If Robots Can’t Survive Radiation Exposure, What Will?

RE: If Robots Can’t Survive Radiation Exposure, What Will?

rew — Sun, 17 Apr 2016 15:50:34 GMT

I think there is some misunderstanding going on here..... If a containment vessel was intact, there might be water at a high pressure and at higher-than-boiling temperatures. But the source of the problems is that the containment vessels are NOT intact... So things must be happening at atmospheric pressure, i.e. at most at around water-boiling-temperatures. The article says the HEAT melted the wires. The title is click-bait, the robot breaking down does not have anything to do with the radiation (except that the nuclear fuel that happens to be radioactive heats the water).

So suggesting how to make robots radiation hard has nothing to do with the problem at hand...

RE: If Robots Can’t Survive Radiation Exposure, What Will?

DAB — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 20:15:22 GMT

The issue about radiation hardening and how to prevent the destruction of material exposed to radioactive is complicated by the misunderstanding about what makes atoms radioactive.

If my new atomic model is correct, there may be ways to both shield materials from radiation and possibly to decontaminate materials with less effort than people realize.

The current nuclear power generation plants have a horrendous design that greatly complicates the use of nuclear fuel and creates too much waste.

People need to think of using nuclear energy to its full extent. The current thermodynamic generators are incredibly inefficient.

Luckily, there are many possibilities for safely using radioactive material without the need of radiation hardening.

So please stop fighting the use of fission, just insist that it be used correctly with full efficiency. Radiation is our friend, not out enemy.

DAB

RE: If Robots Can’t Survive Radiation Exposure, What Will?

D_Hersey — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 16:35:46 GMT

Well, you made a very broad statement, that robots cannot work in high heat environments. The Russians can be proud to have gotten machines to work at 950 Fahrenheits so far from home, back in time.

I agree with you that we were stupid to build those fission reactors and nowadays, with fracking, solar, wind and the possible advent of fusion reactors they are less needed. Decommissioning old reactors that aren't damaged by external forces will keep us busy for quite some time. We do some ugly things for power, burning coal, damming rivers 'til there is only one river left (Frazier) in North America.

Now that we have this awful problem, I think, and I am no expert, that robots made of tubes will hold up better in this situation than ones made of semis. If someone has an endowment for me, I would love to try.

Rest assured that we are in basic agreement. I am on the margin of being a nit-picker.

RE: If Robots Can’t Survive Radiation Exposure, What Will?

rscasny — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 14:43:22 GMT

Let's get real: there is NO WAY a robot and its sub-assemblies are going to withstand the heat generated by a reactor that's lost its cooling and is melting down.

And why would anyone bother creating a robot that could?

What really melted down this reactor was not a tsunami or earthquake. It was TEPCO (the Fukishima operator). It was corrupt and lax on safety regulations. Even after the accident, TEPCO was dragging its feet.

Much of the work of engineering happens before something gets built. It's called risk management and the associated feasibility studies and the necessary government oversight. Moreover, Japan has had earthquakes in the past. So, what were the conclusions of the risk management studies that I presume were conducted prior to Fukishima ever being built? If there wasn't any or they were doctored, enough said.

Engineering isn't only designing new materials or control systems that can withstand meltdowns. One should engineer the safety risks out of a system before it gets built rather than trying to fix the system when it breaks down. And Fukishima wasn't even a break down; it was a disaster; it was competence; it was stupidity. It should never have been built.

Nothing in the history of humankind has ever been invented or built without limits. Be it humans or robots, there will be a point of no return. Robots are being used successfully for testing and inspections and for decommissioning tasks -- which aren't done when the reactor is melting down.

RE: If Robots Can’t Survive Radiation Exposure, What Will?

D_Hersey — Thu, 24 Mar 2016 20:13:18 GMT

Thermionic devices (aka vacuum tubes) are more rad-hard than semis, typically.