A multi-station rotary automatic forming device for regularly arranging TRISO particles

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of nuclear fuel pellet preparation, and particularly relates to a multi-station rotating automatic forming device for regular arrangement of TRISO particles. The device comprises: a mold tray conveying belt, four stations are sequentially arranged along the conveying direction; a green pellet forming turntable is located on one side of the mold tray conveying belt and comprises four fixed-point stations, and the transmission of materials on the four fixed-point stations is realized through rotation; a mold conveying belt is arranged between the upper and lower positions of the mold and a green pellet demolding platform; the green pellet demolding platform is used for demolding the green pellet from the mold; a manipulator is used for transferring the mold and the green pellet and cooperating with the green pellet demolding; and a control platform is used for controlling each module. The present application realizes regular arrangement of TRISO particles in coated particle dispersed fuel, and can realize stable, efficient and convenient automatic batch forming.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of nuclear fuel pellet preparation, and more particularly to a multi-station rotary automatic forming device for regularly arranged TRISO particles. Background Technology

[0002] Coated particulate dispersion fuels, with silicon carbide as the matrix phase and TRISO particles as the dispersion phase, have high melting point, high thermal conductivity, and good radiation stability. They can effectively prevent the release of fission products and have become one of the research hotspots for accident-resistant fuels (ATF) in recent years.

[0003] In coated particulate fuels prepared by existing processes, TRISO particles are randomly distributed, and some areas may experience TRISO particle aggregation. On the one hand, during the pressure sintering process, the fuel pellets shrink to varying degrees in both the radial and axial directions, which may cause adjacent TRISO particles to come into contact, squeeze, or even break. On the other hand, the uneven distribution of coated particles may lead to temperature gradients inside the pellets, thereby causing fuel damage or performance degradation.

[0004] To prevent interparticle interactions during densification, two process routes have been proposed: one is to coat the outermost layer of fuel particles with NITE SiC material for protection; the other is the "zero-crack" ceramic dispersion microencapsulated fuel (CDM) proposed by Ang et al. from the University of Tennessee in 2019-2020. This involves densely punching holes in a SiC substrate green disc to place TRISO particles, with the powder discs stacked layer by layer to form a green core.

[0005] In 2022, Guangdong University of Technology and Tsinghua University used tape casting to prepare green bodies and achieved a highly ordered distribution of TRISO particles in the matrix without them coming into contact with each other by laser drilling and layer stacking.

[0006] The above-mentioned "layer-by-layer stacking of green discs" preparation method relies on manual stacking and forming, which has low preparation efficiency and makes it difficult to achieve mass production of coated particle dispersion fuel with regularly arranged TRISO particles in the matrix. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a multi-station rotary automatic forming device for regular arrangement of TRISO particles, which realizes the regular arrangement of TRISO particles in coated particle dispersion fuel, and can realize the stable, efficient and convenient automatic batch forming of coated particle dispersion fuel green body with regular TRISO particle arrangement in the matrix.

[0008] This invention provides a TRISO particle regular arrangement multi-station rotary automatic forming device, including: mold tray conveyor belt, mold conveyor belt, green forming turntable, green demolding platform, robot arm and control platform;

[0009] The mold pallet conveyor belt is arranged sequentially along the conveying direction as follows: pallet loading position, mold loading position, mold unloading position and pallet unloading position. Each of the four positions is equipped with a photoelectric sensor for the program to determine whether a pallet is placed on the position.

[0010] The green forming turntable is located on one side of the mold tray conveyor belt and includes four fixed stations. The four fixed stations are equally spaced around the green forming turntable, and the reciprocating transmission of the mold containing the material on the four fixed stations is realized by the rotation of the motor. The fixed stations include, in sequence, a mold upper and lower position, a powder feeding position, a powder equalization position, and a ball pressing position. Each of the four fixed stations is equipped with a photoelectric sensor for the program to determine whether a mold is placed on the station, and the powder feeding position is equipped with a weighing sensor.

[0011] The mold conveyor belt is positioned between the upper and lower parts of the mold and the green blank demolding platform;

[0012] The green blank demolding platform is used to remove the green blank from the mold. The height of the green blank demolding platform is adjustable to match molds of different heights. The green blank demolding platform has a central hole in the center, which is used for inserting the mold by rotating it 180° and inverting it during green blank demolding. The diameter of the central hole is adjustable to match molds of different outer diameters. A green blank conveyor belt is located directly below the central hole for transferring the green blank.

