Development and testing of the cooling coil cleaning end effector
The Retrieval Process Development and Enhancement (KPD{ampersand}E) program has developed and tested an end effector to support the waste retrieval mission at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). The end effector was developed specifically to remove a sticky waste material from the cooling coils in the High Level Liquid Waste (HLLW) tank, and to vacuum up a sediment layer that has settled beneath the cooling coils. An extensive testing program was conducted in the hydraulic test bed (HTB) at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to evaluate the performance of the end effector under simulated in-tank conditions. A mock up of the cooling coils was installed in the test bed tank, and simulated waste materials were included to represent the sticky waste on the tubes and the particulate waste settled beneath them. The testing program focused on assessing long-duration mining strategies for cleaning the cooling coils and removing the particulate waste forms. The report describes the results of the end effector testing program at PNNL. Section 2 describes the physical characteristics of the HLLW tanks, including the layout of the cooling coils, and it also describes what is known of the waste forms in the tanks. Section 3 describes the cleaning and retrieval strategy that was used in developing the end effector design. Section 4 describes the cooling coil mockup in the hydraulic test bed. Section 5 discusses the rationale used in selecting the simulants for the tarry waste and particulate waste forms. Section 6 describes the tests that were performed to evaluate cleaning of the cooling coils and retrieval of the particulate simulant. Section 7 summarizes the cleaning and retrieval tests, assesses the relative importance of cleaning the cooling coils and retrieving the particulate waste, and suggests modifications that would simplify the end effector design.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 650177
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-11741; ON: DE98051239; TRN: 98:010154
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 30 Sep 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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