Guiding Device for Radioactive Waste Drum Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Near surface disposal facilities face challenges in maintaining the stability and structural integrity of radioactive waste drums during home positioning and long-term storage, particularly due to uneven piling and internal damage issues, which complicates the extraction of damaged drums without affecting surrounding ones.
Innovation Solution
A guiding device is installed at the bottom of the vault grout, featuring a ring-shaped main body with guide protrusions and a fixing plate, allowing for precise home positioning and vertical alignment of drums, and enabling the extraction of damaged drums through vertical drilling after damage detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If radioactive waste drums are piled up in the vault without a guiding device, then the piling process is simple and fast, but the home position stability and structural stability are poor
Solution Approach 1:
The guiding device is installed in advance on the vault bottom before waste drums are piled up. The guide protrusions are positioned beforehand to designate correct locations for drum placement, ensuring proper home positioning and vertical alignment from the start of the piling process.
Solution Approach 2:
The guiding device acts as an intermediary between the vault bottom and the waste drums. The guide protrusions contact the lower surface of the drums to constrain their position, while the fixing plate with magnets provides additional stabilization, mediating the interaction between the drum and vault structures.
2Stability of the object's composition
If radioactive waste drums are piled up without precise positioning, then the piling process is fast, but the structural stability after home position is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The guiding device is pre-installed on the vault bottom with guide protrusions positioned at predetermined locations. This preliminary positioning structure ensures that when drums are placed, they automatically achieve correct vertical alignment and home position, maintaining structural stability without requiring time-consuming adjustment processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide protrusions on the guiding device automatically guide the waste drums into the correct position as they are lowered into the vault. The magnets on the fixing plate further assist in self-alignment and stabilization, allowing drums to self-position correctly during the piling process without external intervention.
3Manufacturing precision
If radioactive waste drums are tightly packed without guiding structures, then the space utilization is high, but the home position accuracy is poor
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than complicating the entire vault structure, the guiding device introduces localized guiding features (guide protrusions) at specific positions on the vault bottom. These localized structures provide precise positioning functionality only where needed, maintaining simplicity in the overall vault design while achieving high home position accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The guiding device serves as an intermediary component between the simple vault bottom and the waste drums requiring precise positioning. The guide protrusions and fixing plate with magnets create a localized positioning system that achieves high accuracy without requiring complex modifications to the vault structure itself.
4Reliability
If damaged radioactive waste drums cannot be extracted, then the storage capacity is maximized, but the safety of surrounding drums is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The guiding device creates discrete, independently accessible positioning zones for each waste drum through its guide protrusions and fixing plate structure. This segmentation allows individual drums to be targeted and extracted through vertical drilling without affecting the stability or positioning of surrounding drums, enabling selective removal while maintaining overall storage capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The guiding device acts as an intermediary structure that enables selective access to individual drums. The guide protrusions and fixing plate create defined positioning boundaries that allow drilling equipment to target specific drums vertically without compromising the integrity or position of adjacent drums, thus facilitating safe extraction of damaged units.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a guiding device for home position of radioactive wastes drum in near surface disposal facility, and more particularly, to a guiding device for home position of radioactive wastes drum in near surface disposal facility for improving radioactive wastes drum's home position stability and structural stability after home position by installing a guiding device for home position fixing the radioactive wastes drum to vault bottom or grout bottom of a near surface disposal facility of radioactive wastes; designating useful factors in stack-up and correct locations in advance when piling up the radioactive wastes drum; and easily disposing of damaged radioactive wastes drums during an institutional control period for preventing spread of damages.