Shielding Cover Lowering Device for Nuclear Vessel Dismantling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Dismantling nuclear reactor pressure vessels is time-consuming and requires multiple lifting tools to manage the shielding cover and segments, posing challenges due to high radioactivity and the heavy weight of the containers.
Innovation Solution
A self-sufficient system with a lowering device integrated into the shielding cover, featuring adjustable supports and a rotatable disk element with a cutout, allows for sequential lowering and alignment with the container's edges, enabling efficient cutting and removal of segments without separate lifting tools.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple lifting tools are used to remove segments and hold the shielding cover, then the dismantling can be performed safely, but the device complexity and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the shielding cover and lifting device into a single integrated unit. The shielding cover includes integrated lifting means that can lift and lower the cover while simultaneously supporting it during segment removal, eliminating the need for separate lifting tools and reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The shielding cover serves multiple functions: it provides radiation shielding, acts as a support structure for the lifting device, and functions as a platform for operating the dismantling tool. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed and simplifies the overall system.
2Ease of manufacture
If the container is removed as a unit, then the dismantling process is simplified, but the heavy weight requires removal of the enclosure and specialized lifting equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into segments that can be removed individually using the dismantling tool. This segmentation allows the container to be dismantled in place without requiring removal of the enclosure or use of specialized heavy-lifting equipment, as each segment is small enough to be handled by the integrated lifting device.
3Productivity
If segments are removed in tight spaces, then the dismantling can be performed in the existing enclosure, but the space constraints require precise alignment and positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The dismantling tool and shielding cover are designed with movable and adjustable components that can be dynamically positioned within the tight space constraints. The lifting device can lower and raise the shielding cover to precise positions, and the dismantling tool can be adjusted to cut segments at the required precision without requiring extensive manual alignment.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an arrangement for dismantling a container (10) which comprises a circumferential wall (20) and an opening surrounded by said wall and which has a screening cover (14) situated above the opening, and to a dismantling tool for cutting segments (42, 44, 46, 63, 56) out of the circumferential wall. The dismantling takes place in such a way that regions of the circumferential wall which have a hollow cylindrical ring geometry are successively cut into segments and these segments are then removed. After a segmented region having the hollow cylindrical ring geometry has been removed, an end edge of the remaining circumferential wall is available. The screening cover has a lowering device for successively lowering the screening cover onto a particular available end edge.