PACKAGING DEVICE FOR RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPES PRODUCED IN FLEXIBLE ELONGATED SHAPES

Abstract

A methodology and device that is capable of packaging highly radioactive materials configured in long elongated linear shapes into tight coils that can easily be placed into the small payload storage areas of typical commercially available radioactive material shipping containers. The design of the device allows the reconfiguration of the radioactive material to manually occur in a manner that allows the operator of the device to remain shielded from the radiation to prevent over-exposure of the operator to the nuclear radiation being emitted from the radioactive material.

Claims

1. Apparatus for compacting a radioactive, elongated, linear member into a coil and loading the coil into a shielded cask comprising: an intake guide structured to receive the radioactive, elongated, linear member and direct the radioactive, elongated, linear member into a shielded cavity; a Threaded Advancing Mechanism Spindle rotatably supported within the shield cavity and supporting the intake guide in a fixed orientation and advancing the intake guide in the fixed orientation along the Threaded Advancing Mechanism Spindle as the Threaded Advancing Mechanism Spindle is rotated; a Rabbit Coil Spindle rotatably supported within the shielded cavity at a greater depth within the shielded cavity than the Threaded Advancing Mechanism Spindle, the Rabbit Coil Spindle having a Rabbit Nose Grabber proximate a first end that is structured to receive and anchor a lead end of the radioactive, elongated, linear member and a Rabbit Tail Grabber proximate a second end, structured to receive and anchor a tail end of the radioactive, elongated, linear member, the intake guide aligned to direct the radioactive, elongated linear member to the Rabbit Coil Spindle, with both the Threaded Advancing Mechanism Spindle and the Rabbit Coil Spindle being supported from a first and second opposing wall of the shielded cavity; a drive system connected through the first wall of the shielded cavity operable to rotate the Threaded Advancing Mechanism Spindle and the Rabbit Coil Spindle; and at least a portion of the second wall of the shielded cavity rotatably supporting the Rabbit Coil Spindle operable to open and expose one end of the Rabbit Coil Spindle.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 including means for decoupling the Rabbit Coil Spindle from the drive system when the at least the portion of the second wall of the shielded cavity is open, and moving the decoupled Rabbit Coil Spindle through the opening and out of the shielded cavity.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the Rabbit Coil Spindle is supported from the first and second walls through rotation bearings and the means for decoupling the Rabbit Coil Spindle from the drive system comprises spindle linkage tabs connecting the Rabbit Coil Spindle to the rotation bearings on the first and second walls.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the means for decoupling the Rabbit Coil Spindle from the drive system when the at least the portion of the second wall of shielded cavity is open moves the decoupled Rabbit Coil Spindle through the opening, out of the shielded cavity and into a shielded transportation or storage cask.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 including a centering device for centering the decoupled Rabbit Coil Spindle as it is moved into the shielded transportation or storage cask.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 including means for facilitating rotation of the shielded cavity from a horizontal position to a vertical position with the second wall facing in a downward direction at the bottom of the shielded cavity.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the drive system drives both the Threaded Advancing Mechanism Spindle and the Rabbit Coil Spindle off of the same drive gear.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the drive system drives both the Threaded Advancing Mechanism Spindle and the Rabbit Coil Spindle at the same speed.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] A further understanding of the invention can be gained from the following description of the preferred embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art in-core moveable detector arrangement that can be employed with this invention;

[0015] FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of an Isotope Production Cable Assembly Drive Cable Assembly of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/210,231;

[0016] FIG. 3 is a plan view of the Target Holder Element and the female portion of the quick disconnect that connects the Target Holder Element Cable Assembly to the Drive Cable Assembly shown in FIG. 2;

[0017] FIG. 4 is a frontal view of the male portion of the quick disconnect shown on the core insertion side of the Drive Cable Assembly shown in FIG. 2;

[0018] FIG. 5 is a side view of the male portion of the quick disconnect shown in FIGS. 2 and 4;

[0019] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the apparatus of this invention;

[0020] FIG. 7 is a side cutaway view of the apparatus of FIG. 6;

[0021] FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the apparatus of FIG. 7 rotated 90;

[0022] FIG. 9 is a schematic bottom view showing the apparatus being rotated 90;

[0023] FIG. 10 is a side cutaway view showing the target coil wound on the Rabbit Coil Spindle being loaded into a transfer cask; and

