Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~4~5~
Thi~ lnv~ntion relate~ to apparatu~ and method fo~
dispo~tik1On o~ radioact~ve wa~te materials.
Whil~ the inven~ion may be used for th~ packaginy
and dispo~ition of various types o~ radioactive or chemically
dangerous waste~, it can be ex~eptionally advantage~ou~ly
empl~yed in the di~position of radioactive waste3 as ~he~
occur in nuclear electric power generating stations.
In known boiling water reactor plants, water i~
passed through the nuclear reactor through suitable concluits
and i~ heated and conve~ted to steam by the heat of the
reactor. This steam pa6ses throu~n a turbine that drives an
electric generator, then is recondensed and returned to the
reactor to be reh~ated and converted into steam and go on.
This i8 a closed system.
In pres~.urized water reactor syst~ms, there i~ a
first closed conduit loop extending through the nuclear
reactor and then out~ide the reactor wh~r~ it pas3es through
a heat exchanger. The body of water ox other liquid in the
first clo~ed loop is heated by the nuclear reactor, but the
liquid is kept at such a high pressure, u~ually several
thousand pound~ per square inch, that it is not converted
into steam or v~por. There i8 a second closed con~uit loop
carrying a body of water that extends through the heat
exchanger out of contact with the liquid in the first loop.
The water in this second circuit i5 heated by s-ransfer of
heat from the liquid in the first circuit and thereby
converted into steam which pas~es in the usual manner through
a turbine drlving an electric generatox aft~r which the ~team
18 conden~ed and retur~ed to the heat e~changer where it i~
again r~heated.
In each ~uch ~y~tem wat~r of t~e greatest pos~ible
purlt~ i~ u~0d. Nevert~lele~, mlnor amounts of 1mpuritles
- 2 -
' '
9~
ar~ pre~ent in the water initially introduced into the
condu~t3. Further impuritie3 appear becau~ o the action
of the wa~er on tho metal of pi.pe~ and conduit~ through
which it pass~s. These impurl~i~s may b~come radioactiv~,
partlcularly in water that passa~ ~hrough the reactor
Trace~ of cobalt leached out o~ stainlessl steel piping are
particularly ~rouble~ome, since cobalt develop an intense
form of radioactivity having a long half life.
In both boiling water and pres~urized water r~ac-
tors, lt is a practice to subject the water to cl~aning
action by pas~ing it through beds of ion-exchange resin~.
Such resins are of known composition. In yenera]., they act
similarly to na~ural or s~nthe~ic material~ used in commer-
cial water treating equipment. Through chemical and filter-
ing action, they remo~e di~solved and ~uspended impurities,
thus maintaining the water at the de~ired high purity.
Otherwlse the accu~ulation of impurities could result in
scaling on the heat transfer surfaces, which wouid re~ult in
los~ of eficiency or difficulty in operations. Resin parti-
cle~ of one type widely used for this purpose are tho~s
approxima~ely 20 m~h in 5ize. Resin particles of another
widely used type are much ~maller, approximating 300 ~e~h in
size.
Ths contaminated resins o either type are removed
~rom the water treating vessel by ~luicing them out with
water. The re~ulting ~lurry or di3per~ion i~ collected in
a wa~te resin tank at the plant. The apparatus disclos2d
hereafter is particularly well adapted to dispQsltion of
this type of radioactive ~lurry.
Another type o~ radioactive wa~ta material tha~
may be handled by the pre~ent lnvention i~ know~ a "evapor-
ator bot~oms". These include concentrated liquid wa~l:es
,
~V~7Sl
¦ ~rom the plant, ~uch a~ ~olutions contalning borlc acid,
borax, soflium sulphate and the like which are used in ~he
control of the reactor or for wa~hdown of equipment for
decontamination. Evaporator bott3m3 are al~o obtained fr~ln
the collected water that is u~ed for washing down portion~
of e~uipment or plant, wash water for employees, and chemi-
cal laboratory liquid waste~. This water containing radlo-
actlve impurities i9 temporarily stored and periodically
portions of it are evaporated, leaving a solution or disper-
~ion containing reaetive materials ln water that are known
as "evaporator bottoms".
