Two compact robots for remote inspection of hazardous areas in nuclear power plants

Author

Savall, J. ; Avello, A. ; Briones, L.

Author_Institution

CEIT, San Sebastian, Spain

Volume

3

fYear

1999

fDate

1999

Firstpage

1993

Abstract

Two mobile robots for the inspection of radioactive areas in nuclear power plants are described. Robicen III is a compact pneumatic robot of 3 kg designed for the inspection of radioactive cylindrical tanks. With a novel locomotive mechanism based on pneumatic actuators and suction pads, it is able to climb vertical walls at speeds close to 110 mm/s. MonoCaRob is a rail-guided autonomous robot for inspection in the drywell of BWR power plants. Copper rails and brushes provide a rugged and robust means for power supply and communications. A video camera and a variety of sensors can be carried by the robot during drywell inspections

Keywords

inspection; maintenance engineering; mobile robots; nuclear power stations; nuclear reactor maintenance; pneumatic control equipment; 110 mm/s; 3 kg; BWR power plants; MonoCaRob; Robicen III; brushes; compact pneumatic robot; copper rails; drywell; hazardous areas; locomotive mechanism; nuclear power plants; pneumatic actuators; radioactive areas; radioactive cylindrical tanks; rail-guided autonomous robot; remote inspection; suction pads; vertical walls; video camera; Brushes; Copper; Hazardous areas; Inspection; Mobile robots; Pneumatic actuators; Power generation; Rails; Robot sensing systems; Robustness;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Robotics and Automation, 1999. Proceedings. 1999 IEEE International Conference on

Conference_Location

Detroit, MI

ISSN

1050-4729

Print_ISBN

0-7803-5180-0

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ROBOT.1999.770400

Filename

770400