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GTT is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a contract by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to support the research work being done for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (also known as “DUNE”), which is being run by the Fermi National Laboratory (“Fermilab”) on behalf of the United States Department of Energy. In accordance with the terms of this contract, GTT will be responsible for providing engineering and construction studies for the purpose of adapting its membrane technology to fit inside a cryostat that will be designed by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and its collaborators.
The DUNE experiment is a significant worldwide effort that is being undertaken with the purpose of gaining a better knowledge of neutrinos. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) at Fermilab is responsible for the production of neutrinos, which are then screened in the particle detectors filled with liquid argon as part of the project. For the purposes of this experiment, the temperature of the liquid argon must be kept at an exceptionally constant -186 degrees Celsius, and it must be done so in an environment that ensures the purity of the materials by maintaining an ideal level of tightness and a high level of thermal isolation.
This new deal follows in the footsteps of the contract that GTT inked in 2018 on behalf of the LBNF/DUNE-US Project with the CERN. Within the context of this earlier partnership, GTT was responsible for contributing the final design of the far detector cryostats. The liquid argon near detector will have its inner vessel design, which will be positioned inside of a warm support structure, as the primary emphasis of the new contract.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GTT, Philippe Berterottière, stated that “This new contract highlights the reliability and flexibility of the technologies developed by the GTT group.” We are ecstatic to be working with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious national laboratories in the United States, and to be able to provide technologies that are capable of satisfying the technical and scientific requirements of the DUNE project.
According to Fabrice Matichard, Head of the Mechanical Engineering department at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Lead Engineer for the LBNF/DUNE-US Near Detector Subproject, “Our collaboration with GTT will offer the membrane technology for the liquid argon detector.” “To explore neutrinos with the level of precision required by the DUNE experiment, this novel cryostat design incorporates characteristics such as the ability to ride on tracks and a low-density composite wall.”