Stringent lawq, rule~ and regulation~ govern the
di~po~ition o~ ~adioactive wastes and their transportation
over highways, on railroads and by other mode~ of tran~por-
taticn. In general, the material must be shieldea go that
radiations emanating rom the material do not exceed maximum
level~ established by the laws and regulation~. Furth~rmor2,
it i~ de~ired that in a ca~e of an accident causing dumping
of a radioactive load, there should be no ~luidic materials
that can penetrate the ground or mix with streams or ground
water and cause radioactive contamination. It ha~ therefore
been propo~d to provide a mixture o~ resin particles con-
talning radioactive material, cement a~ a solidifying agent,
and water in a container such as a steel drum, and to allow
th~ mixture to ~olidify in the drum.
However, prior ~ystems for putting xadioactive
materials lnto a drum or o~her conta~ner in general re~uire
that operator~ and maintenance per~onnel be sxpo~ed to radia-
tion~ even though ~uch 3ystem may be intended to prokect
personnel. For example, the operators in many cases mu~t
go intJ areas containing radiation to open drum~ Ol close
th2m or to insert nozzles in the drum~ or to handlle the
14~3S~
drums ln 9~0rage. In sorn~ ~ystem~ an operator may stand
behind a ~hleld wall, but mu~t extend hl6 arm~ into a radio-
act~ve zone, and ~xpo~e hi~ head to ~ee, to conn~ct pipe~ for
~eed~ng radioac~ivc material. I apill~ occur, the operator
mu~t go into the radioactive æone to ~lean up ~plll~ ~n
prior operation~ where dr~m~ are ~tacked in multiple layers
in decay 6torage areas, the operator must often qo lnto such
areas to place planks between the layers. Maintenance men
mu~t go into radioactive areas to work on equipment requir-
ing maintenance at intervals, such as conveying equipm~nt,motors, and ~witches. The total amount of radiation to
which personnel c~n be ~afely exposed i~ limited by physio-
logical rea~onsS therefore, per~onn~l mu~t be controlled a~
to their duties, and ~he amount of radiation to which they
are exposed frequently checked to avoid their exposure to
an excessive amount of radiation that can adversely afect
health. Moreover, in o~eration of the nuclear plant, i an
emergerlcy should arise correction of which would requir~
exposure o operators or maintenance men to radiation during
a time when all avallable men had reached th~ir limits o
radiation tolerance, a shutdown of the plant mi~ht be ~eces-
6ary or other adverse con~equence~ might xesult becau3e of
lack of operators or maintenance men having safe radiation
tol~rances.
Moreover, prior ~ystems do not in general provide
de~ired close control to in~ure that proper amounts of
radloactlve material, cement, or water are put into the
drum to insure proper solidification of drum c~nt~nt~0 It
~ imperative to avoid imp~oper loading of the drum or
mixing of drum content~.
~ or~over, prior ~y~tem~ can on occa~ion ~pill
radioact~ve mat~rial~ on th~ out~lde of the drum3 or on the
- 5 -
9~1
iloor. X~ the ~pill iq on the dxum, it ls nece~ary to
~econtami~a~e the drum prior to ~hipment. I~ the ~pill i8
o~ the 100r, then a certain amount of du~t can be ger.2r~te~l.
a~ the material dri~s. Such dust, which is radioac~ive,
could ~ind it~ way through the plant and thu~ make the plant
unsafe because of radioactivity. Spilled material~ also can
collect in ~loor drains and clog them. Priox sy5tem3 for
putting radioactive material into drum~ in general ha~e
lo~ded drums in an open ~pace, ~o there was no way o con-
10 taining or taking care of the problems cauYed by ~pills o~radioactive material.
