Automated Structure Packaging Optimization for Radioactive Waste
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods face challenges in automatically determining the optimal decomposition and packaging of structures with varying characteristics into containers, particularly for contaminated or activated materials, which require complex handling and compliance with specific thresholds.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method that models the structure's geometry, segments it into groups, calculates container properties based on attributes, and verifies these properties against thresholds to ensure compliant packaging, using optimization algorithms and simulation techniques to optimize the packaging process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual packaging methods are used for contaminated or activated structures, then packaging compliance with safety thresholds is ensured, but processing time and labor requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual packaging operations with an automated computer-implemented method that uses algorithms to determine optimal decomposition and packaging arrangements. The system automatically calculates container properties, verifies compliance with safety thresholds, and generates packaging plans without human intervention, thereby maintaining reliability while significantly reducing processing time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a digital model of the structure to be packaged, allowing virtual simulation and optimization of packaging arrangements before physical packaging occurs. This digital copy enables repeated analysis and verification of compliance conditions without requiring physical trial-and-error packaging operations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If structures are divided into multiple containers, then packaging flexibility and compliance with container constraints are improved, but the complexity of determining optimal decomposition increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the structure into discrete segments or components that can be independently packaged in different containers. This segmentation allows the system to flexibly assign portions of the structure to multiple containers based on their characteristics, sizes, and compliance requirements, while the automated algorithm handles the complexity of determining optimal decomposition.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent systematically varies packaging parameters such as container size, shape, and arrangement to optimize packaging flexibility. The algorithm automatically adjusts these parameters to find optimal solutions that satisfy both the structure's decomposition requirements and container constraints, reducing the manual complexity of determining optimal configurations.
3Productivity
If automated packaging methods are implemented, then processing efficiency and consistency are improved, but verification of compliance with safety thresholds becomes more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms where the automated system continuously verifies packaging arrangements against predefined safety thresholds and compliance conditions. The system calculates container properties (such as radiation exposure, contamination levels, or structural integrity) and compares them against required standards, automatically adjusting packaging plans to ensure compliance while maintaining high processing efficiency.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure refers to a method for managing structures to be packaged in containers, comprising providing a model specifying a geometry of a structure, at least parts of the structure to be packaged in one or more containers, the model further specifying at least one attribute for the geometry of the structure, segmenting the geometry of the structure into a plurality of segments, determining one or more groups of segments of the plurality of segments, each group of segments to be arranged in one of the one or more containers, for each container, calculating at least one property of the container based on the at least one attribute associated with the group of segments arranged in the container, and verifying the at least one property of at least one container based on at least one threshold. Furthermore, a device, a deconstruction plan for a structure, a deconstructed structure and respective containers are described.