scholarly journals Safe Transportation of Nuclear Fuel Assemblies by Means of Wheeled Robotic Platforms

2021 ◽  
pp. 43-50
Author(s):  
S. Alyokhina ◽  
I. Nevliudov ◽  
Yu. Romashov

Certain engineering problems concerning safety of the technological operations of the horizontal transportation of nuclear fuel within the enterprises’ sites were considered. Taking into account current trends in the introduction of robotic systems to reduce the impact of hazardous nuclear materials on personnel, the issue of automated control of the movement of the wheeled robotic platform, which can be used for horizontal transportation of nuclear fuel was studied. The major attention was paid to minimizing the transportation loads on nuclear fuel by means of decreasing the accelerations under its horizontal movement on the robotic wheeled transportation platform, which is a separate issue of the comprehensive safety problem of nuclear materials management. The research of horizontal movement safety of nuclear fuel by means of the robotic wheeled platforms was limited to defining transportation accelerations and was performed by computer simulations using mathematical models of dynamics and electro-mechanics. The mathematical model of the robotic transport wheeled platform loaded with nuclear fuel with the on-board accelerometer ensuring the required measurements necessary for an automated safe movement control system  was built in the form of the Lagrange equations of the second kind and the electro-mechanics equations of the direct current electric motors. The issue of ensuring smooth running during the displacement of a wheeled platform loaded with nuclear fuel was investigated, since especially in this mode the maximum accelerations are observed, which can lead to nuclear fuel damage. Computer simulation was performed using free Scilab software with open program code. It was demonstrated that due to the proper choice of the time algorithm of the voltage of electric motors, it is possible to ensure a small acceleration during the displacement of a robotic wheeled transport platform loaded with nuclear fuel. The obtained result substantiated the possibility of safe horizontal transportation of nuclear fuel on robotic wheeled platforms within the territories of enterprises, which will significantly reduce the harmful impact of hazardous nuclear materials on industrial personnel.

Author(s):  
Huan Lin ◽  
Tai-Wei Lan ◽  
Min-Tsang Chang ◽  
Wuu-Kune Cheng

The “Nuclear Materials and Radioactive Waste Management Act” (NMRWMA) in Taiwan has been in use since 2002. To promote further administrative efficiency and improve regulatory capacity, an amendment of the act has been initiated by the Atomic Energy Council (AEC). It is now being reviewed by outside experts and related communities so as to include the best understanding of risk management factors. For the future decommissioning challenges of nuclear facilities, the act is also being amended to comply with the regulatory requirements of the decommissioning mandates. Currently the Taiwan government is conducting government reorganization, and AEC will be reformed but will remain as an independent regulatory body. AEC will then be capable of improving the regulatory capacity for facilitating licensing and inspection, ensuring operational safety, environmental protection and public involvement, and giving a more flexible administrative discretion, such as expending the margin of penalty. The amendment is also required to provide a formal legal basis for the Nuclear Backend Fund, and to mandate the waste producers to take responsibility for any final debt repayment. In addition, this amendment promotes measures to prevent accidents or emergencies concerning radioactive materials and facilities and procedures to reduce the impact and effect of any unexpected events. Furthermore, this amendment intends to implement the concept of information transparency and public participation so as to meet the public needs. Finally, radioactive waste final disposal tasks have to be completed by waste producers under the supervision of the AEC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Joanne Nixon ◽  
Ellen Brooks-Pollock ◽  
Richard Wall

