Space Experiment AMS: TRD

In the AMS experiment, the TRD transition radiation detector consists of an octagon with a width across flats of 2.20 m and a total mass of almost 500 kg.

The sandwich construction uses carbon fibre epoxy laminate as face sheets in combination with honeycombs at the core. The image shows the detector open at the top with a part of the strip-like individual detectors still supported by bulkheads. The fundamental frequency is a kind of drum mode of the structure. It was calculated by ISATEC in such detail that NASA accepted the proof at the first attempt.

Work was carried out by ISATEC in cooperation with the I. Institute of Physics (IA) at RWTH Aachen University.