FRENCH EXPERTISE ON REMOTE-CONTROLLEDSYSTEMS FOR DECOMMISSIONING

IWAKI, August 6th 2018
Christine GEORGES
CEA/DEN/DDCC
christine.georges@cea.fr

DECOMMISSIONING IN FRANCE: 3 OPERATORS WITH
GREAT VARIETY OF FACILITIES ~ 13,5 B€
 D&D of
Experimental
reactors (Gascooled/PWR/FBR)
enrichment & fuelcycle facilities(UP1, APM, etc.)

 ~ 7,5 B€

Challenges similar to 1F in
CEA and ORANO Fuel
Cycle facilities with joined
experience on :- unexpected situations- diversity of waste- high dose rate andcontamination (U, Puand fission products)

 D&D ofenrichment andFuel-cycle
facilities

 ~ 24,4 B€
 D&D of NPPs

2EXAMPLES OF VERY HIGH CONTAMINATION AND RADIOLOGICAL LEVELS –DECOMMISSIONING IN MARCOULE
Sludges in tanks up to 300 Gy/h withkilos of Plutonium mixed with Uranium
and fission products-Unexpected after rinsings
Difficulties to retrieve
Waste management

Example of legacy waste with fuel debris-Very different chemical andradionuclide compositions;long-lived

Example of vent pipes and corridors
contaminated by spent fuel solutions
liquors

71.21A33Inside FP Tank 71.21D

EXAMPLES OF VERY HIGH CONTAMINATION AND
RADIOLOGICAL LEVELS - MAINTENANCE IN LA HAGUE•

Dispositions and tools ensuring confinement, easing
maintenance operation, facilitating decontamination,
avoiding contamination spreading, rad proof equipment•Handling operations and clear vision in hot cells

Gaz Treatment

2.5 103 Gy/h

104 Gy/hCalcinator

Vitrification Cell

5 103 Gy/hAutomatic Contamination Control

Vitrification facility hot cells

Remote removable partsIn-cell handling crane (LH ACC)

4LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE 90S

SMIRT 23, Manchester
August 11th| PAGE 5

ATENA = FIRST OPERATIONAL
DEMONSTRATOR
AT1 reprocessing pilot plant – CEA La Hague••AT1 shut down in 1979, 2,5 years
decontamination
4 years from 1990 for dismantling of mechanicalhot blind cells with ATENA

ATENA: multi-jointed holder, equipped with RD 500 type remote manipulator•••

Good process for decontamination andcutting of equipment and concrete walls
Very modern concept of telescopic arm
First demonstration of modern TAO
2000 control command computerizedwith force feeback, cartesian mode andgraphic supervision

But• Heavy machines• Lack of capacity fordecommissioning (500N)• Could reach equipments only 13
meters of the cell’s entry point• Poor reliability• Problems with some tools• Not reusable and very expansive

RD500 developped in the 80’s
by CEA with Cybernetix

6

UP1 REPROCESSING PLANT – CEA MARCOULE
CHEMICAL VERSUS MECHANICAL CELLS
Ex: Decommissioning of Liquid/liquid
extractions Unit (U/PU and fissionproducts)

Ex: Decommissioning of spent
fuel storage

NO remote controlled operations after
decontamination in 2 steps:1°) through process lines with adequate reagents2°) decontamination of mixer settlers withdecontamination foams

Here, remote controled system = compulsory

7

DECOMMISSIONING AFTER INCIDENTAL CONTAMINATION BY SPENT FUEL
DISSOLUTION LIQUORS IN UP1 MAR200 BUILDING VENTILATION

Former strategy: To use as much as possible «on theshelves » systems and let sub-contractors responsible
for the choice of remote controled systems
In 2000: complete project subcontracted at « cost to objective»
to a consortium of the best companies of the moment in D&D,
but:- Lack of experience in remote operations- Minimalist view on operation constraints- Cutting cadence not well predicted Initial contract broken,
time x 4, dosimetry x2

For Bottom of filters

For top of filters

High activity and high contamination

For transfer of cut pieces
8SEVERAL INCIDENTS AND ACTIVE DEPOSITS LEADING TO
DIFFICULTIES FOR RETRIEVAL OF WASTE AND EQUIPMENTS••

Incidents happened in 1982 and 1985 in the spent fuel dissolution facility: 460 kg of dry sludge werefound in 2011.
Simple system but numerous inactive tests were necessary for qualification together with need forprocess equipments and storage for waste management.