[0013] The robotic arm is used for mold transfer and for assisting in the demolding of green blanks;

[0014] The control platform controls the transmission of the mold pallet conveyor belt, the mold conveyor belt, and the green blank conveyor belt; controls the robot arm to pick up and place items between the mold pallet conveyor belt, the green blank forming turntable, and the green blank demolding platform; controls the actions of the powder feeding position, the powder equalization position, and the ball pressing position, as well as the rotation of the green blank forming turntable; and controls the actions of the robot arm and the demolding press to demold the green blank.

[0015] Preferably, a funnel is provided directly above the powder feeding position. The height of the funnel is adjustable to match molds of different heights. A powder feeding scoop is provided above the side of the funnel. The scoop is connected to a weighing sensor. The weighing sensor is fixed to the motor through a bracket structure and can move forward, backward, or rotate under the drive of the motor. A powder feeding hopper is provided above the side of the scoop for holding the matrix powder for molding.

[0016] Preferably, a powder-equalizing plate is provided directly above the powder-equalizing position. The powder-equalizing plate is connected to the motor via a connecting rod and can rise, fall, or rotate under the drive of the motor.

[0017] Preferably, a press is provided above the ball pressing position, a telescopic gripper is provided on the inner side of the turntable, and a TRISO granule hopper is provided on the outer side. There is a ball feeding platform at the bottom center of the hopper, which can be lifted from the bottom of the hopper by a cylinder. A scraper is provided on one side of the square hopper. The scraper can be moved to the opposite side and then returned to the initial position to scrape off excess TRISO granules from the ball feeding platform. The ball feeding head is located directly above the ball feeding platform and is fixed on a bracket. An industrial camera is fixed on the bracket side by side with the ball feeding head. The bracket is connected to a motor and can move forward, backward, up, and down under the drive of the motor.

[0018] Preferably, a dust filter is connected to the ball suction head, and its vacuum level is monitored by a sensor.

[0019] Preferably, an industrial camera is mounted on a bracket next to the ball-forming suction head to monitor and record the TRISO particle arrangement after each ball-forming process.

[0020] Preferably, the robotic arm includes a first robotic arm, a second robotic arm, and a third robotic arm;

[0021] The first robotic arm is used to pick up and place empty molds from the mold loading position of the mold pallet conveyor belt to the upper and lower positions of the mold on the green forming turntable, and to pick up and place molds that have been pre-pressed and formed from the upper and lower positions of the mold on the green forming turntable to the starting point of the mold conveyor belt.

[0022] The second robotic arm is used to pick up and place molds from the mold conveyor belt onto the green blank demolding platform, and to pick up and place molds that have been demolded on the green blank demolding platform onto the mold tray at the mold unloading position of the mold tray conveyor belt.

[0023] The third robotic arm is used to grasp the mold and assist in demolding the green blank.

[0024] Preferably, a number of empty stations are evenly spaced between the four fixed stations of the green forming turntable.

[0025] This invention provides a multi-station rotary automatic forming method for regularly arranged TRISO particles, comprising the following steps:

[0026] Step 1: Under the control of the control platform, the mold pallet on the pallet loading position descends to the conveyor belt and reaches the mold loading position via the mold pallet conveyor belt;

[0027] Step 2: The first robotic arm picks up the molds from the mold tray conveyor belt and places them sequentially at the upper and lower positions of the green forming turntable mold. At the same time, the control program controls the turntable to rotate the molds to the next station. After all the molds on the tray have been picked up and placed on the green forming turntable, the tray is moved to the mold unloading position by the conveyor belt.

[0028] Step 3: The control program controls the rotation of the green body forming turntable, and the mold moves to the powder feeding station. Under the program control, the powder feeding shaft under the powder feeding hopper starts to rotate. As it starts to rotate, the matrix powder in the hopper falls into the powder feeding scoop. The weighing sensor measures the weight of the matrix powder in real time. After the set value is reached, the motor moves forward, driving the scoop to move above the funnel and rotate 180° to feed the powder into the mold through the funnel. Then the scoop reverses 180° to return to the initial state, and the motor moves backward, driving the scoop back to the starting position.

[0029] Step 4: After the powder feeding action is completed, the mold moves from the powder feeding station to the powder equalization station under the rotation of the turntable. The lifting cylinder rises, and the powder equalization plate above the powder equalization station descends to the set height under the drive of the motor. The powder equalization plate starts to rotate forward under the drive of the motor. After rotating forward a certain number of times, it rotates backward a certain number of times to make the powder surface flat and prevent uneven powder falling. Then it stops rotating, and the powder equalization plate returns to the starting position under the drive of the motor. The lifting cylinder lowers.

