Construction of an end-cap module prototype for the ATLAS transition radiation tracker

We have designed, built and tested an 8-plane module prototype for the end-cap of the ATLAS TRT (Transition Radiation Tracker). The overall mechanics as well as the detailed design of individual components are presented. The prototype contains over 6000 straw tubes with a diameter of 4 mm, filled with an active gas mixture of 70% Xe, 20% CF₄ and 10% CO₂. Very tight requirements on radiation hardness (10 Mrad and 2×10¹⁴ neutrons per cm²) straw straightness (sagitta <300 m), wire positions and leak tightness put great demands upon design and assembly. In order to verify the design, the stability of the wire tension, straw straightness, high-voltage performance and total leak rate have been measured and the results are presented. Some examples of dedicated assembly tooling and testing procedures are also given. Finally, the results of the calculations and measurements of both mechanical behaviour and wire offset are presented