Some previous 5y~tem8 have numerous operating mechan-
ical part~ requiring period~c maintenance, such as motor~ and
electrical switches, in radioactive areas. Malntenance o
~uch e~uipment can ex~ose personnel to considerable radiation.
Previous equipment loads drum~ containincJ radio-
active material onto trucks or casks in a haphazard fa~hion,
and thu~, not loading the truck or cask to full capacity,
would lose lading and could cause dama~e to the drums or drum
20 enclosure.
Previou9 ~y~tem8~ beca~se o~ 1058 of electrical
power or air pressure or improper handling of the drum hand-
ling mean9, could topple a drum or cau8e ir~egularities in
operation which could cause spillage o~ radioactive material.
Previous systema did not provide for an accurate weight of
; re~in to a weight of cement ratio in order to insure that the
drum contents would b~ properly ~olidified with the most
economical use of cement and w~th the lowe~t tran~portation
co~t~. In prior systema that filter the re~in in the drums
30 to remove water, cost~ are understandably hlgher for the
~Irum becau~e of th~ added equi"~ment contained ther~ln.
Some prlor 8y9tem8 mix radioactive reslns, cement
r
~(~4~3e~L
and water in a mixture outside of a drum. This involves
exposure of considerable amounts of equipment to radioac-tiv-
ity and possibilities of considerable exposure of personnel
to radioactivity. Moreover, the mixer must be cleaned after
each use, which is aifficult because the cement sticks to
the mixer; moreover, the mixer will become radioactive and
hence unsafe in time considerably shorter than the life of
the plant, necessitating replacement expense. Some prior
systems mix these materials in the drum; but if an open top
drum is used, considerable spillage occurs during mixing,
and if the drum is rolle~ about its lenythwise axis to mix
its contents a core of poorly mixed materials is formed in
the center of the drum.
Most if not all prior systems lack fail-safe features
to prevent unsafe conditions in the event of failure of
operations of any portion of the equipment.
It is ageneral object of the present invention to
overcome the above and other problems relating to the dis-
position of radioactive waste materials. A further object
is provision of apparatus which can be easily repaired or
maintained with little if any exposure of personnel or
surrounding environment to hazardous radiation. Another
object is to provide apparatus that has fail-safe features
that prevent the development of dangerous or unsafe condi-
tions in the event of failure of operation of the apparatus
as because of failure of power, air pressure, or other
energy source.
This application is a division of application Serial
30 Number 151,515, filéd September 12, 1972.
To accomplish these and other objects, the parent
invention provides apparatus for packaging fluent material
kam: -
s~
such as dangerous or radioactive liquids or slurries without
direct human handling, comprising movable supporting means
controllable by remote control for support:ing and moving a con-
tainer into any of a plurality of preselec1ed locations, the
container having an opening initially closed by removable clo-
sure means; means controllable by remote control, while the
container is in a preselected location, for removing the
closure means from said container, retaining the closure means,
and replacing the closure means on the container to close the
opening after the container has fluent material introduced
therein; means controllable by remote control for introclucing
into the container an amount of the fluent material while
the container is in a different preselected location; and
means controllable by remote control for agitating the
container to mix the contents of the container while the
opening of the container is closed by the closure means and
while the container is in a preselected location different
from the one in which the closure means is removed and
replaced, the movab].e supporting means su~porting the container
at all times while i-t is so moved and located in each of the
preselected locations and also while the con-tainer is being
agitated.
The parent invention also provides a process of
packaging fluent material without direct human hàndllng, com-
prising moving a container into preselected locations, the con-
tainer having an opening initially closed by removable closure
means; removing and retaining the closure means from the open-
ing of the container while the container is in a preselected
location; providing in the container through the opened opening
while the container is in a different preselected location an
amount of the fluent material; closing said container by replacing
kam~
9S~L
the same closure means to close the opening while the container
is.in the pre'selected location in which the closure means was
removed and retained; agitating the container to mix the
contents thereof while the container is in a preselected
location different from the one in which the closure means
was removed, retained, and replaced; and thereafter removing
the container.