9DECOMMISSIONING OF SILOE RESEARCH REACTOR IN GRENOBLE
1997: Shut down

2005

2007: Remote cutting

2008

After water draining, dose rate at the bottom of the main
pool much higher than expected (activation) => remotecontrolled operations
2009: cutting of activated walls

2010: Internal structures out

10

LONG REACH MANIPULATORS FOR MAINTENANCE
OF PLASMA / FUSION RESEARCH FACILITIESLong reach articulated arm Cea List design &development (2004-2008) , Industrialization byCYBERNETIX in collaboration with CEA List:
1st introduction in TORE SUPRA tokamak in 2008(200°C, 10-5 Pa)
 Operational since 2012 at CEA DAM LMJ (LaserMaga Joule) : automatic replacement of protectivepanels (250 panels /50kg) with 2cm accuracy
 System with 8 degrees of freedom over 17m and a100kg payload; 12m horizontal extension, folds
back in a 6m mobile casing
 Tie-in diameter 630mm for complete internal room
surface radial access

11

SYNTHESIS / LESSONS LEARNED
1. ABOUT METHOD•••

Knowledge/ initial state and Definition of final state(radiological but also physical and chemical / wastemanagement)
Remote systems = Long process often on critical
path for D&D operations

Specific tools for Investigation campaigns

Need for full scale mockups to qualify processand method«Product lifecycle management » withsimulation tools and hazard analysis tovalidate process and mitigate risks

Comparison of scenarios with multiple
criteria on global process frominvestigations to waste routes

When dose rates allow to hesitate between remote controled or manual operations, remote operations
need to be reliable to offer a valuable gain

12

SYNTHESIS / LESSONS LEARNED
2. ABOUT REMOTE OPERATED SYSTEMS• Need to develop industrial systems with higher
productivity and improved safety:- Lighter, cheaper and more versatile Carriers- Manipulator arms with higher payload
capacities, more reliability and maintainability,including under agressive decontamination• Need to improve tools for segmentation(speedand waste) + changing of tools + umbilical andcables management
Safety constraints

Scenario 1

Scenario 2

Prototypes only for highly recurring operations; forothers, use of proven technologies / bricks +nuclearization
Multi-functional robotic platforms compatible withmultiple configurations with easily changed tooling,both for investigation, decontamination,segmentation and retrieval of waste
Tool box to be ready to face unexpected situations /development of laser cutting
Initial state….

Mass of airsols in ventFinal state

Radiologicalconstraints

Technico-economical comparison

Validation of initial data base and choice ofDecommissioning scenario

Mass lost
Study of remote controled systems
and other adaptions of facilities

Specific systems fromStandard systems forcommercial modules for simple recurring operations
mastered operations

Specific and Complex systems
needing a particulardevelopment (generic need ,cutting station , …)

13

SYNTHESIS / LESSONS LEARNED
3. ABOUT ORGANISATION

Economy on the material is nothing compared toyears of delay with staffing costs

Involvement of Owner sinceengineering studies•Concurrency between companies → Hard to deploy
feedback and mutualize for optimization

Adapted Contracts and interoperability
through standards•

New skill: Both decommissioning and constructing ,adapting technique to operational constraints of thefacility

Integrated teams with operators, project
managers, remote controlled specialists
and R&D teams
Need for involvement of owner•

Reluctance to use innovativetechnologies and search forapproved technologies to minimize
risks

Need to “Keep it simple” butalso to encouragecontractors to use more
effective/ efficienttechniquesLong and expansive → Need for involvement of owner

14

SOLUTIONS DEVELOPPEDSMIRT 23, Manchester
August 11th

| PAGE 15

STANDARD REMOTE HANDLING MASTER-SLAVE / «TAO » WITH FORCE FEEBACKCARTESIAN POSITION

Force feedback
master/slave control:
improves productivity
Robotics trajectory
control, Virtual
Mechanisms
Cartesian/joint position
control: enhances
control effectivenessPosition/force
homothetic setting,
Gripper pursuit withcamera
3D graphical supervisor

MAESTRO

MT200 TAO and TERMAN TAO

TEΩ60016

REMOTE DISMANTLINGFROM R&D … TO IMPLEMENTATION AT CEA WORKSHOPS-4 worshops
3 D&D major
companies
4 configurations(mast, Brokk,crane, rail)17

