Thermomechanical Characterization of Low Density Foams for the ATLAS Upgrade

Abstract

The increase of the luminosity of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) by 2020 requires the upgrade of the ATLAS inner tracker experiment. Expected to be used as support structures in the design of the inner tracker, the thermal and mechanical properties of POCOFOAM and ALLLCOMP foam needed to be well understood and dimensionally stable in order to allow efficient cooling and accurate track reconstruction. Thermal conductivities of these foams were measured experimentally together with the Young's modulus, yield, and shear stresses of POCOFOAM at low stress. Thermomechanical measurements of POCOFOAM were also achieved. This paper describes briefly the measurement systems used and reports the results obtained.