The present invention, on the other hand, complements the
parent invention by providing pump apparatus adapted to pump
fluid comprising a housing, reciprocable pumping means in
the housing that provides on one side of the pumping means a
chamber of variable volume into which fluid being pumped is
introduced by a suction stroke of the pumping means and Erom
which the fluid is expelled on a pumping stroke of the pumping
means; means providing two passages opening into the chamber
of variable volume; two actuatable valve means each adapted
independently of the other to open and close one of the
passages so the valve means can act as inlet valve means per-
mitting passage of fluid into the chamber on a suction stroke
of the pumping means or as outlet valve means permitting
passage of fluid out of the chamber on a pumping stroke of the
pumping means; means for reciprocating the pumping means in
pumping and suction strokes; and means, operable independently
of the means for reciprocating the pumping méans, for actuating
each of the valve means independently of the means for xeci-
procating the pumping means and independently of the other
valve means so that either oE the valve means can act as inlet
valve means or as outlet valve means.
These and other objects and features of the invention
will be apparent from the following description of a
preferred embod.iment of the invention in connection
11~ 51
wlth the accompanying drawill~Js ~n which~
- Figue 1 i5 a plan aection along line 1-1 of
Figure ~, of a building and in~rlal equlpment embodying the
pre~ent lnvention and for carrying out proce~es of th~ in-
vantion, the scale being mu~h ~mall~r than full 8ize ~
Figure 2 iB a section along line 2-2 of Figure 1
and to the ~ame ~cale;
Figure 3 is a section along line 3-3 of F~gure 1
and to the same scale;
Figure 4 i~ a plan section along line 4-4 of
Figure 2 and to a somewhat larger ~cale showing the over-
head crane apparatus, the crane being in a somewha~ differ-
ent position than in Tiguxe 2:
Figure 5 is a s2ction along line 5 5 o~ Figure 4
and to the same scale showing the crane apparatus, portions
of the apparatus of Figures 1, 2 and 3 being broken away for
the sa]se of clearness;
Figure 6 i9 a sectional view along lin~ 6-~ o~
Figure 4;
Figure 7 is a plan o the trol'ey o~ the crane
apparatu~ along line 7-7 of Figure S and to a considerabl~
larger scale;
Figure 8 is a detail, along line 8-~ of Figure 7,
~howing means ~or automatically llmiting and haltiny upward
movement of the grab carried by the trolley; `
Flgure 9 is a view from line 9-9 of Fig~re 7 and
to the same scale;
Figure lQ i~ a view from line 10-10 of Figure 7
and to the same ~cale;
Figure 11 i5 a view to a con3iderably lar~er
3cale o~ means for drivin~ wheel~ of the trolley;
~igure 12 ~ a v~ew along llne 12-12 o~ Ficture 7
-- 10 --
5~
~nd to ~ t:on~ld~r~bly largor ~ale~ ohowir~g th~a tr~nsmls~lon box
for the drivln~ m~ann of t~ troll~yt
