The Short Orbit Spectrometer steel carriage consists of four pieces; a pivot section; main carriage body and two pairs of locomotive style wheels. On top of the carriage is a concrete detector shield house. Attached to the rear of the concrete shield house is a prefab steel electronics hut. Personnel access is provided to the electronics hut, shield house door (and to the target area near the pivot).
The concrete shield house is constructed of high density concrete with
0.5% boron frit (by weight) additive. High density concrete contains
aggregate that is 66% iron ore and is almost 40% heavier (208 lb/ft
) by
weight than standard concrete (150lb/ft). The concrete is 24" thick on all
six sides. The inside walls and roof of the shield house are lined with panels
consisting 2" of lead poured into boxes with 1/4" steel sides. The rear
interior wall and the shield house floor are lined with 2" steel plates.
Access to the detector stack is through a vertically opening counter weighted door. The door operates by electronically controlled hydraulic cylinders.