Radiation Detector Mount: Vibration Analysis for Symetrica

Symetrica is a global leader in radiation detection and identification equipment. Their range of products, from handheld devices to mobile solutions, is used in border protection, law enforcement, military and emergency applications. DC White were able to assist Symetrica in the development of a shock-resistant enclosure for their detection equipment, to be mounted on vehicle roofs. Figure 1 ? Vehicle-roof-mounted radiation detector. The crystal detectors are typically brittle in nature with characteristic bending strengths as low as 1.6 MPa, so the primary design concern was to protect them from the harsh shock and vibration loads seen by vehicle roof mounted devices. The solution was to encapsulate the crystals in layers of specially selected isolating foam to protect them from external vibrations and shock loads. DC White built a finite element (FE) model of the enclosure complete with crystal detectors, isolation foam and roof mounting structure. Modal analysis techniques were used to assess the survival of the crystals against the vibration and shock requirements defined ETSI EN 300 019-2-5; a European telecommunications standard giving environmental requirements for ground vehicle installations. Figure 2 ? Computational Mesh of Radiation Detector Housing. To complete the analysis, a study of applicable scientific papers was necessary to understand the stiffness and damping characteristics of the isolating foam as these properties were not readily available; particularly as the radiation detector was required to operate at temperatures well below 0 ?C.

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