Long term performance studies of large oil-free bakelite resistive plate chamber

Abstract

Several high energy physics and neutrino physics experiments worldwide require large-size RPCs to cover wide acceptances. The muon tracking systems in the Iron calorimeter (ICAL) in the INO experiment, India and the near detector in DUNE at Fermilab are two such examples. A (240 cm × 120 cm × 0.2 cm) bakelite RPC has been built and tested at Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, Kolkata, using indigenous materials procured from the local market. No additional lubricant, like oil has been used on the electrode surfaces for smoothening. The chamber is in operation for > 365 days. We have tested the chamber for its long term operation. The leakage current, bulk resistivity, efficiency, noise rate and time resolution of the chamber have been found to be quite stable during the testing peroid. It showed an efficiency > 95% with an average time resolution of ∼0.83 ns at the point of measurement at 9000 V throughout the testing period. Details of the long term performance of the chamber have been discussed.

Charge measurement of oil-free single gap Bakelite Resistive Plate Chamber

“…The inner surface of the bakelite sheets used in the development of the detector was not treated with any oil. The detail information about the detector can be found in references [1,2]. For our measurements, the RPC was operated using a gas mixture of Argon, R-134a, and Iso-butane in a mixture ratio of 34 : 57 : 9 by volume.…”

Development and characterization of 6-gap bakelite Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chamber

“…The developed MRPC is a prototype and of small dimension (15 cm × 15 cm) and placing suitable button spacers at suitable distances solved the sagging problem of the bakelite. After several R&D's, we succeeded in getting our hands on suitable bakelite sample which did not require any kind of oil treatment unlike previously developed RPCs using bakelite sheets [11] while developing the detectors, hence ensuring a better surface morphological structure[3] [12]. The bakelite MRPC was developed keeping in mind the potential application of MRPCs in Medical Physics especially in Positron Emission Tomography.…”

Performance studies of oil-free bakelite multi-gap resistive plate chamber with cosmic rays

“…We have given an effort to develop the MRPC modules without any kind of oil treatment. The successful development of oil-free bakelite RPC with a special grade and quality of bakelite sheets [7,8] have encouraged us to develop MRPC without using any oil. The first prototype has been successfully developed and has been reported in reference [9].…”