Long-term testing and properties of acrylic for the Daya Bay antineutrino detectors

The Daya Bay reactor antineutrino experiment has recently measured the neutrino mixing parameter sin²2θ₁₃ by observing electron antineutrino disappearance over kilometer-scale baselines using six antineutrino detectors at near and far distances from reactor cores at the Daya Bay nuclear power complex. Liquid scintillator contained in transparent target vessels is used to detect electron antineutrinos via the inverse beta-decay reaction. The Daya Bay experiment will operate for about five years yielding a precision measurement of sin²2θ₁₃. We report on long-term studies of poly(methyl methacrylate) known as acrylic, which is the primary material used in the fabrication of the target vessels for the experiment's antineutrino detectors. In these studies, acrylic samples are subjected to gaseous and liquid environmental conditions similar to those experienced during construction, transport, and operation of the Daya Bay acrylic target vessels and detectors. Mechanical and optical stability of the acrylic as well as its interaction with detector liquids is reported.