[0030] Step 5: After the powder homogenization process is completed, the mold rotates to the ball-pressing position, the lifting cylinder rises, and the side grippers extend to fix the mold, preventing it from being lifted during the press head's ascent. Then, the control program lowers the press head to pre-press the powder inside the mold. After pre-pressing, the press head rises back to the starting position. Next, the ball-feeding platform at the bottom center of the TRISO granule hopper is lifted from the bottom of the hopper by a cylinder. The ball-feeding suction head directly above the platform descends to a set height via a motor, activating vacuum to suck up TRISO granules. It then rises under motor drive and moves above the mold, before descending to a certain height above the powder layer, at which point the vacuum stops.

[0031] TRISO granules fall onto the powder layer surface under gravity. Then, the ball-feeding suction head returns to its initial position driven by the motor, and the ball-feeding platform returns to its initial position driven by the cylinder. After the ball-feeding suction head moves out of the mold, the control program controls the press head to descend and pre-press the TRISO granules. After the pre-pressing is completed, the press head rises and returns to the starting position. The side grippers retract, the lifting cylinder descends, and the mold moves to the next station under the rotation of the turntable.

[0032] Step Six: Return to Step Three. After the number of ball layers reaches the set value, the pre-pressing of the green body begins: After Steps Three and Four are completed, the mold rotates to the ball pressing position, the lifting cylinder rises, and at the same time, the side grippers extend to fix the mold. The control program controls the press head to descend and pre-press the powder in the mold. After the pre-pressing is completed, the press head rises and returns to the starting position, the side grippers retract, the lifting cylinder descends, and the mold rotates to the next station under the rotation of the turntable.

[0033] Step 7: Under the rotation of the turntable, the mold that has completed the pre-pressing of the green body moves to the upper and lower positions of the mold. The first robot arm picks up and places the mold at the starting point of the mold conveyor belt, and the mold moves to the ending point of the mold conveyor belt via the conveyor belt.

[0034] Step 8: The control program controls the second robotic arm to pick up and place the mold from the end of the mold conveyor belt to the center of the demolding platform. Then the second robotic arm returns to the initial position, and the third robotic arm moves forward to clamp the mold and rotate it 180° to insert it into the center hole of the demolding platform. The control program controls the pressure head of the demolding press to descend, pushing the formed green blank out of the mold, completing the demolding of the green blank. After demolding is completed, the pressure head rises and returns to the starting position.

[0035] Step 9: After the green blank is ejected from the mold, it falls naturally into the starting point of the green blank conveyor belt below the demolding platform and moves forward a certain distance by the conveyor belt. At the same time, the third robot rotates the mold 180° and places it on the demolding platform, releases the mold and returns to the starting position. The control program controls the second robot to pick up and place the mold from the demolding platform to the mold tray located at the mold unloading position.

[0036] Step 10: Return to Step 7. After all molds have been demolded and placed on the mold tray, the mold tray will be conveyed to the tray discharge position, and the green blank will be conveyed to the end of the conveyor belt.

[0037] Preferably, in step five, after the ball supply platform is lifted from the bottom of the hopper by the cylinder each time, the control program moves the scraper to the opposite side and then returns to the initial position to scrape off the excess TRISO particles on the ball supply platform.

[0038] Preferably, in step five, after the particles are drawn twice, the suction head moves past the brush to scrape off the excess particles, leaving only one layer of particles; the cloth ball suction head moves above the mold, descends to a certain height and stops, the negative pressure is removed and the ultrasonic vibration on the suction head support is briefly turned on to ensure that all TRISO particles fall off and there are no TRISO particles remaining on the suction head.

[0039] Preferably, in step three, after the powder feeding shaft below the powder feeding hopper starts to rotate, the ultrasonic device on the side wall of the hopper starts to vibrate to prevent the matrix powder from agglomerating. After the powder feeding shaft stops rotating, the ultrasonic device stops vibrating.

[0040] Preferably, in step three, the scoop is moved above the hopper and rotated 180° to feed the powder into the mold along the hopper. At the same time, the powder feeding air vibration of the hopper is activated to prevent the matrix powder from remaining on the hopper.

[0041] Compared with the prior art, the TRISO particle regular arrangement multi-station rotary automatic forming device of the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0042] (1) By using a multi-station rotary automatic forming tooling with regular TRISO particle arrangement, TRISO particles are arranged in multiple layers in the coated particle dispersion fuel green body and the green body is automatically formed and demolded in batches.

[0043] (2) By adjusting the height of the vacuum negative pressure ball suction and the falling ball, a single-layer regular arrangement of TRISO particles in the coated particle dispersion fuel green blank was achieved. Attached Figure Description

[0044] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing the structure of a multi-station rotary automatic forming device with regularly arranged TRISO particles;

[0045] Figure 2 This diagram illustrates the structure of the ball suction head.

