of the aluminum ampoule; – preparation, testing and installation of the aluminum ampoule; – incoming quality control of raw materials; – preparation of a styrene solution with scintillation impurities and loading into an aluminum ampoule through a microfiltration unit; – heating the scintillation solution, polymerization and annealing with subsequent gradual cooling; – unloading and unsewing the aluminum ampoule; – sawing the resulting block into blanks; – mechanical processing to achieve the required shape and size; – polishing, packaging in temporary reflective material; – scintillation tests; – if necessary, the scintillation blank can be coated with reflective paint or packed in a permanent reflective material or housing (detector); – final scintillation tests, quality control check, packaging and registration of a quality certificate.

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