Waste Drum Carrying Device with Segmented Pockets
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current waste packing systems for low and intermediate level nuclear waste face issues such as improper storage, corrosion, leakage, and damage during handling and transport, leading to environmental risks and the need for specialized and laborious decommissioning processes.
Innovation Solution
A waste packing system featuring a waste drum carrying device with a platform and interconnected walls forming laterally accessible pockets, allowing for secure, damage-free handling and storage of waste drums, along with impact-absorbing materials and hoisting means for easy placement and positioning within a container, which provides structural rigidity and containment barriers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If waste drums are stored directly stacked or on pallets in containers, then storage capacity is maximized, but the drums are vulnerable to impact damage, corrosion, and leakage during handling and transport
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is segmented into multiple pockets, each designed to accommodate a single waste drum. This segmentation allows individual protection of each drum while maintaining overall storage capacity, as each drum is isolated in its own protected compartment rather than being directly stacked with others.
Solution Approach 2:
The support structure acts as an intermediary between the container and the waste drums. It provides a protective interface that absorbs impact forces and prevents direct contact between drums and the container walls or other drums, thereby protecting the drums from damage while maintaining storage capacity.
2Ease of operation
If grabs are used to hoist waste drums from containers for decommissioning, then removal is facilitated, but the grabs cause damage to the waste drums and subsequent leaking
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure with pockets replicates the protective function needed during both storage and removal operations. The pockets provide a standardized interface that allows drums to be accessed and removed without direct grabbing, thus maintaining drum integrity while facilitating ease of operation.
3Reliability
If containers are filled with concrete to stabilize waste drums and prevent impact damage, then protection is improved, but removing waste drums becomes extremely laborious and requires elaborate extraction processes
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure provides dynamic protection through its pocket design that accommodates drums while allowing for easy insertion and removal. Unlike static concrete filling, the modular pocket structure can be assembled and disassembled, providing protection during storage but ease of access during removal operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The pockets are pre-configured to receive drums in a standardized manner, with opening directions and dimensions designed beforehand to facilitate easy loading and unloading. This preliminary design of the support structure eliminates the need for elaborate extraction processes while maintaining protection.
4Ease of operation
If waste drums are laterally accessible for loading onto the carrying device, then handling is simplified and damage is prevented, but the device complexity increases with interconnected walls and pockets
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is divided into multiple independent pockets, each accessible from the lateral direction. This segmentation allows simple lateral loading of each drum into its own pocket without complex mechanisms, as each pocket operates independently and can be accessed separately.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2~3
Figure 4A~4B
AI summary
Waste packing system comprising a container for storing a plurality of waste drums, wherein the container comprises a loading space for accommodating said waste drums, and a loading opening for receiving said waste drums, the system further comprises at least one waste drum carrying device removably arranged in said loading space for holding said waste drums said waste drum carrying device is laterally accessible for loading said waste drums on said waste drum carrying device, and that said waste drum carrying device comprises means for fixating said waste drums to said waste drum carrying device.