[0046] Figure 3 This diagram illustrates the workflow of a multi-station rotary automatic forming device for regularly arranged TRISO particles.

[0047] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating the process of the green body forming turntable;

[0048] In the picture,

[0049] 1-Mold pallet conveyor belt, 2-Mold conveyor belt, 3-Green blank forming turntable, 4-Green blank demolding platform, 5-Green blank conveyor belt, 6-Control platform, 7-Pallet loading position, 8-Mold loading position, 9-Mold unloading position, 10-Pallet discharge position, 11-Mold upper and lower positions, 12-Powder feeding position, 13-Powder equalization position, 14-Ball pressing position. Detailed Implementation

[0050] To further understand the present invention, embodiments of the present invention are described below in conjunction with examples. However, it should be understood that these descriptions are only for further illustrating the features and advantages of the present invention, and not for limiting the present invention.

[0051] An embodiment of the present invention discloses a multi-station rotary automatic forming device for regularly arranged TRISO particles, such as... Figure 1 As shown, it includes: mold pallet conveyor belt 1, mold conveyor belt 2, green forming turntable 3, green demolding platform 4, robot arm and control platform 6;

[0052] The mold pallet conveyor belt 1 is arranged in sequence along the conveying direction as follows: pallet loading position 7, mold loading position 8, mold unloading position 9, and pallet unloading position 10. Each of the four positions is equipped with a photoelectric sensor for the program to determine whether a pallet is placed on the position.

[0053] The mold pallet conveyor belt 1 is used to move the pallet containing the mold from the loading position to the unloading position. During the movement of the pallet, it passes through the green forming turntable 3 and the green demolding platform 4, which are used to place the empty mold on the green forming turntable 3 and the empty mold that has been demolded on the pallet, respectively.

[0054] When the empty mold moves to position 8 on the mold, the robot will transfer the empty mold.

[0055] The green forming turntable 3 is located on one side of the mold tray conveyor belt 1.

[0056] The green body forming turntable 3 includes four fixed stations, which are equally spaced around the green body forming turntable. The reciprocating transmission of the mold containing the material on the four fixed stations is realized by the rotation of the motor. The fixed stations include, in sequence, a mold upper and lower position 11, a powder feeding position 12, a powder equalization position 13, and a ball pressing position 14. Each of the four fixed stations is equipped with a photoelectric sensor for the program to determine whether a mold is placed on the station. The powder feeding position is equipped with a weighing sensor.

[0057] A funnel is provided directly above the powder feeding position 12. The height of the funnel is adjustable to match molds of different heights. A powder feeding scoop is provided on the side above the funnel. The scoop is connected to a weighing sensor. The weighing sensor is fixed to the motor through a bracket structure and can move forward, backward or rotate under the drive of the motor. A powder feeding hopper is provided on the side above the scoop for holding the matrix powder for molding.

[0058] A powder-equalizing plate is provided directly above the powder-equalizing position 13. The powder-equalizing plate is connected to the motor via a connecting rod and can rise, fall or rotate under the drive of the motor. The powder surface is made flat and evenly distributed by rotating, stirring and smoothing the powder-equalizing plate.

[0059] A press is positioned directly above the ball-pressing station 14. A telescopic gripper is located inside the turntable, and a TRISO granule hopper is positioned outside. A ball-feeding platform is located at the bottom center of the hopper, which can be raised from the bottom of the hopper by a cylinder. A scraper is located on one side of the square hopper; by moving the scraper to the opposite side and then returning to its initial position, excess TRISO granules are scraped off the ball-feeding platform. A ball-feeding suction head is positioned directly above the ball-feeding platform and is fixed to a bracket. An industrial camera is also fixed to the bracket side-by-side with the ball-feeding suction head. The bracket is connected to a motor, which can move forward, backward, upward, and downward under the motor's drive. The ball-feeding suction head... Figure 2 As shown.

[0060] The cloth ball suction head is connected to a dust filter, and its vacuum level is monitored by a sensor.

[0061] An industrial camera is mounted on a bracket next to the ball-forming suction head to monitor and record the TRISO particle arrangement after each ball-forming process.

[0062] Depending on the selected TRISO particle size, different pore sizes can be used to select different ball-shaped suction heads. By applying a vacuum negative pressure above the ball assembly, TRISO particles are adsorbed onto the pores on the surface of the ball-shaped suction head. The ball-shaped suction head can rotate to achieve the densest possible packing between TRISO particle layers, increasing the volumetric proportion of TRISO particles in the fuel. A dust filter is connected after the ball-shaped suction head to prevent matrix powder from being drawn into the vacuum system. The vacuum level is monitored by a sensor, and its value can be adjusted to match different sized suction heads.

