Robotics and remote handling concepts for disposal of high-level nuclear waste Page: 5 of 10
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Before the emplacement drift isolation doors and
Transporter doors are opened all personnel will be required
to evacuate the immediate area. After the doors are opened,
the Transporter would be backed into the entrance of the
emplacement drift. This docking procedure would be
performed by operators at the central control station. The
waste package would then be unloaded from the Transporter
into the emplacement drift by remotely operated transfer
mechanisms. At this point, a remotely operated
Emplacement Gantry, previously loaded into the
emplacement drift, would pickup the waste package,
transport it along the emplacement drift, and set it on a pre-
installed pedestal.
V. EMPLACEMENT GANTRY SYSTEM
One of the interesting design challenges will be to
develop the remotely operated, mobile, heavy-lift
Emplacement Gantry system. Early conceptual designs are
underway (Figure 4). The Emplacement Gantry would need
to lift waste packages weighing as much as 66 tonnes, reliably
operate in a high radiation environment, and in local thermal
conditions as high as 50 C.
Emplacement Gantry subsystems being con-ceptually
designed are: controls, communications, power source,
locomotion, actuators and sensors. Initial technology
evaluations have been performed based on design criteria
such as: functionality, reliability, maintainability, life-cycle
costs, personnel safety, proven design history and maturity,
technology commercial availability, survivability, installation
and alignment complexity, and amount of design
customization required. The functions such as raising and
lowering the waste package will be controlled by on-board
redundant programmable logic controllers (PLC's).
Leading candidates being considered for remote mobile
communications include: direct radio control, leaky feeder
and slotted microwave waveguide technologies. Leaky
feeder technology is currently used in mining applications for
transmission of video, data, and voice signals to remote
control stations. Slotted microwave waveguide technology
is used in the mass transit field for communication and
control of operatorless trains and trams.
The leading candidates for the mobile power source are:
conductor bars, trolley cables and battery systems. One of
the advantages of conductor bar and trolley cable
technologies is that they can operate at elevated temperatures.
Batteries add significant weight to the mobile equipment and
are typically not well suited for operation in elevated
temperatures.VI. PERFORMANCE CONFIRMATION
Following emplacement there will be a 100 year period
of Performance Confirmation to ensure that the mined
geologic disposal system (i.e. the repository, structures and
systems) is performing as anticipated and designed.
Remotely operated systems and teleoperated vehicles will
play key roles in monitoring and inspecting the emplacement
drifts and waste packages during Performance Confirmation.
In-drift app-lications may include: remote visual inspection,
thermal mapping, radiological inspections, light-duty remote
manipulation, sample-test-coupon retrieval, environ-mental
monitoring, and response to off-normal situations.
Several conceptual designs are being considered for
Performance Confirmation. Concepts range from rail-based
inspection gantries to mini-rover inspection systems and
overhead mono-rail inspection systems. These mobile
inspection systems would serve as multi-purpose platforms
on to which several different types of instruments, sensors,
manipulators, and tools would be mounted.
VII. DESIGN ISSUES
A. Elevated Temperatures
Preliminary calculations indicate that temperatures inside
the emplacement drifts during Performance Confirmation
may reach almost 200 "C. Developing remote systems that
can, at least for limited periods of time, withstand these
extreme thermal conditions will be a significant design
challenge.
Several design strategies and technologies exist that
should enable the development of high temperature remotely
operated vehicles (ROV's). There are a number of industries,
including the nuclear, aerospace, automotive, and oil and gas
industries that have developed electronic components and
instrumentation that can operate in elevated thermal
environments in excess of 150 "C. In designing thermal
control systems for remotely operated systems, the basic
design philosophy is to keep external heat out and to
minimize and dissipate heat internally generated.
For much of the design, it will not be difficult to select
appropriate mechanical components (gears, bearings, etc.)
and structural materials that are suitable for limited duty use
at elevated temperatures. A key area of concern, however, is
the use of on-board electronics and actuators which may be
sensitive to the temperature ranges expected. Typically,
commercial grade electronics and components have
maximum operating temperatures in the range of 50 to 85 "C.
If available, military grade (i.e. MIL-SPEC) electronic
components are often rated for operating environments in the
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McAffee, Douglas; Raczka, Norman & Schwartztrauber, Keith. Robotics and remote handling concepts for disposal of high-level nuclear waste, article, April 27, 1997; United States. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc710387/m1/5/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.