Expandable Arm Apparatus for Nuclear Reactor Core Shroud Inspection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Nuclear reactor core shrouds are difficult to inspect and maintain due to their confined and radioactive nature, making existing solutions inadequate for ensuring structural integrity and preventing accidents like loss-of-coolant events and seismic damage.
Innovation Solution
A modular inspection, maintenance, and repair apparatus comprising a track, an arm with expandable length, and an effector, which can be inserted into the reactor to access hard-to-reach areas, equipped with sensors and tools for ultrasonic inspection, cleaning, and repair, allowing for enhanced access and operation within the reactor's confined spaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional inspection methods are used for core shroud, then inspection complexity and time are reduced, but access to confined areas and structural integrity detection capability are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The inspection apparatus is divided into multiple modular components including a movable platform, extendable arm assembly, and detachable effector tools. This segmentation allows the system to navigate confined spaces while maintaining comprehensive inspection capabilities through coordinated operation of discrete modules.
Solution Approach 2:
The inspection system employs a nested structure where the effector tools are housed within the arm assembly, which in turn is supported by the movable platform. This nested configuration enables compact storage and systematic deployment of inspection components within the restricted downcomer annulus space.
2Reliability
If inspection apparatus is designed for comprehensive coverage, then inspection quality improves, but device complexity and operational difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The effector tools are designed with multi-functionality, capable of performing ultrasonic inspection, visual examination, and structural assessment through integrated sensors and detectors. This universal design allows a single apparatus to accomplish comprehensive inspection tasks without requiring multiple specialized devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The inspection apparatus incorporates real-time feedback mechanisms through sensors that detect structural anomalies and provide immediate data to operators. This feedback system guides the inspection process, allowing operators to adjust the examination path based on detected conditions, thereby simplifying operation while maintaining high inspection quality.
3Length of moving object
If arm length is extended to reach distant areas, then access to confined spaces improves, but structural stability and control precision deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The arm assembly is designed with dynamic characteristics, allowing it to extend and retract as needed while maintaining stability through active control systems. The arm can be extended to reach distant inspection points and then retracted or repositioned to maintain structural stability during measurement operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable platform serves as an intermediary base that provides stable support for the extendable arm. This intermediary structure allows the arm to achieve extended reach while the platform maintains overall system stability, effectively decoupling the reach requirement from the stability requirement.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The apparatus enables efficient inspection and maintenance of nuclear reactor core shrouds, reducing inspection cycles, simplifying plans, and ensuring structural integrity, thereby minimizing the risk of accidents and improving reactor safety.
Implementation Method 1
equipped with sensors and tools for ultrasonic inspection
Data Source
AI summary
A method of inspecting, performing maintenance on, or repairing a nuclear reactor may include operatively connecting a fixing device, a first track, an arm including one or more second tracks, and an effector to form an apparatus; inserting the apparatus into the reactor; fixing the apparatus within the reactor; and operating the apparatus. At least one of the one or more second tracks may include at least three track sections. The arm may have a contracted length. The arm may have an expanded length. The expanded length may be greater than two times the contracted length. The first track may include one or more motors configured to move the arm relative to the first track. A method of operating a reactor may include shutting down; inspecting, performing maintenance on, or repairing the reactor; and starting up the reactor.