Abstract Background Ovine psoroptic mange (sheep scab) is a highly pathogenic contagious infection caused by the mite Psoroptes ovis. Following 21 years in which scab was eradicated in the UK, it was inadvertently reintroduced in 1972 and, despite the implementation of a range of control methods, its prevalence increased steadily thereafter. Recent reports of resistance to macrocyclic lactone treatments may further exacerbate control problems. A better understanding of the factors that facilitate its transmission are required to allow improved management of this disease. Transmission of infection occurs within and between contiguous sheep farms via infected sheep-to-sheep or sheep–environment contact and through long-distance movements of infected sheep, such as through markets. Methods A stochastic metapopulation model was used to investigate the impact of different transmission routes on the spatial pattern of outbreaks. A range of model scenarios were considered following the initial infection of a cluster of highly connected contiguous farms. Results Scab spreads between clusters of neighbouring contiguous farms after introduction but when long-distance movements are excluded, infection then self-limits spatially at boundaries where farm connectivity is low. Inclusion of long-distance movements is required to generate the national patterns of disease spread observed. Conclusions Preventing the movement of scab infested sheep through sales and markets is essential for any national management programme. If effective movement control can be implemented, regional control in geographic areas where farm densities are high would allow more focussed cost-effective scab management. Graphical Abstract


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (164) ◽  
pp. 10-13
Author(s):  
V. Halil ◽  
S. Zakurdai ◽  
V. Scurikhin ◽  
O. Donets ◽  
D. Zubenko

This article discusses the issues of autonomous operation of electrical agricultural equipment based on the transmission of electricity over a distance. The main point of this article is that tractors that work in the field are driven by electric motors, with the need to use expensive batteries. The issues of the impact and safety of this technology on the environment and humans are considered. The main problem of the creation, maintenance and operation of transport equipment, including agricultural equipment, is the high cost of maintenance and fuel, which are constantly increasing. In addition, the environmental problem, which has become so acute in recent years, global warming, the fuel crisis and the need to transfer all transport equipment to electric traction, make us look for new ways to solve the problem of environmental pollution and save resources, especially non-renewable energy sources. The use of electrical energy for traction of agricultural machinery that work in the fields or in other industries has been used for a long time, and in the early stages of the development of transport, it was electric transport that occupied the main part, before the invention of the internal combustion engine. Including at the Kharkov Tractor Plant there were developments (and still are), a prototype of the use of electric motors as the main unit for movement. Based on the above, it is obvious that electric traction for transport is obviously environmentally friendly and safe, although there are a number of limitations in this matter as well, but the unresolved problems of the limited use of the storage battery force us to look for new sources of energy. This article proposes to consider the possibility of using electric traction for agricultural machinery with the supply of operating tractors in the fields with the help of a directed electromagnetic wave with its transformation into electrical energy, which will be supplied to the electric motor.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarat C. Dass ◽  
Wai M. Kwok ◽  
Gavin J. Gibson ◽  
Balvinder S. Gill ◽  
Bala M. Sundram ◽  
...  

AbstractThe second wave of COVID-19 in Malaysia is largely attributed to a mass gathering held in Sri Petaling between February 27, 2020 and March 1, 2020, which contributed to an exponential rise of COVID-19 cases in the country. Starting March 18, 2020, the Malaysian government introduced four consecutive phases of a Movement Control Order (MCO) to stem the spread of COVID-19. The MCO was implemented through various non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). The reported number of cases reached its peak by the first week of April and then started to reduce, hence proving the effectiveness of the MCO. To gain a quantitative understanding of the effect of MCO on the dynamics of COVID-19, this paper develops a class of mathematical models to capture the disease spread before and after MCO implementation in Malaysia. A heterogeneous variant of the Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered (SEIR) model is developed with additional compartments for asymptomatic transmission. Further, a change-point is incorporated to model the before and after disease dynamics, and is inferred based on data. Related statistical analyses for inference are developed in a Bayesian framework and are able to provide quantitative assessments of (1) the impact of the Sri Petaling gathering, and (2) the extent of decreasing transmission during the MCO period. The analysis here also quantitatively demonstrates how quickly transmission rates fall under effective NPI implemention within a short time period.


Author(s):  
I. А. Sharonov ◽  
◽  
Yu. М. Isaev ◽  
V. I. Kurdyumov ◽  
◽  
...  

