Section X. Gas, aging
Study of straw chamber lifetime with argon ethane

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Abstract

We present detailed laboratory measurements of the lifetime of a small test chamber, simulating the Mark III straw vertex chamber conditions. The tests were carried out with an argon-ethane 5050 gas mixture at 3 atm absolute pressure and 3.9 kV applied to the wires. After the accumulation of ∼ 0.02 C/cm on a single straw, continuous discharges began. The addition of alcohol or water vapor to the gas mixture was found to extend the lifetime of the straws. Continuous flow of the gas mixture with water vapor through the straws prolonged the lifetime significantly. We present results on the effects of changing the gas mixture inside the straws at regular time intervals. Adding a small percentage of water vapor to the argon-ethane gas and flowing the gas mixture in the straws can improve the lifetime by more than an order of magnitude. An accumulated charge of 1.0 C/cm on a single straw has been obtained.

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There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (0)

Work supported in part by the US Department of Energy, under contract DE-AC03-76SF00515, and by the National Science Foundation.

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Present address: Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA

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Present address: CERN, EP, 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland.

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Present address: Bayer AG, Leverkusen, D-5090 Bayerwerk, FRG.

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Present address: University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82070, USA.

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Representing the collaboration.

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