The ITER Hot Cell Sampling Station Machine Using TruProBit® Technology

NMNTI provided ITER Organization (IO) an operational description and feasibility study with conceptual layout drawings for the TruProid® Sampling Station Machine.  
 
The TruProid® Sampling Station Machine is presently in the design and safety analysis phase towards ITER decommissioning. IO is planning for the final stage of decommissioning more than 50 years hence. The TruProid® Sampling Station Machine is being configured to incorporate the advanced sampling and characterization features of the patented proprietary NMNTI TruProBit® sampling process by IO. IO identified and established an upfront set of characterization works to help define the best alternative for the final dismantling and decommissioning phase of the facility and how NMNTI can access the activated waste level volumes using the TruProid® Sampling Station Machine on the segmented metal structures and activated components by reconfiguring and utilization of their patented proprietary technology TruProBit®, Profiling System Equipment. Design descriptions of the Hot Cell processes were provided by IO’s of the various components and their sampling areas to document working sampling conditions and working space constraints and used to guide remote handled sampling machine fabrication and decisions toward the best practicable engineered methodology realization.

Acceleration of the pace of sampling and characterization at the IO site will require a program of effective and focused action; one that is paramount to a safe and economically viable facility operation and decommissioning program strategy.  IO needs to establish preliminary radionuclide quantitative data of the content and radioactivity of components and materials of the reactor block and activated and tritium contaminated components.  NMNTI has developed insitu portable tools for the assessment and radiochemical analysis of redundant nuclear buildings and the disposal of nuclear process wastes to meet Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC).NMNTI can access the activated waste level volumes of the ITER internal metal components by implementing the Hot cell sampling and profiling tool in conjunction with an in cell robot.The in cell robot is specifically selected as it meets several operational criteria that other options are lacking. These are: -

  • It can span the large activated components to 4.60 m,
  • It can lock off the robotic arm and not move more than 0.07mm,
  • It can handle a mass of 900 Kg to access sampling locations and retrieve incremental samples at depth through the activated components easily measured and sampled surface.
  • It is easily radiation hardened and retrofitted to operate similar robots already working in high rad environments.
Profiling the internal metal components of the fusion reactor to depth will include the following desired capabilities and design features of the equipment: (a) powered by a local electric supply and backup generator coupled to 10-meter power cables through the RedZone Hot cell concrete wall, (b) removal of 10 discrete 1 mm metal samples per sample location or as desired by IO, (c)     remove incremental depths of potentially contaminated metal from predetermined sampling points sequentially to depth, even if the sampling points sequentially sampled to depth are across void spaces, (d) collection of all metal particulate and fugitive tritium from sampling operations into specialized filter units, and (e) produce representative samples in a powdered or chip form delivered by the robot through the 3-port transfer tunnel to the laboratory for radioanalyses.

The TruPro® Sampling Station Machine is configured to incorporate the advanced sampling and characterization features of the patented proprietary NMNTI TruProBit® sampling process by IO.  IO identified and established an upfront set of characterization works to help define the best alternative for the final dismantling and decommissioning phase of the facility and how NMNTI can access the activated waste level volumes using their system on the segmented metal structures and activated components.

NMNTI will modify the existing TruProid® system to access and to retrieve the desired samples at the desired angles, depths and material configurations.  The equipment is modularized, and size optimized to allow successful safe access and safe sampling operations within and at the proposed sampling locations. NMNTI’s TruProBit® system will be used to drill through various thicknesses and configurations of Divertor tungsten tiles, 316 stainless steel, beryllium, CuCrZr Tube and interfaces to develop a reliable and repeatable cutting and sampling method for the respective configurations and metal thicknesses.  Specifically, for the large metal components of the IVT and OVT Diverter Tungsten tile front face, Steel Support Structure and allow drill bit retrieval and the insertion of the sampling head through the drilled hole from the side of the activated metal component body.  The TruProid® Sampling Station Machine has the proven ability (without the Robot and automation) to take samples from the materials and layers and retrieve representative dry powdered/chipped/filings as samples from the activated and contaminated components and the technical feasibility of sampling and traversing such a structure and ensure that:

  • The representativity in terms of the hardness of the steel sampled.  
  •  The carbide drilling head is much harder than tungsten so the drilling time will be longer.
  •  Total tritium is captured during the drilling.
  • Consider the access constraints and dimensional constraints of the site implementation area.
  • The removal of material from the various metallic component internal structures.
  • The removal of a mass of material < 1g as metal filings or chips.
  • No cross-contamination of samples.
  • An accuracy of ± 0.1 mm on the location of the samples. The sampling system can reach any location.

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