~ igur~ 13, on th~ ~arltu 3ho.~t ~8 F4gur~ 6, 1~ ~ viQW
along lin~ 13-1~ of ~iqure 4 but to A ~m~l:Ler ~ale t~an ~iq-
ure 1.2, showing driving m~3ans for wh~3els o f the cr~n~ brlflg~,
parts being omitted ~or clarity7
Flgure 14 i5 a vi~ ~long lin~ 14-14 o~ Pi~ur~ 7
showing a portlon of the m~ans for hoistinq the cran~ gr~bs
E'~gure 15 i~ a view o~ the rnean~ for hoi~ting the
grab, from line 15-15 o:E Figure 7 t
Fi~ure ~ is ~ s~ctic~n alon~3 lin~ 16-16, ~igure 7;
Flgur~ 17 ia a vi~w rom lin~3 17-17 o~ Figur~ 7 s
Flgure la i~ a plan viaw ~f th~ grab of th~3 ove~-
head crane, with the cover r~n~oved, th~ scale being consid~r-
~bly larger than that of tlle pr~cedin~ Figures t
~ igure 19 ~ s a section alon~ line 19-19 o Figure
1~;
Figure 20, on the same ~hset a~ Figur~ 18, is a
s2ction along line 20-20 of Flgure ~ and to a l~rge~r ~c~le
20 ~howing limit switch mean~ for controlling rotat~o~al m~v~-
ment o~ a port ion of the grab t
~ igure 21, on the sam~ sh~t as Fi~ure 1~, ~9 3
section along lin~ 21-21 of Figure 1 showlng limit ~witch rneans
for l~mlting vertical movement o~ a part for actuatinig ~hs
~in~r~ o~ t~ grabt
Fiyur~ 22, on the ~am~ sheat a ~ Figur~ 19, i~ a d~-
tall alonq line 22-22 of P~igure 18 8howing gul~ mbex~ os~
th~ gr~b en~agl~g gul~e member~ on th~ troll~y to Locate th0
gra~ ln lts uppermost position laterally r~lative to th~
30 ~rolley~
Figuxe~ 23 to 27 lnclu~ive ~how how th~ telQvi~lon
r~ on tlh~ grab can b3 u~ to locate th~ h~ight o~ th
grab abovE3 ~ drum, ~iLgure~ 24 to 27 lnclusiv6ll p~rtclcularly
.._ .~iA.
1 1 -
showing th~ vl~w on ~he t~ vl810n mv~itor ~cr~on~
~ gur~ 28 ~ ~ vlew~ looklng up~ardly to ~how tho irl-
dl~ating mo~n~ that 1~ view~3d by th~ televislon ~cr~en on t~9
trolle~r to locato th~ po~ition of th~ trolleyt
Plgure 29 i.8 ~n enl~r~ed deta il showing one of ~he
lnâicatc: r~ o~ Flgure 28 ~ .
F~gure ~O i~ a vlew of drummln~ apparatus in tl~e dxum
ing ~tation, ~roT: lin~ 30-30 of Flgur0 1 and to a ecal~ co~-
~lderably large!r th~n that of ~i~ure 1 J
Flgure 31 i~ a slde view o~ th~ drul~uning apparatu~
of ~igure 28, part~ being ~roken away to sho~ the interLor
rnechan~m in the hou~ing 7
Figure 3~ is ~ plan view along lin~ 32-32 of Figure
30 und t~ a ~omewh~t larger scale, part~, mostly p~ping, bei~lg
omitted or thQ stlk~ o~ cl~rityt
Figur~ 33 i3 ~ ~id~ elev~tion o~ the lower portlon
o~ the drulr~ming apparatu~, in g~sneral corrssponding to th~3 ~lde
al~va tion of Figure 32 ~
Figures 34A anâ 34s ~how to an enlaxge~ scale and in
~0 plan the cr~dle fr~m~ arld cradle, as well a~ a~oc~ated appar-
atus for holding the drum in th~ ~rum~lng apparatus;
Flgur~ 3$ i~ a detail to ~ stlll larger scal~, sh~w-
lny me~ns ~or securlng the cra,dl~ ~xame in ~3~ch el~vated po~-
itlon, the v~ew of the ~acurlng pin ~ing ~ner~lly from lina
35-35 c~f Figu~ 34A1
~igure 36 i9 a ~ection through th~ . ~p-handling m an~
~or unscr~wing a cap o~ a ~u~, holding it until it i ~ d~sired
