Quehanna Decommissioning - Robotic System Successes Lessons Learned

摘要

The decommissioning of the Quehanna Hot Cell Facility in central Pennsylvania wasrnlengthy and complex. There were a myriad of challenges encountered. These challenges revolvedrnaround the cleanup of curies of highly dispersed and volatile contamination. The nature and amountrnof residual radioactivity effectively prohibited human entry for the necessary dismantlement tasks.rnBecause of the high radiation fields, limited access, and the confined space in Cell #4, systemrndismantlement had to be done with a robot. Since no robot existed to implement the necessary tasks,rnone had to be designed using a combination of off-the-shelf and specially-designed components. Anrnarray of robotic end-effectors for a wide variety of tasks had to be engineered, designed, and thenrnfabricated.