Automation in a material processing/storage facility
The Savannah River Site (SRS) is currently developing a new facility, the Actinide Packaging and Storage Facility (APSF), to process and store legacy materials from the United States nuclear stockpile. A variety of materials, with a variety of properties, packaging and handling/storage requirements, will be processed and stored at the facility. Since these materials are hazardous and radioactive, automation will be used to minimize worker exposure. Other benefits derived from automation of the facility include increased throughput capacity and enhanced security. The diversity of materials and packaging geometries to be handled poses challenges to the automation of facility processes. In addition, the nature of the materials to be processed underscores the need for safety, reliability and serviceability. The application of automation in this facility must, therefore, be accomplished in a rational and disciplined manner to satisfy the strict operational requirements of the facility. Among the functions to be automated are the transport of containers between process and storage areas via an Automatic Guided Vehicle (AGV), and various processes in the Shipping Package Unpackaging (SPU) area, the Accountability Measurements (AM) area, the Special Isotope Storage (SIS) vault and the Special Nuclear Materials (SNM) vault. Other areas of the facility are also being automated, but are outside the scope of this paper.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-89SR18035
- OSTI ID:
- 471446
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-MS-96-0743; CONF-970464-16; ON: DE97004957; TRN: 97:010289
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 7. American Nuclear Society topical meeting on robotics and remote systems, Augusta, GA (United States), 27 Apr - 1 May 1997; Other Information: PBD: 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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