Robotics in Nuclear Materials Processing at LANL: Capabilities and Needs

Abstract

Nuclear material processing operations present numerous challenges for effective automation. Confined spaces, hazardous materials and processes, particulate contamination, radiation sources, and corrosive chemical operations are but a few of the significant hazards. However, automated systems represent a significant safety advance when deployed in place of manual tasks performed by human workers. The replacement of manual operations with automated systems has been desirable for nearly 40 years, yet only recently are automated systems becoming increasingly common for nuclear materials handling applications. This paper reviews several automation systems which are deployed or about to be deployed at Los Alamos National Laboratory for nuclear material handling operations. The needs that resulted in the development of these systems can be found throughout the nuclear industry. Highlighted are the current social and technological challenges faced in deploying automated systems into hazardous material handling environments and the opportunities for future innovations.

Virtual Fixture Generation for Task Planning With Complex Geometries

“…This procedure constrains the surgical tool location and protects sensitive tissue near the surgery site. For patient protection and other high-value operations, automated system failure requires personnel to complete the task manually [8], repair the equipment [24], or both. Bowyer et al draw several conclusions:…”

“…Artificial end effector (EEF) motion guidance/constraints demonstrate decreased operator mental load and increased efficiency [3]. Examples include obstacle avoidance and collision detection in multiple domains such as mobile manipulation [4,5], surgical [6,7], and nuclear [8,9] research areas. Environments studied also include cluttered home environments [5] and human anatomy variability [7].…”

“…Environments studied also include cluttered home environments [5] and human anatomy variability [7]. However, robotic systems using VFs lack the flexibility to assist operators with process adjustments for complex, unique geometries [8,10,11].…”

Software Archeology: A Case Study in Software Quality Assurance and Design

“…The Advanced Recovery and Integrated Extraction System is a program active at LANL since the mid-1990s. The program runs a series of gloveboxes, many of which contain integrated automation and processing systems [Turner, 2008[Turner, , 2009 for which extensive customized software was created. The ARIES glovebox lines convert nuclear materials from retired nuclear weapons into forms suitable for pack.aging for long-term storage, international inspection and for reuse as mixed-oxide (MOX) reactor fuel [McKee, 2008].…”

“…These systems are controlled by no less than six separate computer systems and interface with six additional "intelligent" instrumentation subsystems. [Turner, 2008[Turner, , 2009 The RIPS glovebox, Fig. 5, is divided into three chambers called the hot side (which is radioactively contaminated), the cold side and the fluid processing side.…”