-------------------------------- TOF DOE review, closeout bullets Aug 23, 2005 -------------------------------- ------------ The significance and merit of this proposed project: Findings: - The RHIC program is a flagship of the U.S. nuclear physics program which, over the past few years has provided remarkable new insights into the structure and properties of bulk hadronic matter. - The initial studies of pp, dAu and AA collisions over a range of energies and species have uncovered a range of phenomena which indicate an unexpectedly strongly interacting form of matter, possibly consisting of deconfined quarks and gluons. - The STAR TOF upgrade will provide new capabilities relevant to many of the questions posed by the present state of phenomenology and understanding. - The upgrade will provide e, _, k and p separation in the momentum region between those available through dE/dx measurements in the STAR TPC. This new capability will add to the single particle and event by event performance of the apparatus and allow more discriminating tests of current models of freezeout and hadronization, in- medium energy loss processes as well as give access to wide acceptance studies of vector mesons and heavy flavors. Comments - The detailed study of this new state of matter is of the highest intellectual significance and importance. - The studies which must now be carried out at RHIC will be increasingly focused and require more precise, selective and differential measurements which demand both improved detector and accelerator performance, such as the STAR TOF upgrade. - The upgrade project will be carried out by an effective collaboration between U.S. and Chinese scientists and will exploit advances in detector technology which make possible the cost-effective construction of large area, high resolution timing detectors. - In order to realize the proposed scientific goals of the project, 100ps in timing resolution over the whole acceptance is required. ------------ The status of the technical design, including completeness of technical design and scope, feasibility and merit of technical approach: ------------ Detector and Mechanical Subsystem: Findings: - The Detector/Mechanical subsystem includes Tray assembly and testing, the high voltage system, gas system, start detector and infrastructure. - The MRPC detector module production is the responsibility of the Chinese collaborators. The modules are to be tested in China prior to shipping to the U.S. - The scope of the U.S. project includes the delivery of 120 assembled and tested Trays of detector modules and electronics, plus spares, and the installation of up to 48 Trays into STAR. The installation and commissioning of the remaining Trays into STAR are dependent upon the RHIC shutdown and running schedules, and are therefore outside the scope of the project. - The gas mixture proposed for the detector system is 95% 134a + 5% isobutane. This gas (with no SF6) has a very short efficiency plateau before the onset of streamers (maybe 200V). - The resistive high voltage layer of the MRPCs is made with carbon-loaded adhesive tape made by EEE in Japan. This was presented as having a resistivity of 100 kOhm/square. This will have the effect of spreading the induced charge footprint to a size of 1 cm or more. Comments: - The project team is to be commended for the professional quality of the prototype Tray used in the STAR experiment. The successful operation of this detector represents a significant achievement. - Running with streamers degrades time resolution and could generate aging problems. - Particle hits not close to the center of the pad will fire two pads and thus increase occupancy Ð in general slewing corrections are more difficult when charge is shared between two pads and thus time resolution is degraded. Techniques have been demonstrated that indicate an increase in the resistivity can combat this effect. Producing the high voltage layer with a LICRON spray available from Techspray in Texas is such a technique. The Chinese production centers are set up to produce MRPCs using the Japanese tape although various Chinese students from USTC have been building MRPCs using LICRON over the last year or two. The project team should evaluate the tradeoffs associated with potential improved performance of fabricating the MRPCs using LICRON or a similar coating versus the impact to the cost and schedule of the project. - With the current choice of proposed gas, variations in individual operating points of the MRPCs will make system integration and operation with a single high voltage supply challenging. - The testing of the trays with cosmic rays is an important aspect and critical to determining whether the tray is acceptable before insertion into STAR Ð more attention should be given to ensure this testing is ready to start as soon as the first Trays come off the production line. - The gas system, cooling system and mechanical support designs seem feasible. - The Start Detector design is based on existing technology and seems feasible. Recommendations: - Investigate the possibility of using additive gases such as SF6 or C4F10, which could have the effect of reducing the onset of streamers and improving the operational characteristics of the detectors. ------------ Electronics Subsystem Findings: - There is about $2.1M in the electronics board purchase and fabrication budget excluding contingency. The total board count is ~2100 boards excluding the spares and includes 6 different board designs. - The proposed TOF electronics will use the ALICE HPTDC chip in the TDIG board as the timing digitizer. The TDC clock will be generated by the 40 MHz crystal in the master THUB board and distributed to the HPTDC through the slave THUB boards. The clock distribution is done through copper cables. - With the exception of the TINO, THUB and TDIG boards, other boards have been designed and prototyped, with only minor, if any, modifications needed before proceeding to fabrication. - The project intends to manufacture two of the boards, TDIG and TCPU, with an SBIR company, Blue Sky Electronics. - The TINO board represents the most risk to project cost and schedule. The design incorporates the CERN NINO chip as an amplifier/discriminator of the MRPC detector instead of Maxim amplification. This board is proposed to be installed and tested in RHIC Run 6 with a subsequent decision as to whether to use the NINO chip or fall back to existing prototype design. - The completion of the final TDIG board is on the critical path. - The proposed TINO board does not have a test pulse input. - The TINO and TDIG are going to be embedded in the TOF tray. Access is going to be difficult. - Detailed board fabrication procedures, material (components) management and QA/testing plans were not presented. - The overall system integration and testing plan was not presented. Comments: - In the board manufacturing process, it is important to identify boards which could prematurely