Aeroelastic analysis using confocal sensors: experimental study and numerical validation with application to a future particle detector

Resumen

This study investigates the structural displacements induced by aerodynamic loads in a future particle detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC): the Inner Tracking System 3 (ITS3) of the ALICE experiment. The development of an ultralight structure and use of air cooling lead to an unprecedentedly low material budget, resulting in improved accuracy compared to the current detector (ITS2). The airflow applied to the low -mass structure of the ITS3 is expected to cause vibrations, which requires an aeroelastic analysis that is performed using experimental and numerical methods. A novel experimental approach is proposed using confocal chromatic sensors to measure the structural displacements of an ITS3 prototype with submicron accuracy. A simplified mathematical model is developed for the fluid -structure interaction. The results obtained in the experimental setup show that the numerical model predicts the primary peaks in the spectrum of structural displacements induced by airflow. The validated model is used to analyze both the real anticipated configuration of the future ITS3 setup and potential modifications arising from changes in detector cooling and installation requirements.