The task of improving the quality of agricultural tools by improving the technological processes of their functioning, taking into account the kinematic features of the combined impact of working elements of tools on the soil environment is important from a scientific and technical point of view. To form the required structure and density of the soil layer at the depth of sowing, a hammer perforated tillage roller (HPTR) has been developed. The study aim is to improve the quality of post-sowing compaction and structuring of the soil layer in the seed location zone based on the development of an innovative design of HPTR that combines different effects on the treated environment. The object of research is the kinematic mode of operation of the HPTR, equipped with cylindrical hammers installed at the ends of the rod, which, in turn, are radially and pivotally installed on the axis of the gunFeature of offered HPTR is the excitation of hammer vibrations, which changes the kinematic parameters of the tillage tool as a whole. Lagrange equations of the second kind are used to describe the process of HPTR operation, which is represented as a system of material objects with several degrees of freedom. The conducted studies revealed the periodic nature of changes in the strength of the impact of HPTR on the soil. The obtained equations allow us to determine the features of the HPTR movement at different masses of a hollow perforated cylinder and cylindrical hammers. This is of great importance for increasing the efficiency of soil bolster destruction and creating the soil structure recommended for winter crops sown in the Middle Volga region.


Geophysics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. WC71-WC81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weitao Sun ◽  
Fansheng Xiong ◽  
Jing Ba ◽  
José M. Carcione

Reservoir rocks are heterogeneous porous media saturated with multiphase fluids, in which strong wave dissipation and velocity dispersion are closely associated with fabric heterogeneities and patchy saturation at different scales. The irregular solid inclusions and fluid patches are ubiquitous in nature, whereas the impact of geometry on wave dissipation is still not well-understood. We have investigated the dependence of wave attenuation and velocity on patch geometry. The governing equations for wave propagation in a porous medium, containing fluid/solid heterogeneities of ellipsoidal triple-layer patches, are derived from the Lagrange equations on the basis of the potential and kinetic energies. Harmonic functions describe the wave-induced local fluid flow of an ellipsoidal patch. The effects of the aspect ratio on wave velocity are illustrated with numerical examples and comparisons with laboratory measurements. The results indicate that the P-wave velocity dispersion and attenuation depend on the aspect ratio of the ellipsoidal heterogeneities, especially in the intermediate frequency range. In the case of Fort Union sandstone, the P-wave velocity increases toward an upper bound as the aspect ratio decreases. The example of a North Sea sandstone clearly indicates that introducing ellipsoidal heterogeneities gives a better description of laboratory data than that based on spherical patches. The unexpected high-velocity values previously reported and ascribed to sample heterogeneities are explained by varying the aspect ratio of the inclusions (or patches).


2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 585
Author(s):  
Christopher Coldrick ◽  
Rowan Fenn ◽  
David Sahota

Maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) materials typically represent 15–20% of the operating costs for a mature oil and gas asset. Of this, a substantial proportion is comprised of high-value repairable equipment such as motors, compressors and pumps. This equipment is often at bottlenecks in the production process and so the impact of materials cost on profitability is magnified by the production ramifications of an outage. Effective management of this equipment is key to the sustainable, profitable operation of any oil and gas asset, and is key to improving the competitiveness of the Australian industry. Oil and gas companies are adopting a variety of models to handle the repair process, with varying degrees of success. Challenges include: poor materials availability and lack of traceability; complex infield materials management processes resulting in costly wastages; difficulty in managing consistency, suitability and specifications of repairs; high cost for those undertaking the repairs; and, correct allocation of responsibility and risk in the materials management process. Developed in collaboration with Australian oil and gas operators, with input from case studies outside the oil and gas industry, this extended abstract discusses the roles and opportunities for the circular economy in helping companies to meet their sustainability and profitability targets. Using several real-life examples, it makes recommendations for vendors, service providers and operators that can have material impact on the profitability of the industry.


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