DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF AN ACRYLIC BALL SUPPORTED BY A STAINLESS STEEL LATTICED SHELL FOR THE ULTRA-LARGE NEUTRINO CENTRAL DETECTOR

The Jiangmen neutrino central detector is quite large, with a diameter of 35.5 m. In order to achieve a feasible structural scheme, this paper introduces the following structural scheme: an acrylic ball supported by a double-layer stainless steel latticed shell. It then carries out the preliminary design and finite element analysis. The component section, brace distribution and other aspects have been optimized based on the preliminary design and strength, stability, influence factor analyses implemented upon it. The results show the maximum Mises stress on the acrylic ball is decreased by 12.6%, the maximum axial force of braces is reduced by 6.3%, and the maximum structural deflection is decreased by 5.8% in the optimized model. Moreover, the load factor reaches 2.12 in consideration of the material and geometric non-linearity, which satisfies stability requirements. Raising the liquid level inside the acrylic ball and elevating the temperature are capable of reducing the stress on the acrylic. Joint failure has little influence on the structure and seismic action can be resisted by adding diagonal braces.