[0063] The upper and lower mold positions 11, powder feeding position 12, powder equalization position 13 and ball distribution and pressing position 14 are arranged in sequence along the green body forming turntable 3. Each rotation of the green body forming turntable 3 can complete one round of "powder feeding-powder equalization-pressing-ball distribution-pressing" process, realizing the formation of a layer of matrix powder and a layer of TRISO particles.

[0064] Preferably, the four fixed-point stations of the green forming turntable are also provided with four empty stations to improve the overall forming efficiency of the tooling. Each station is equipped with a sensor, which can be used to control the program to determine whether there is a mold at the station in order to perform control actions.

[0065] The mold conveyor belt 2 is set between the upper and lower mold positions 11 and the green blank demolding platform 3; the robot arm transfers the mold with green blank in the upper and lower mold positions 11 to the green blank demolding platform 4 through the mold conveyor belt 2;

[0066] The green blank demolding platform 4 is used to remove the green blank from the mold. The green blank demolding platform has a central hole in the center, which is used for inserting the mold by rotating it 180° and inverting it when demolding the green blank. The diameter of the central hole is adjustable to match molds with different outer diameters. A green blank conveyor belt is provided directly below the central hole for transporting the green blank.

[0067] The mold is held by a robotic arm, and pressure is applied by a demolding rod installed on the press to eject the formed green blank from the mold; the height of the demolding platform can be adjusted to match molds of different heights.

[0068] Preferably, a green blank conveyor belt is also provided directly below the center hole of the green blank demolding platform 4, and the green blank falls from the green blank demolding platform 4 into the green blank conveyor belt 5 and is transferred by the green blank conveyor belt 5.

[0069] The robotic arm is used for mold transfer and for assisting in the demolding of green blanks;

[0070] Multiple robotic arms can be configured.

[0071] The robotic arm includes a first robotic arm, a second robotic arm, and a third robotic arm;

[0072] The mold loading position is picked up and placed to the upper and lower positions of the mold on the green blank forming turntable, and the mold after the green blank is pre-pressed is picked up and placed from the upper and lower positions of the mold on the green blank forming turntable to the starting point of the mold conveyor belt; and is set between the mold tray conveyor belt 1 and the green blank forming turntable 3.

[0073] The second robotic arm is used to pick up and place molds from the mold conveyor belt onto the green blank demolding platform, and to pick up and place molds that have been demolded on the green blank demolding platform onto the mold tray at the mold unloading position of the mold tray conveyor belt; it is positioned between the mold tray conveyor belt 1 and the mold conveyor belt 2.

[0074] The third robotic arm is used to grasp the mold and assist in the demolding of the green blank; it is set on one side of the green blank demolding platform 4.

[0075] The control platform controls the transmission of the mold pallet conveyor belt, the mold conveyor belt, and the green blank conveyor belt; controls the robot to transfer and pick up / place molds between the mold pallet conveyor belt, the green blank forming turntable, and the green blank demolding platform; controls the actions of the powder feeding station, the powder equalization station, and the ball pressing station, as well as the rotation of the green blank forming turntable; and controls the actions of the robot and the demolding press to demold the green blank.

[0076] Embodiments of the present invention also disclose a multi-station rotary automatic forming method for regularly arranged TRISO particles, such as... Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, it includes the following steps:

[0077] Step 1: Under the control of the control platform, the mold pallet on the pallet loading position descends to the conveyor belt and reaches the mold loading position via the mold pallet conveyor belt;

[0078] Step 2: The first robotic arm picks up the molds from the mold tray and places them sequentially on the upper and lower positions of the green forming turntable. At the same time, the control program controls the turntable to rotate the molds to the next station. After all the molds on the tray have been picked up and placed on the green forming turntable, the tray is moved to the mold unloading position by the conveyor belt.

[0079] Step 3: The control program controls the rotation of the green body forming turntable, and the mold moves to the powder feeding station. Under the program control, the powder feeding shaft under the powder feeding hopper starts to rotate, and the matrix powder in the hopper falls into the powder feeding scoop. The weighing sensor measures the weight of the matrix powder in real time. After reaching the set value, the motor moves forward, driving the scoop to move above the funnel and rotate 180° to feed the powder into the mold through the funnel. Then the scoop reverses 180° to return to the initial state, and the motor moves backward, driving the scoop back to the starting position.

[0080] Step 4: After the powder feeding action is completed, the mold moves from the powder feeding station to the powder equalization station under the rotation of the turntable. The lifting cylinder rises, and the powder equalization plate above the powder equalization station descends to the set height under the drive of the motor. The powder equalization plate starts to rotate forward under the drive of the motor. After rotating forward a certain number of times, it rotates backward a certain number of times to make the powder surface flat and prevent uneven powder falling. Then it stops rotating, and the powder equalization plate returns to the starting position under the drive of the motor. The lifting cylinder lowers.