to ~nsert 1~ ~gain, arld for r~-inser~ing and tlghtly ~crew~ng
~n tn~ cap oî a drum, the 8~:ale being con~ld~r~bly larger th~n
that of Figu~a~ 30-337
~lgure 310 ln tha sam~ ~haet n~ F~gure 33, 1~ a ~c-
tlos~ along llne 37-37 of Figur~ 36t
Flgure 38, on th~ ~me ~ho~t as ~ 33
- 1 2 ~
5~L
3ectioal alon~ lino 3~-3~ c~ Figur~ 36J
Yi.~ur0 39 is sn e~nl3rg~sd pl~n v~w oi2 th¢ ~ r
~ozzle for ~illing a ~ku~ wh~l~ it 1:~ ln the drumrn~ng ~ppa~atu~
Figur~ ~0 i~ a s~ction along lln, 40-40 of E'$gu~
39~
Flgura 41 i~ a ~c~lonal el~vation along ~.in~ 41-~1
of F~gure 31 and to a ~onsid~r~bly larger scale, o ~wo }i~Uld
level s~n~ors for the decanting tank~
Figure 42 1~ a Yi~3w along lin~ 42-42 of ~igure 41
and to the gam~3 sca le ~ :
~ i~ure 43 is a sectlon along line 43-43 of Figur~3
41 and to the same sca le 7
Figux~ 44 i~ an enlarg~d varti~al ~cti~n of one o~
the metex~ng pump~ o~ ~he lnvGntlon, along line ~ ~44 of Fig-
ure 45t
Figur~ 45 is an end clevation o~ t:he pump of Figure
41t
Figure 46 is an enlarged ~eetion of a poxtlon of ono
of the valv~ m~chanisms of tha ~retering pump~
~0 ~igur~s 47 i~ a schematic pipin~ ~ia~ram ox a drum-
~ing stationJ
~ igure 48 ~ 9 ~ ~ace vi~w o a racord bo~rd iEox r ~-
cording th~ locations of drums in the equipment
Figur~ 49 i~ an eniarged vi~w showlng one of the ta~
tbat car~ ba us~d on th6~ record board to r 3:cord inforrD.~tiorl per-
taining to a ~Irum and its location~
Flgure~ 50 ~nd 51 ~rQ ~id~ and ~ron~ vlew~ o th~
~:ontrol con~ole~ equipment, shown in P~igure~ 1 in th~ control
~tation~ for con~ro~llng th~ apparatus, th~e Flgur~ be~g
30 to a largex ~c:ale than Fi~ur~ 1
--13
5~
Figure ~2 i~ a plan from line 52-52 of Figure 50
Figuxe~ 53 to 56 ~ nclusive are view~ showing how
the grab o~ th~ illu3trated c~ane apparatuæ can be uæed to
- gra~p a drum even if it should ~e lying on its side rather
than standing upri~ht on its end;
Figure 57 is a plan o~ ~ modified form of trolley
for the overhead crane apparatu~, this trolley embodying a
heavy duty hoist capable o~ lifting heavy por~ions o the
apparatus, such a~ the shield wall or other equipment, out
of or into the illustrated appa.ratu~; and
Figure 58 is a side elevatior. showlng the trolla~
of Figure 57 as used in hoisting a shield wall and as~oci-
ated equipment mounted on the shield wall~
Gen~.ral ~rranqe~ent: For il.lustrative purpo~e~,
the below describ~d embodiment o~ the invention will ~2
de~crihed in connection with the di~position o~ radioactive
waste material in the form of resin particles containing
radioactive mat~rial~ like tho~ described above, and in the
form of evaporator bottomsO by.putting the radioactive mater-
20 ial lncluding ~ater, and cement as a solidifyi~g agent, in~o
a steel drwm: mixing these materials in the drum; mo~ing the
drum into storage; allowing the mix~ure to solidify and
radioactivity to decay in ~torage; and then moving the drum
to a vehicle for transportation.
