Design and Experimental Validation of a Robotic System for Reactor Core Detector Removal

The reactor power and the coolant level in the nuclear plant are monitored via the reactor core detectors. Every 4 to 5 years, the detectors with high-level radiation need to be removed, which is time-consuming and hazardous for workers. To address this issue, this paper introduces a novel robotic system and its strategy for the removal of the detectors. The modular mechanisms are designed to achieve diverse actions such as positioning, extracting, transporting, cutting, and coiling. The detector with different radiation doses is physically classified and minimized in volume. The experiments to simulate the removal process are conducted. The results demonstrate that the time for the robotic removal of one detector is reduced from more than 1 hour to 31.2±5.3 min compared with the manual mode. The radiation exposure time for workers is reduced to 0 under normal working conditions, which significantly reduces the radiation dose compared with the traditional methods.