ROBOTS IN RADIOACTIVE ENVIRONMENT

Presented by:

Sharath Kumar C Joshi

CONTENTS Introduction Definition Basic components of Robot Need of robots in radioactive

environment Types of robots used in radio active

environment Applications Conclusion References

INTRODUCTION

In a critical place such as a nuclear power plant , where the manual work is more difficult the application of robots are really worth mentioning.

Robots are used to prevent exposure of humans to radiations of alpha beta and gamma in Nuclear Power plants.

DEFINITION

Robot is a programmable multifunctional manipulator designed to move materials, parts, tools etc through variable programmed motion of the performance of a variety of tasks.

BASIC COMPONENTS OF ROBOT 1}MANIPULATOR :A Manipulator is a device

used to manipulate materials without direct contact.

2}CONTROLLER: The controller is a communication and information processing device that initiates ,terminates and coordinates the motions and sequences of robot

3}POWER SUPPLY: The function of the power supply is to provide and regulate the energy that is required for a robot to be operated.

end effecter

NEED OF ROBOTS IN RADIOACTIVE ENVIRONMENT

Professional workers are few in number and require extensive training and years of experience.

The no. of working hours that the men work in the radioactive environment is limited by international regulations .

The above lead to the discontinuous use of human resources and discontinuous nature of work ,which lead to ineffective and inefficient working.

TYPES OF ROBOTS USED IN RADIOACTIVE ENVIRONMENT

Remotely operated service arm(ROSA)ROSA is used to maintain the SG jobs involving complex tasks like water cleaning ,eddy current inspection mechanical plugging and unplugging etc ,The arm is equipped with a remote quick connector to facilitate the assembly and dismantle of operations.

INSPECTION AND RETRIEVING VEHICLE(IRV)

It is highly robust & fail safe.

The robot arm mounted on a mobile base checking leaks of drums filled with radioactive substance

TELEOPERATED AND ROBOTIZED SYSTEM FOR MAINTENANCE OPERATION IN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT VESSELS(TRON)

•It comprises of jointed pole , end effectors and computer vision navigation system.•It is a four joint robotized pole Used to retrieve the fallen objects from the pressurized water reactor (PER) vessels•It also inspects the lower internal zone and recover the objects without the core having to be dismantled.

SNAKE-LIKE ROBOTS (MOCASIN II)•Whenever nuclear explosions, occur its very hard to find the reason and exact point or place where the explosion took place. The answer is robotic animals that could reach the places that are inaccessible to human being. •It is also found that whenever there is a explosion the pipes generally stay intact thus the snake like robot are ideal and could navigate through pipes .

•It is a segmented robot that looks like an inchworm. it uses pneumatics to force padded feet against the pipe walls,

ROBOT IN INDIA (RHINO-XR3) India has recently built 2 metre high robot with

tennis balls for shoes to be used in case of accidents at its nuclear power plants.

The remote-controlled machine can climb stairs, step over obstacles and carry out repairs inside India's 14 nuclear power plants.

 The robot would be able to go places human workers could not.

If we attach an arm, it can do maintenance work or turn off valves in case of an emergency. 

Made of aluminum and weighing 250kg, the robot can also carry payloads of more than 50kg.

APPLICATIONS STEAM GENERATORS:• Primary tube inspection & maintenance.• Channel head cleaning . REACTOR CAVITY:• Fuel transfer channel cleaning &

underwater inspection. REACTOR VESSEL:• Underwater inspection & repair.• Foreign fallen object removal.A. Also to find the exact places where the

explosion taken place

CONCLUSION

With improving technology & growing

perception of the need to keep human workers away from high radiation areas, more competitive robotic systems are

increasingly becoming available

REFERENCES Keramas James G., “Introduction to Robots” ; McGraw-Hill Kim, S; Jung, S.H.; Kim, C.H. , “Preventive Maintenance and Remote

Inspection of Nuclear Power Plants Using Telerobotics” IEEE 1999. Alvarez, B.; Iborra, A.; Alonso, A.; de la Puente, J.A.; Pastor, J.A.;

“Developing Multi-application Remote Systems”,Nuclear Engineering Int. vol 45, March 2000.

Pastor, J.A.; Alvarez B.; Iborra, A.; Fernandez, J.M.: “An Underwater Teleoperated Vehicle for Inspection and Retrieving”,1st Intl. Symposium; Brussels ,November 1998.

Iborra, A; Alvarez, B.; Navarro, P.J.; Fernandez, J.M.; Pastor, J.A: “Robotized System for Retrieving Fallen Objects Within the Reactor Vessel of a Nuclear Power Plant”,Intl.Symposium, Industrial Electronics, Mexico; IEEE 2000.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/08/28/1030053075600.html

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