[0081] Step 5: After the powder homogenization process is completed, the mold rotates to the ball-pressing position, the lifting cylinder rises, and the side grippers extend to fix the mold, preventing it from being lifted during the press head's ascent. Then, the control program lowers the press head to pre-press the powder inside the mold. After pre-pressing, the press head rises back to the starting position. Subsequently, the ball-feeding platform at the bottom center of the TRISO granule hopper is lifted from the bottom of the hopper by a cylinder. The ball-feeding suction head directly above the platform descends to the set height via a motor, activating vacuum negative pressure to suck up TRISO granules. Then, the motor... The machine rises and moves above the mold, then descends to a certain height above the powder layer. The vacuum pressure stops, and TRISO granules fall onto the powder layer surface under gravity. The ball-feeding suction head then returns to its initial position driven by a motor, and the ball-feeding platform returns to its initial position driven by a cylinder. After the ball-feeding suction head moves above the mold, the control program lowers the press head to pre-press the TRISO granules. After pre-pressing, the press head rises back to its starting position, the side grippers retract, the lifting cylinder lowers, and the mold moves to the next station as the turntable rotates.

[0082] Step Six: Return to Step Three. After the number of ball layers reaches the set value, the pre-pressing of the green body begins: After Steps Three and Four are completed, the mold rotates to the ball pressing position, the lifting cylinder rises, and at the same time, the side grippers extend to fix the mold. The control program controls the press head to descend and pre-press the powder in the mold. After the pre-pressing is completed, the press head rises and returns to the starting position, the side grippers retract, the lifting cylinder descends, and the mold rotates to the next station under the rotation of the turntable.

[0083] Step 7: Under the rotation of the turntable, the mold that has completed the pre-pressing of the green body moves to the upper and lower positions of the mold. The first robot arm picks up and places the mold at the starting point of the mold conveyor belt, and the mold moves to the ending point of the mold conveyor belt via the conveyor belt.

[0084] Step 8: The control program controls the second robotic arm to pick up and place the mold from the end of the mold conveyor belt to the center of the demolding platform. Then the second robotic arm returns to the initial position, and the third robotic arm moves forward to clamp the mold and rotate it 180° to insert it into the center hole of the demolding platform. The control program controls the pressure head of the demolding press to descend, pushing the formed green blank out of the mold, completing the demolding of the green blank. After demolding is completed, the pressure head rises and returns to the starting position.

[0085] Step 9: After the green blank is ejected from the mold, it falls naturally into the starting point of the green blank conveyor belt below the demolding platform and moves forward a certain distance by the conveyor belt. At the same time, the third robot rotates the mold 180° and places it on the demolding platform, releases the mold and returns to the starting position. The control program controls the second robot to pick up and place the mold from the demolding platform to the mold tray located at the mold unloading position.

[0086] Step 10: Return to Step 7. After all molds have been demolded and placed on the mold tray, the mold tray will be conveyed to the tray discharge position, and the green blank will be conveyed to the end of the conveyor belt.

[0087] The above description of the embodiments is only for the purpose of helping to understand the method and core ideas of the present invention. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several improvements and modifications to the present invention without departing from the principles of the present invention, and these improvements and modifications also fall within the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

[0088] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables those skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention is not to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A multi-station rotary automatic forming device for regularly arranged TRISO particles, characterized in that, include: Mold pallet conveyor belt, mold conveyor belt, green forming turntable, green demolding platform, robot and control platform; The mold pallet conveyor belt is arranged sequentially along the conveying direction as follows: pallet loading position, mold loading position, mold unloading position and pallet unloading position. Each of the four positions is equipped with a photoelectric sensor for the program to determine whether a pallet is placed on the position. The green forming turntable is located on one side of the mold tray conveyor belt and includes four fixed stations. The four fixed stations are equally spaced around the green forming turntable, and the reciprocating transmission of the mold containing the material on the four fixed stations is realized by the rotation of the motor. The fixed stations include, in sequence, a mold upper and lower position, a powder feeding position, a powder equalization position, and a ball pressing position. Each of the four fixed stations is equipped with a photoelectric sensor for the program to determine whether a mold is placed on the station, and the powder feeding position is equipped with a weighing sensor. The mold conveyor belt is positioned between the upper and lower parts of the mold and the green blank demolding platform; The green blank demolding platform is used to remove the green blank from the mold. The height of the green blank demolding platform is adjustable to match molds of different heights. The green blank demolding platform has a central hole in the center, which is used for inserting the mold by rotating it 180° and inverting it during green blank demolding. The diameter of the central hole is adjustable to match molds of different outer diameters. A green blank conveyor belt is located directly below the central hole for transferring the green blank. The robotic arm is used for mold transfer and for assisting in the demolding of green blanks; The control platform controls the transmission of the mold pallet conveyor belt, the mold conveyor belt, and the green blank conveyor belt; controls the robot arm to pick up and place molds between the mold pallet conveyor belt, the green blank forming turntable, and the green blank demolding platform; controls the actions of the powder feeding position, the powder equalization position, and the ball pressing position, as well as the rotation of the green blank forming turntable; and controls the actions of the robot arm and the demolding press to demold the green blank.