SOME TOOLS FOR INVESTIGATIONS IN SEVERE ENVIRONMENT

For visual inspection or sampling

For Radiological inspection
NANOPIX

In concrete structures

In decladding poolsHigh Rad resistance CMOS

For sampling

Currently smallest camma camera:
268g, 80x51x43mm

NANOPIX18INTERACTIVE SIMULATION TOOL (15 years CEA R&D)

Coupling Scheme Principle
Bilateral Coupling
Master / Slave
CEMJTFEM

FMEJTCME

CMSE
CSEΘMMGXM

XEMG

ΘE

Cartesian Space

Advanced interactive simulation modules
Dynamics simulation•••••

Multibody multicontact
Accurate collision detection
Cable (soft parts)
Robots and tools library
Human simulation

Supervising Station(Supervised control / Simulation) Bilateral coupling

Simulation / Slave

Dose rate simulation• Interactive
doserate
calculation with Build-Up• MERCURE
6.3
kerneloptimized for real-time• ALARA studiesCESCSE

S

E...
Joint Space

Immersive device coupling:
haptics, MoCap, 3D systems ...

20

COMPLEMENTARITY OF VIRTUAL AND PHYSICAL MOCKUPSTO SECURE PROJECTS
Example of UP1 dissolver workshop

20

MORE FUTURISTIC …SOME ROBOTICS CURRENT TRENDS
Robotic manipulation for nuclear sorting & segregation

Dexterous master hand

Visual SLAM + constraints : Assistance to operators

Wireless network

22

CONCLUSION

Lot of similarities with challenges of decommissioning after severe accident : relevance of Fuel cycle
Facility operations and D&D experience for FukushimaStudy of scenarios based on multiples criteria (doses, waste, cost, schedule, etc.) taking into account eachstep of the process from initial characterization to waste disposal.

Synergy between operators, project managers, remote controlled specialists and R&D teams

Progresses in Robotics/ Cobotic in the last 15 years, but still needs for adaptations to increase resistanceto radiations and need for qualification for more reliability, flexibility, performance and waste minimization ;opportunities for collaboration within the nuclear community:‒ To learn from successes and failures and avoid re-inventing existing
proven technologies‒ To share R&I, studies for safety reports, standards for interoperability,
pilot operations, etc.
Underwater laser cutting / deep gouging

Phenix FBR

Rapsodie FBRFission products evaporators

Fission Products Storage tanks

Example = More than 20 «High activity projects» at CEA in the next 20 years

Vitrification cells

23

NEA WORKSHOP ON THE APPLICATION OF REMOTE AND ROBOTIC
SYSTEMS IN DECOMMISSIONING AND WASTE MANAGEMENT

30-31 January 2019, Marcoule, France

Exchanges between R&D organisations, waste management anddecommissioning operators, national decision makers, regulatory bodies andother interested parties on existing national experience/opinions:-How to address the main requests of final users-Determining factors that affect development and implementation: strategic decisions tosupport the implementation-Dialogue at the international level to support and facilitate further implementation and tofoster harmonized understanding, terminology and approaches through24

DEM2018 – AVIGNON OCTOBER 22/24thINTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOCUSED ON D&ER•••

5 previous editions :1992, 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013
In 2013: 115 oral papers, 355 participants from 22countries
209 papers registered for DEM2018• Dismantling Strategy andProgram Development• Regulation Evolution• Initial Radiological State
Characterization• Project Feedback Experience• Buildings and Sites Rehabilitation• Material and Radioactive Waste
Management• Economic and Financial Aspects• Stakeholders Involvements andPublic Acceptance• Development of New D&Ds'
Technologies• Digital Contribution to DismantlingOperations• Fukushima: feedback and operation inprogress25

Thank you
for your attention
Hope to see youin Avignon
next October| PAGE 25

ANNEXSMIRT 23, Manchester
August 11th| PAGE 26

INTERVENTION AFTER AN ACCIDENT:GIE INTRA••

Created in 1988 by CEA, EDF and ORANOCONSTITUTE, OPERATE and MAINTAIN a fleetof remotely controlled equipment forinterventions in environment radiologically
hostile for man.

Airborne Gamma Spectrometry

Creation of an International normalisationcommission for remote controled in nuclear in2016