Remote controlled tool systems for nuclear sites have subsea applications

摘要

Remotely operated underwater tool systems designed to operate in Nuclear Fuel Storage Basins can be applied to deep water, subsea oilfield applications. This paper describes three specialized tooling systems that were designed and built by Sonsub for work at the Department of Energy's Hanford site. The Door Seal Tool removed an existing seal system, cleaned a 20 ft. tall, carbon steel, underwater hatch and installed a new stainless steel gasket surface with underwater epoxy. The Concrete Sampling Tool was built to take core samples from the vertical, concrete walls of the basins. The Rack Saw remotely attached itself to a structure, cut a variety of steel shapes and pipes, and retained the cut pieces for retrieval. All of these systems are remotely operated with onboard video cameras and debris collection systems.