Year: 2000
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: The Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science and Technology Decontamination and Decommissioning (D&D) Focus Area, led by the National Energy Technology Laboratory, has been charged with finding new and innovative D&D technologies and then validating through field demonstration that the technologies are safer, faster and/or more cost-effective. The D&D Focus Area's approach to verifying the benefits of the improved D&D technologies is to use them at DOE sites in large-scale demonstration and deployment (LSDD) projects. The DOE's Fernald Environmental Management Project (FEMP), near Cincinnati Ohio, was host for a LSDD Project overseen by the D&D Focus Area. The FEMP was formerly engaged in the production of high quality uranium metal; and is now currently undergoing active environmental restoration, including removal of major process facilities. As observed during the D&D of Fernald's Plant 1, the baseline method for removing piping required laborers to work above the floor on ladders, scaffolding, ardor man-lifts with hand-held power tools. The pipe must first be rigged to prevent falling when cut. After cutting, the pipe is manually lowered to the ground and placed in a storage/disposal container. The Mobile Work Platform (MWP) consists of a mobile chassis, telescoping arm and a dual crimper/shear ''end-effecter''. It has the capability to grab and hold a pipe, crimp and shear the pipe (up to a ten-foot section) on either side of where it is being held and then lower and place the pipe section into a storage/disposal container. The MWP can crimp/shear up to a 6-inch diameter, schedule 401, carbon steel pipe. A single operator using a radio remote control operates the MWP. The paper will describe the results (productivity, safety advantages and lessons learned) during the Mobile Work Platform demonstration at Fernald.
Authors: Mark S. Peters, Paul Cromer, Robert L. Danner
Language: English
Subfield: Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: U.S. Department of Energy
OpenAlex ID: W1502742153