7 research outputs found
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SAVANNAH RIVER SITE TANK 18 AND TANK 19 WALL SAMPLER PERFORMANCE
A sampling tool was required to evaluate residual activity ({mu}Curies per square foot) on the inner wall surfaces of underground nuclear waste storage tanks. The tool was required to collect a small sample from the 3/8 inch thick tank walls. This paper documents the design, testing, and deployment of the remotely operated sampling device. The sampler provides material from a known surface area to estimate the overall surface contamination in the tank prior to closure. The sampler consisted of a sampler and mast assembly mast assembly, control system, and the sampler, or end effector, which is defined as the operating component of a robotic arm. The mast assembly consisted of a vertical 30 feet long, 3 inch by 3 inch, vertical steel mast and a cantilevered arm hinged at the bottom of the mast and lowered by cable to align the attached sampler to the wall. The sampler and mast assembly were raised and lowered through an opening in the tank tops, called a riser. The sampler is constructed of a mounting plate, a drill, springs to provide a drive force to the drill, a removable sampler head to collect the sample, a vacuum pump to draw the sample from the drill to a filter, and controls to operate the system. Once the sampler was positioned near the wall, electromagnets attached it to the wall, and the control system was operated to turn on the drill and vacuum to remove and collect a sample from the wall. Samples were collected on filters in removable sampler heads, which were readily transported for further laboratory testing
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ANNULUS CLOSURE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT INSPECTION/SALT DEPOSIT CLEANING MAGNETIC WALL CRAWLER
The Liquid Waste Technology Development organization is investigating technologies to support closure of radioactive waste tanks at the Savannah River Site (SRS). Tank closure includes removal of the wastes that have propagated to the tank annulus. Although amounts and types of residual waste materials in the annuli of SRS tanks vary, simple salt deposits are predominant on tanks with known leak sites. This task focused on developing and demonstrating a technology to inspect and spot clean salt deposits from the outer primary tank wall located in the annulus of an SRS Type I tank. The Robotics, Remote and Specialty Equipment (RRSE) and Materials Science and Technology (MS&T) Sections of the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) collaborated to modify and equip a Force Institute magnetic wall crawler with the tools necessary to demonstrate the inspection and spot cleaning in a mock-up of a Type I tank annulus. A remote control camera arm and cleaning head were developed, fabricated and mounted on the crawler. The crawler was then tested and demonstrated on a salt simulant also developed in this task. The demonstration showed that the camera is capable of being deployed in all specified locations and provided the views needed for the planned inspection. It also showed that the salt simulant readily dissolves with water. The crawler features two different techniques for delivering water to dissolve the salt deposits. Both water spay nozzles were able to dissolve the simulated salt, one is more controllable and the other delivers a larger water volume. The cleaning head also includes a rotary brush to mechanically remove the simulated salt nodules in the event insoluble material is encountered. The rotary brush proved to be effective in removing the salt nodules, although some fine tuning may be required to achieve the best results. This report describes the design process for developing technology to add features to a commercial wall crawler and the results of the demonstration testing performed on the integrated system. The crawler was modified to address the two primary objectives of the task (inspection and spot cleaning). SRNL recommends this technology as a viable option for annulus inspection and salt removal in tanks with minimal salt deposits (such as Tanks 5 and 6.) This report further recommends that the technology be prepared for field deployment by: (1) developing an improved mounting system for the magnetic idler wheel, (2) improving the robustness of the cleaning tool mounting, (3) resolving the nozzle selection valve connections, (4) determining alternatives for the brush and bristle assembly, and (5) adding a protective housing around the motors to shield them from water splash. In addition, SRNL suggests further technology development to address annulus cleaning issues that are apparent on other tanks that will also require salt removal in the future such as: (1) Developing a duct drilling device to facilitate dissolving salt inside ventilation ducts and draining the solution out the bottom of the ducts. (2) Investigating technologies to inspect inside the vertical annulus ventilation duct
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EM-21 Retrieval Knowledge Center: Waste Retrieval Challenges
EM-21 is the Waste Processing Division of the Office of Engineering and Technology, within the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM). In August of 2008, EM-21 began an initiative to develop a Retrieval Knowledge Center (RKC) to provide the DOE, high level waste retrieval operators, and technology developers with centralized and focused location to share knowledge and expertise that will be used to address retrieval challenges across the DOE complex. The RKC is also designed to facilitate information sharing across the DOE Waste Site Complex through workshops, and a searchable database of waste retrieval technology information. The database may be used to research effective technology approaches for specific retrieval tasks and to take advantage of the lessons learned from previous operations. It is also expected to be effective for remaining current with state-of-the-art of retrieval technologies and ongoing development within the DOE Complex. To encourage collaboration of DOE sites with waste retrieval issues, the RKC team is co-led by the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Two RKC workshops were held in the Fall of 2008. The purpose of these workshops was to define top level waste retrieval functional areas, exchange lessons learned, and develop a path forward to support a strategic business plan focused on technology needs for retrieval. The primary participants involved in these workshops included retrieval personnel and laboratory staff that are associated with Hanford and Savannah River Sites since the majority of remaining DOE waste tanks are located at these sites. This report summarizes and documents the results of the initial RKC workshops. Technology challenges identified from these workshops and presented here are expected to be a key component to defining future RKC-directed tasks designed to facilitate tank waste retrieval solutions