[0024] FIG. 11 is a cutaway perspective view of the rabbit being wound around the Rabbit Coil Spindle inside the shielded cavity.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0025] One preferred embodiment of the apparatus 54 of this invention is shown in FIGS. 6-11 and, preferably, is constructed using Tungsten for the shielded cavity 56 surrounding the interior components. The exterior and other components are constructed using less expensive metals such as SS-316L, or even Aluminum. The target to be fed into the Apparatus 54 can be any isotope or isotope contained within a holder that is produced in a flexible elongated shape. In this embodiment the target is the target holder element 38 and is fed into the shielded cavity 56 through an intake guide 60. It should be appreciated that sometimes the target is referred to herein as an isotope or an isotope housed within a holder and at other times as a rabbit, but in each case it is intended to be referring to the feed to be operated upon by the apparatus of this invention. In this embodiment the intake guide 60 is a rabbit guide funnel that is supported within the shield cavity 56 in a fixed orientation on a Threaded Advancing Mechanism Spindle 62 that is rotatably supported within the shield cavity 56. The intake guide 60 moves across the intake opening 64 as the Threaded Advancing Mechanism Spindle 62 is rotated. A Rabbit Coil Spindle 66 is rotatably supported within the shielded cavity 56 at a greater depth within the shielded cavity than the Threaded Advancing Mechanism Spindle 62. The Rabbit Coil Spindle 66 has a Rabbit Nose Grabber 68 proximate a first end that is structured to receive and anchor a lead end of the rabbit and a Rabbit Tail Grabber 70 proximate a second end that is structured to receive and anchor a tail end of the rabbit 38. The intake guide 60 is aligned to direct the rabbit to the Rabbit Coil Spindle 66, with both the Threaded Advancing Mechanism Spindle 62 and the Rabbit Coil Spindle 66 being supported from a first and second opposing walls, respectively 72 and 74, of the shielded cavity 56. A drive system 76 is connected through the first wall 72 of the shielded cavity 56 and is operable to rotate the Threaded Advancing Mechanism Spindle 62 and the Rabbit Coil Spindle 66. At least a portion 78 of the second wall 74 of the shielded cavity 56, rotatably supporting the Rabbit Coil Spindle 66, is operable to open and expose one end of the Rabbit Coil Spindle. Both the Threaded Advancing Mechanism Spindle 62 and the Rabbit Coil Spindle 66 are supported from the first and second walls 72 and 74 by rotational bearings 80, but the Rabbit Coil Spindle is slidably connected to the bearings 80 with spindle linkage tabs 82, so that the Rabbit Coil Spindle 66 is readily disconnected from the bearings 80 when the portion 78 of the second wall 74 is opened.

[0026] The operation of the device 54 begins with the insertion of the target 38 into the target funnel 60 until it is lodged in the Rabbit Nose Grabber 68 shown in FIG. 7. This can be accomplished remotely by advancing the drive cable 36. The nose grabber 68 may also be embodied as a penetration directly through the Rabbit Coil Spindle 66. The insertion of the target 38 continues when the rotational handle 84 is turned to cause both the Rabbit Coil Spindle 66 and Threaded Advancing Mechanism Spindle 62 to turn by way of the bevel gears 86 and the gear chain 88. As the Threaded Advancing Mechanism Spindle 62 rotates, the rabbit guide funnel 60 moves relative to the Rabbit Coil Spindle 66 to progressively wrap the target 38 down the length of the Rabbit Coil Spindle 66. The thread spacing on the Threaded Advancing Mechanism Spindle 62 is spaced such that a position near the end of the target 38 is captured by the Rabbit Tail Grabber 70 shown in FIG. 7. The target 38 is then disconnected from the drive cable 36 shown in FIG. 2 and the rest of the target 38 is wound into the device 54. Once the device 54 is rotated 90, as shown in FIG. 9, and properly positioned over the center of a Transfer Cask Payload Cavity 90 as shown on FIG. 10, the bottom panel, i.e., the swing out portion 78 of the second wall 74, is rotated to the open position using remote tooling to pull the bottom panel at the Bottom Rotation Assistance Lug 92 shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. Once the device is opened, the Rabbit Payload Positioning Handle 94 is inserted until the target 38 is firmly embedded in the payload cavity centering device 96. Once the tarnet 38 is firmly inserted, the Rabbit Payload Positioning Handle 94 is rotated to unscrew the handle from the Rabbit Coil Spindle 66. The Rabbit Payload Positioning Handle 94 is then withdrawn until it is high enough to allow the swing out panel 78 of the device 54 to be rotated back into the closed position. FIGS. 7, 8, 9 and 10 illustrate the process. FIG. 11 shows a view of the target 38 being wound around the Rabbit Coil Spindle 66.

[0027] The design of the foregoing preferred embodiment includes the flexibility to adjust the distance of the devices used to manipulate the Rabbit Coil Spindle 66 and the coil to account for the radiation dose rate goals for the operators of the device. The device is configured to allow the inclusion of additional shielding between the rabbit coil and the manipulation controls of the device as needed to meet target exposure goals for the equipment operators. Because the distance and shielding flexibility provided by the design allow the radiation exposure to the manipulation control areas to be minimized, it is also practical to use off-the-shelf electronics and electro-mechanical devices to automate the manipulation process so that the necessary manipulations can be performed remotely. Accordingly, this device allows the manipulation of extremely high levels of radioactive materials using either manual of automated processes. It allows large amounts of valuable radioisotopes to be packaged for shipping while minimizing the potential for dangerous radiation exposure. This device can also be used to package the cables and fission chambers used by the Movable In-core Detector System (MIDS) used in vintage Westinghouse-style plants, and the Traversing In-core Probe System (TIPS) in all BWR plants for disposal.

[0028] While specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the particular embodiments disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention which is to be given the full breadth of the appended claims and any and all equivalents thereof.