2. The TRISO particle regular arrangement multi-station rotary automatic forming device according to claim 1, characterized in that, A funnel is provided directly above the powder feeding position. The height of the funnel is adjustable to match molds of different heights. A powder feeding scoop is provided on the side above the funnel. The scoop is connected to a weighing sensor. The weighing sensor is fixed to the motor through a bracket structure and can move forward, backward, or rotate under the drive of the motor. A powder feeding hopper is provided on the side above the scoop for holding the base powder for molding. A powder-equalizing plate is provided directly above the powder-equalizing position. The powder-equalizing plate is connected to the motor via a connecting rod and can rise, fall, or rotate under the drive of the motor. A press is located directly above the ball pressing position. A telescopic gripper is located on the inner side of the turntable, and a TRISO granule hopper is located on the outer side. There is a ball feeding platform at the bottom center of the hopper, which can be lifted from the bottom of the hopper by a cylinder. A scraper is located on one side of the square hopper. The scraper can be moved to the opposite side and then returned to the initial position to scrape off excess TRISO granules from the ball feeding platform. A ball feeding head is located directly above the ball feeding platform and is fixed on a bracket. An industrial camera is also fixed on the bracket side by side with the ball feeding head. The bracket is connected to a motor and can move forward, backward, up, and down under the drive of the motor.

3. The TRISO particle regular arrangement multi-station rotary automatic forming device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The cloth ball suction head is connected to a dust filter, and its vacuum level is monitored by a sensor.

4. The TRISO particle regular arrangement multi-station rotary automatic forming device according to claim 2, characterized in that, An industrial camera is mounted on a bracket next to the ball-forming suction head to monitor and record the TRISO particle arrangement after each ball-forming process.

5. The TRISO particle regular arrangement multi-station rotary automatic forming device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The robotic arm includes a first robotic arm, a second robotic arm, and a third robotic arm; The first robotic arm is used to pick up and place empty molds from the mold loading position of the mold pallet conveyor belt to the upper and lower positions of the mold on the green forming turntable, and to pick up and place molds that have been pre-pressed and formed from the upper and lower positions of the mold on the green forming turntable to the starting point of the mold conveyor belt. The second robotic arm is used to pick up and place molds from the mold conveyor belt onto the green blank demolding platform, and to pick up and place molds that have been demolded on the green blank demolding platform onto the mold tray at the mold unloading position of the mold tray conveyor belt. The third robotic arm is used to grasp the mold and assist in demolding the green blank.

6. The TRISO particle regular arrangement multi-station rotary automatic forming device according to claim 1, characterized in that, Several empty stations are also evenly spaced between the four fixed stations of the green forming turntable.

