Irradiation Assessment of a Lightweight Industrial Robot: Towards Faster, Safer and Sooner Waste Decommissioning

Kaiqiang Zhang, Chris Hutson, James Knighton, Guido Herrmann

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Robotic systems have been successfully applied in the nuclear industry for several decades as a safe
approach to minimize the exposure dose of human operators. As nuclear waste management and
decommissioning gathers pace, there is an emerging interest integrating modern off-the-shelf industrial
robots in nuclear robotic systems which make use of complex electronics and software to improve
functionality over traditional machines. The use of the industrial robots will significantly increase the pace
of development of automated waste management systems at a reduced cost, and although these off-theshelf
robots are proven robust in typical industrial environments, performance in radioactive environments
is less clear. This paper investigates the performance degradation of a lightweight industrial robot (KUKA
iiwa 7 LBR 800) in a controlled radiation field, aiming to simulate conditions in highly radioactive nuclear
waste handling facilities. The degradation of the industrial robot’s performance is identified while
measuring the air kerma dose-tolerance of sensitive components, via a systematic experimental
methodology. The experience from this experiment has demonstrated the significant capabilities of
industrial robots, which tolerated a large gamma dose of 164 Gy before a system failure. Future tests are
planned, aiming to enable faster, safer and sooner waste management and decommissioning using complex
robotic systems
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationWaste Management Symposia
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 17 Feb 2020
EventWaste Management Symposia - Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Duration: 8 Mar 202012 Mar 2020

Conference

ConferenceWaste Management Symposia
Abbreviated titleWM2020
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityPhoenix, Arizona
Period8/03/2012/03/20

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