Development of Bendable Modularized Rail Structure for Continuous Observation in PCV

-Prototyping an Actively Bendable Rail Module with ease of assembly and its performance evaluation-

Abstract

To support remotely controlled robots in decommissioning, an observation system in the Primary Containment Vessel (PCV) is anticipated. This study develops a bendable modularized rail structure and moving mechanism of a monitoring robot that moves on the rail structure. The rail structure has active joints to avoid obstacles in the PCV during construction period. The bendable rail is suitable for assembling because each module has common connecting parts. The monitoring robot is designed to hang from a side plate of the rail. A side plate interpolation mechanism is attached on the joint of the rail and it enables monitoring robots to pass on the joint smoothly. Driving experiment of the monitoring robot revealed that the interpolation mechanism worked effectively. Additionally, an assembling experiment simulating actual work shows that modules can be connected in an acceptable short time.