7. A multi-station rotary automatic forming method for regularly arranged TRISO particles, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step 1: Under the control of the control platform, the mold pallet on the pallet loading position descends to the conveyor belt and reaches the mold loading position via the mold pallet conveyor belt; Step 2: The first robotic arm picks up the molds from the mold tray and places them sequentially on the upper and lower positions of the green forming turntable. At the same time, the control program controls the turntable to rotate the molds to the next station. After all the molds on the tray have been picked up and placed on the green forming turntable, the tray is moved to the mold unloading position by the conveyor belt. Step 3: The control program controls the rotation of the green body forming turntable, and the mold moves to the powder feeding station. Under the program control, the powder feeding shaft under the powder feeding hopper starts to rotate, and the matrix powder in the hopper falls into the powder feeding scoop. The weighing sensor measures the weight of the matrix powder in real time. After reaching the set value, the motor moves forward, driving the scoop to move above the funnel and rotate 180° to feed the powder into the mold through the funnel. Then the scoop reverses 180° to return to the initial state, and the motor moves backward, driving the scoop back to the starting position. Step 4: After the powder feeding action is completed, the mold moves from the powder feeding station to the powder equalization station under the rotation of the turntable. The lifting cylinder rises, and the powder equalization plate above the powder equalization station descends to the set height under the drive of the motor. The powder equalization plate starts to rotate forward under the drive of the motor. After rotating forward a certain number of times, it rotates backward a certain number of times to make the powder surface flat and prevent uneven powder falling. Then it stops rotating, and the powder equalization plate returns to the starting position under the drive of the motor. The lifting cylinder lowers. Step 5: After the powder homogenization process is completed, the mold rotates to the ball-pressing position, the lifting cylinder rises, and the side grippers extend to fix the mold, preventing it from being lifted during the press head's ascent. Then, the control program lowers the press head to pre-press the powder inside the mold. After pre-pressing, the press head rises back to the starting position. Subsequently, the ball-feeding platform at the bottom center of the TRISO granule hopper is lifted from the bottom of the hopper by a cylinder. The ball-feeding suction head directly above the platform descends to the set height via a motor, activating vacuum negative pressure to suck up TRISO granules. Then, the motor... The machine rises and moves above the mold, then descends to a certain height above the powder layer. The vacuum pressure stops, and TRISO granules fall onto the powder layer surface under gravity. The ball-feeding suction head then returns to its initial position driven by a motor, and the ball-feeding platform returns to its initial position driven by a cylinder. After the ball-feeding suction head moves above the mold, the control program lowers the press head to pre-press the TRISO granules. After pre-pressing, the press head rises back to its starting position, the side grippers retract, the lifting cylinder lowers, and the mold moves to the next station as the turntable rotates. Step Six: Return to Step Three. After the number of ball layers reaches the set value, the pre-pressing of the green body begins: After Steps Three and Four are completed, the mold rotates to the ball pressing position, the lifting cylinder rises, and at the same time, the side grippers extend to fix the mold. The control program controls the press head to descend and pre-press the powder in the mold. After the pre-pressing is completed, the press head rises and returns to the starting position, the side grippers retract, the lifting cylinder descends, and the mold rotates to the next station under the rotation of the turntable. Step 7: Under the rotation of the turntable, the mold that has completed the pre-pressing of the green body moves to the upper and lower positions of the mold. The first robot arm picks up and places the mold at the starting point of the mold conveyor belt, and the mold moves to the ending point of the mold conveyor belt via the conveyor belt. Step 8: The control program controls the second robotic arm to pick up and place the mold from the end of the mold conveyor belt to the center of the demolding platform. Then the second robotic arm returns to the initial position, and the third robotic arm moves forward to clamp the mold and rotate it 180° to insert it into the center hole of the demolding platform. The control program controls the pressure head of the demolding press to descend, pushing the formed green blank out of the mold, completing the demolding of the green blank. After demolding is completed, the pressure head rises and returns to the starting position. Step 9: After the green blank is ejected from the mold, it falls naturally into the starting point of the green blank conveyor belt below the demolding platform and moves forward a certain distance by the conveyor belt. At the same time, the third robot rotates the mold 180° and places it on the demolding platform, releases the mold and returns to the starting position. The control program controls the second robot to pick up and place the mold from the demolding platform to the mold tray located at the mold unloading position. Step 10: Return to Step 7. After all molds have been demolded and placed on the mold tray, the mold tray will be conveyed to the tray discharge position, and the green blank will be conveyed to the end of the conveyor belt.

8. The TRISO particle regular arrangement multi-station rotary automatic forming method according to claim 7, characterized in that, In step five, each time the ball supply platform is lifted from the bottom of the hopper by the cylinder, the control program moves the scraper to the opposite side and then returns to the initial position, scraping off the excess TRISO particles on the ball supply platform.

9. The TRISO particle regular arrangement multi-station rotary automatic forming method according to claim 7, characterized in that, In step five, after the particles are sucked up twice, the suction head moves past the brush to scrape off the excess particles, leaving only one layer of particles; the cloth ball suction head moves above the mold, descends to a certain height and stops, the negative pressure is removed and the ultrasonic vibration on the suction head support is briefly turned on to ensure that all TRISO particles fall off and there are no TRISO particles left on the suction head.

10. The TRISO particle regular arrangement multi-station rotary automatic forming method according to claim 7, characterized in that, In step three, after the powder feeding shaft below the powder feeding hopper starts to rotate, the ultrasonic device on the side wall of the hopper starts to vibrate to prevent the matrix powder from agglomerating. After the powder feeding shaft stops rotating, the ultrasonic device stops vibrating.

11. The TRISO particle regular arrangement multi-station rotary automatic forming method according to claim 7, characterized in that, In step three, the scoop is moved above the funnel and rotated 180° to feed the powder into the mold through the funnel. At the same time, the ultrasonic device on the funnel platform is turned on to vibrate, preventing the matrix powder from remaining on the scoop.

Images