Experimental research on bearing capacity of the stainless steel fastener in neutrino central detector

The scheme of an acrylic ball supported by a double-layer stainless steel latticed shell for Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory(JUNO)central detector employs patched acrylic and stainless steel fastener to connect the main acrylic and braces. In order to achieve the fastener which meets the usage requirement, three identical fastener specimens have been designed and the corresponding axial tensile tests conducted repeatedly. Furthermore, their ultimate bearing capacities, failure modes and stress levels of all parts under design load have been studied by means of experimental method. Subsequently, the finite element analysis has been conducted with ABAQUS software. Results show that the ultimate bearing capacities of these three specimens are 2 400 kN, 2 500 kN and 2 100 kN, respectively, and at least 14 times the safety reserve is possessed. All the failure modes of these specimens are the separation of the ball hat and ball cover. Under the design load of 140 kN, the stress on every part is significantly lower than the yield strength. Thereby, the stainless steel fastener designed in the present research is safe and reliable, and it can meet the requirement of JUNO central detector. ©, 2015, Tianjin University. All right reserved.