fail. - It will be essential to have a test pulse input for the board level and system level design and testing. - The NINO chip decision is on the project critical path and should be accelerated. - The plan for electronics system integration and testing must be developed in the early phase of the project before start of fabrication. ~ $500K has been set aside for testing prior to the existence of a plan. - The costing of the six boards, including contingency seems appropriate. Recommendations: - Add test pulse function to the TINO board. - Accelerate the NINO chip decision. - Investigate the possibility of performing thermal cycling (HASS) lifetime tests on the boards. - Detailed system integration plans and testing procedures should be developed and reviewed by expert peers, prior to the start of electronics fabrication. ------------ The feasibility and completeness of the proposed budget and schedule, including availability of manpower: Findings: - The total cost of the project is proposed to be $4.78 million, allocated over 3 years. - The total project contingency is 22% and was estimated according to the Lockheed method, incorporating estimated risks. - The project proposes to start 1Q06 and complete 4Q08. - The success of the project is critically dependent on the Chinese collaborators delivering MRPC modules that function according to specifications and according to agreed upon milestones. - The schedule does not appear to include electronic components procurement and delivery time. - Project schedule and milestones do not include major safety and project reviews, or critical path decisions (such as TINO board decision). - The project team estimates that ~ 18 FTE's are required to complete the fabrication of the project. Comments: - The estimated cost of $4.8M seems reasonable. However, a number of costing issues need to be resolved, which could impact the final costs. These include fully capturing BNL burdens, ensuring that scientific labor is costed according to DOE guidelines, and re-evaluating the overall costs, the number of spares, Q/A procedures, and the manpower and project management necessary to implement the project. - The project contingency of 22% may be adequate, considering the low technical risks of the project and the fact that most components have been prototyped. However, the project team should ensure that a consistent approach was used throughout the project. - The schedule appears feasible but is certainly aggressive. - Major decisions and project reviews can have an impact on the project schedule. - Delays in procurement and the allocation of funds are notorious for producing schedule delays. The schedule should include component purchasing lead time. - The project team can respond to schedule delays by adding more shifts per day or more assembly tables. However, a project schedule contingency analysis has yet to be performed. - The project manpower seems low for an "assembly type of construction project". The production facility at UT appears to be understaffed. 2 FTE undergraduate students to do all of the assembly and moving the trays from one room to another, getting parts, setting up, doing Q/A, etc for 40 hours a week sounds demanding. The full time tech will be busy monitoring all of the processes, keeping the documentation, and training new people. Recommendations: - Develop a project procurements strategy for the electronics and incorporate into the schedule, as well as adequate times to allow for funds to be transferred from BNL to collaborating institutions. - A schedule contingency analysis should be performed and schedule float maximized prior to the start of the project. The completion date should be delayed to 1Q09 to increase schedule float by three months. ------------ The effectiveness of the proposed management structure: Findings: - A management structure has been established for a mass production project with tasks being performed at different institutions in the U.S. and China. The project is divided into sub-systems and individuals have been identified at the different institutions for overseeing the sub-systems. - The project management is done by a coordinated effort between the project manager and the project engineer (Project Office), located at different sites. Each of them will work at the 15% level. - Project management will be responsible for quarterly reports that will be reviewed by the BNL and the DOE project managers. Sub-systems managers will report monthly to the Project Office. - With the exception of Rice University, the collaborating universities are assuming maintained levels of research funding relative to FY 2005 for the lifetime of the project. Rice University is assuming the addition of a postdoc to their research grant for the lifetime of the project. Comments: - The collaboration with the Chinese seems well defined and strong. The Chinese contribution is vital to the project and will impact the ability of the U.S portion of the scope to succeed. The Chinese Liaison will be important in ensuring effective communication between the U.S. and China and will need to work closely with the TOF project office to ensure that the schedule is maintained. - The identification of the STAR Lead Engineer as the STAR TOF Project Engineer is an asset to the project and essential to project success. He brings the necessary project management expertise to the project team. - The roles, responsibilities and lines of authority within the project management organization were not apparent and need to be clearly defined. Reporting mechanisms and management tools need to be defined and in place. - Brookhaven should take the lead in completing MOU's with collaborating institutions that articulate and confirm institutional roles, responsibilities and resources, prior to the start of the project. - Change control table needs to be updated to include corrections regarding wording on cost and schedule and to clarify the roles of STAR Management, the change control board, DOE Headquarters, DOE Site Office and the BNL Project Manager. - Project deliverables and acceptance specifications need to be updated in the context of project complete and anticipated optimum performance. - The project is international and multi-institutional, with an aggressive schedule, and a significant number of different types of electronics boards to produce. The project will have to adhere to DOE approved baselines. The level of oversight in ensuring success should not be underestimated. Recommendations: - Increase the level of project management particularly during the initial stages of the project. - The mechanism for transferring funds to the universities should be identified and preparations should be made as soon as possible, prior to the start of the project. - The project management plan needs to be updated to address the issues identified in this review. After submission of the final plan to DOE and with DOE approval, the project is ready to proceed.