Puck Handling Glovebox
The Plutonium Immobilization Project (PIP) is a joint venture between the Savannah River Site (SRS) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). This project will disposition excess weapons grade plutonium in a solid ceramic form. The plutonium, in oxide powder form, will be mixed with uranium oxide powder, ceramic precursors and binders. The combined powder mixture will be milled and possibly granulated; this processed powder will then be dispensed to a (dual action) cold press where it will be formed into green (unsintered) compacts. The compact will have the shape of a puck measuring approximately 3 1/2'' in diameter and 1 3/8'' thick. The green puck, once ejected from the press die, will be picked up by a robot and transferred into the Puck Handling Glovebox. Here the green puck will be inspected and then palletized onto furnace trays. The loaded furnace trays will be stacked/assembled and transported to the furnace where sintering operations will be performed. Finally the sintered pucks will be off loaded, inspected and transferred onto Transfer Trays which will carry the pucks from the Puck Handling Glovebox downstream to subsequent Bagless Transfer Can (BTC) operations. Due to contamination potential and high radiation rates, all Puck Handling Glovebox operations will be performed remotely using robots and specialized automation.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-96SR18500
- OSTI ID:
- 773127
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-MS-2000-00906; TRN: US0100020
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 9th Topical Meeting on Robotics and Remote, Seattle, WA (US), 03/04/2001--03/08/2001; Other Information: PBD: 3 Jan 2001
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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