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H-CANYON AIR EXHAUST TUNNEL INSPECTION VEHICLE DEVELOPMENT
The H-Canyon at Savannah River Site is a large concrete structure designed for chemical separation processes of radioactive material. The facility requires a large ventilation system to maintain negative pressure in process areas for radioactive contamination control and personnel protection. The ventilation exhaust is directed through a concrete tunnel under the facility which is approximately five feet wide and 8 feet tall that leads to a sand filter and stack. Acidic vapors in the exhaust have had a degrading effect on the surface of the concrete tunnels. Some areas have been inspected; however, the condition of other areas is unknown. Experience from historical inspections with remote controlled vehicles will be discussed along with the current challenge of inspecting levels below available access points. The area of interest in the exhaust tunnel must be accessed through a 14 X 14 inch concrete plug in the floor of the hot gang valve corridor. The purpose for the inspection is to determine the condition of the inside of the air tunnel and establish if there are any structural concerns. Various landmarks, pipe hangers and exposed rebar are used as reference points for the structural engineers when evaluating the current integrity of the air tunnel
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Vitrification of actinide solutions in SRS separations facilities
The actinide vitrification system being developed at SRS provides the capability to convert specialized or unique forms of nuclear material into a stable solid glass product that can be safely shipped, stored or reprocessed according to the DOE complex mission. This project is an application of technology developed through funds from the Office of Technology Development (OTD). This technology is ideally suited for vitrifying relatively small quantities of fissile or special nuclear material since it is designed to be critically safe. Successful demonstration of this system to safely vitrify radioactive material could open up numerous opportunities for transferring this technology to applications throughout the DOE complex
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Vitrification of F-area americium/curium: feasibility study and preliminary process recommendation
Work was performed to identify a process to vitrify the contents of F- canyon Tank 17.1. Tank 17.1 contains the majority of americium (Am) and curium (Cm) contained in the DOE Complex. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has made a formal request for this material as fuel for production of Cf252 and other transplutonium actinides. The Am and Cm (and associated lanthanide fission products) are currently in nitric acid solution. Transportation of the intensely radioactive Am/Cm in liquid form is not considered possible. As a result, the material will either be solidified and shipped to ORNL or discarded to the Tank Farm. Nuclear Materials Processing Technology (NMPT), therefore, requested Defense Waste Processing Technology (DWPT) to determine if the Tank 17.1 material could be vitrified, and if it was vitrified could the americium and curium be successfully recovered. Research was performed to determine if the Tank 17.1 contents could indeed be mixed with glass formers and vitrified. Additional studies identified critical process parameters such as heat loading, melter requirements, off-gas evolution, etc. Discussions with NMPT personnel were initiated to determine existing facilities where this work could be accomplished safely. A process has been identified which will convert the Am/Cm material into approximately 300kg of glass. This will be done by initially removing the large quantities of transition metals and aluminum. Oxalic acid will be added to Tank 17.1 and the actinides and lanthanides will be precipitated as oxalates. The remaining aqueous fraction will be removed and the lanthanides and actinides will then be redissolved. The solution will be evaporated and steam stripped down to approximately 100g/I solids and 1N nitric acid prior to being transferred into a receipt/feed tank in the Multi- Purpose Processing Facility (MPPF - formerly Section 18 of F-Canyon). The Am/Cm solution will then be fed directly into a bushing melter. Glass beads will be added simultaneously alongside the solution and the mixture will be vitrified and cast into stainless steel canisters. The filled glass canisters will be allowed to cool and deconned prior to packaging for transport to ORNL. The melter will be capable of a minimum 1-2kg/hr glass output, so total processing time will be on the order of a few hundred hours. The glass is a borosilicate composition designed to be selectively attacked by nitric acid. Complete recovery of Am and Cm surrogates (La, and Nd) from the glass has been demonstrated by a nitric acid extraction technique. While the glass can be attacked by concentrated acid, it is approximately 1000 times more durable than the required specification for high- level waste glass. The Am/Cm glass produced will simultaneously act as both a product Am/Cm glass is not processed by ORNL. This document details the results of our initial effort. Supporting documents concerning heat generation, off-gas modeling, melter design, and a process engineering flowsheet developed by NMPT are included