Delta Centre-Ville
Montral, Canada, October 5-7, 2010
Fig. 2 Schematic of the arm inside the cavity Fig. 5 AARM view showing the boom and controller
Fig. 3 Schematic of the arm in close-up in the reactor Fig. 6 Operator Control Unit
Fig. 4 End-robot arm being inserted in mock-up vessel Fig. 7 Close-up of Operator Control Unit Panel
3
opening without catching on anything during the manual locking mechanism is shown to be connected to link 1 (input),
removal procedure. and the output drives link 2. In view C by releasing the fixed
part of the gearbox that is attached to link 1, the motor will not
Actuator disengagement (clutch) activate link 2. When the lock is released there will be no
torque applied between link 1 and link 2. As an emergency
The elbow joints release mechanism is a specially designed
retrieval operation, this limp or free-floating link 2 allows the
lock system (Fig. 11). The lock engages the joint that rotates
joint to be forced straight and allow removal.
the forearm of the robot. If the lock is not engaged the arm
rotates freely, and does not move the joint. The locking action
is provided by an air cylinder that engages a lever with a
notch. The geometry of this notch has been designed such that
equal force (torque on gearbox) in either direction will release
the lock (Fig. 12).
Link 1
The release force (torque) of the lock mechanism can be
controlled by the pressure supplied to the air cylinder. If a
Gearbox is
collision or other overload occurs, the lock will release Joint locked to
automatically before excessive force is applied by the robot (Gearbox) link 1
arm.
Input Outpu
Link 2 Gearbox is
disconnected
from link 1
A B C
Fig 10 Fail-Safe Removal (lock release)
Fig. 12 Views of locking mechanism
Radiation Shielding
When any type of tool is inserted into a nuclear reactor, it is
often a requirement that the tool provides shielding so that the
radiation levels escaping the reactor through the tool or
opening for the tool are within safe limits. This shielding is
usually a solid piece of metal with enough mass to absorb the
radiation. In order to function properly, the shield must be
positioned at the opening to the reactor as it relates to the tool.
This limits the use of any tool to fixed and predetermined
locations inside the nuclear reactor. If this shield were not at
Figure 11 Elbow Lock Mechanism the opening, radiation would flow around the shield. In
general the tools in use provide a 12"slug of steel at the wall
of the reaction chamber. This 12" slug is generally at a fixed
point along the axis of the tool. Hence the tool has only one
"operation position" that blocks the radiation
The CVI takes a different approach to shielding which allows
more flexibility in the positioning of the tool. In order to
increase the range of motion of the robot inside the reactor,
inside the boom drive carriage there is a series of 40mm
thickness radiation shields that are spaced evenly across the
length (Fig. 13). The cables and hoses for the robot are routed
in a helix around the shields such that there is no direct path
Fig. 12 Close-up of the notch geometry for the radiation to escape. This allows the tool to work at any
location inside the reactor.
In Fig. 12 the operation of the clutch is explained. View A
shows a schematic of a typical rotary joint. In view B the
5
IV. CONCLUSIONS
AARM is a robot arm with special features and very
advanced design features. It is in operation at CANDU 6
facilities around the world. The average life of the
CANDU 6 reactors is approaching 30 years. One of the
common methods used to extend the life of the reactors
is to replace the pressure and fuel tubes. When these
tubes are removed, access to the reactor core is possible
with the AARM tool. Currently the AARM tool is used
to inspect the internal control mechanisms that have
been unavailable for inspection since the reactors were
initially built and commissioned. These inspections
allow the power plant operators to maintain their
confidence in the integrity of the nuclear reactor and
confirm that the life-extending process of re-tubing can
and should continue.
V. BIOGRAPHIES