For convenience, the term "drum" is usea here-
after to designate steel drums or barrels as such, as well
a~ suitable othe~ type~ of containers for the indicated
purpose~. While for con~enience cement i8 disclosed as
the ~olidifying agent and water a~ the liquid, lt i.s to be
under~tood that other suitable types of solidi~yincJ asentæ
suc.h as asphalt or certain natural or synthetic resins, and
that sultabl& liquid~ ~ther than wa~er~ may ~e u~ed.
- 14 -
The embodim~nt generally ~hown in Figures 1-3
compri~e~ a buildlng 1 o~ rectangular con~i~uratiol~ in.p].an,
of which building up~ight wall~ 2, 3, 4 and S, the ceil~ng 6
and the rloor 7 are preferably formed of poured reinforced
concrete, of su~flcient thickness to pre~ent e~ape of harm-
ful radiation from the interior o~ the building. ~he build-
ing interior ls subdivided into an area 8, two drumminy .;
~tations 10 and 11, two storage vault~ or decay pits 1~ and.
13, and a control ~tation 14 in which an operator is locat2d
10 to operate the ~ystem by remote control. .
Area 8, which is free of radioactive materi~l~ or
radioactivity at all times except temporarily when ractio-
active materials are being shipped from the building, is
shown as used for stora~e of non-radi.oactive materials such
a~ drums D that co~tain no radioactive materials but ma~, and.
in this illustrative embodlment do, contain accurat~ly weighed
preloaded amounts of cement a~ a solidifyi.ng agent. The area
8 has in wall 2 a vehicle doorway 16 havinq a door 17 whicn
may be o~ conventional automatically controlled type.
personnel doorway 18, having a conventional door 19, i5 in
wall 4 near station 14.
Each drummin~ statlon 10 and 11 is equioped, as
described belo~, with appaLatus 21, operable by remote
control from apparatu~ 23~ 2~ in operator control ~tation
14, for introducing radioactive materials and water into
drums D, each pr~loaded with accurately determined amount~
of dry cement as a solidifying agent, all in proper propor-
tions to permit the~e materials after thorough mixing to
orm in the drum a solid body of csntrolled weigh~, and
for then thoroughly mixing these ingredient~.
A drum D containing the resulting mixed radio-
active material, cem~nt and wat~r may then be ~tored in a
5~
ntorage vault l~ or 13 to permit ~olidi~icat10n of drum
: content~ ~nd decay of radiation ~til its lntsn~l~y is
rPduses~ ~o shipablc limits. The drums arc indivldually
~dentified, and location of and time that each i8 placed
in storage i~ recorded. After lapse of an appropriate time"
the drums are moved out of the storage vault onto a vehicle
V for transportation away from building l for suitable dis-
position. If the radiation intensity of the drum contents
i~ initially so high that it is not reducible by sotrage ~or
a permissible or reasonable time, the dru~ can be put into a
known type of radiation shiel~ing cas~ t~at renders the dr~
sa~e .or -~hipmen~ , on the other hand, the initial radia-
tion intensity is suficientl~ low, the drum ma~ be shipped
immediately, without stora~e.
~ drum D is picked up ro~ area 8, put into a
selected drumming station lO or 11 then after proper ~illing
and mixing moved if ~esir~d into a selected storage vault 12
or 13; and when desired moved onto vehicle V by re~otely
controlled overhead crane apparatus 25 ~Figures 2, 3, 4) to
~e described later.
These operations ars3 performed by remote control
without actual visual access, the operations being viewed
through television ~creens and monitored by other means
described below.
uildinq: The interior o the buil~ing l is sub-
divided (Figure~ l, 2, 3) into the storage vaults l2 and 13
by a thick center interior wall 26 and transver~e end walls
; ~7 and 28 that ar~ joined to wall 26 and extend into rela-
tlvely close proximity to but stop short of exterior slde
walls 2 and 4. Tran~erse walls 29 and 30 longitus~inally
spaced from ints~rior walls 2~ and 27, and stub walls 32 and
33 ~olned to outer slde wall3 2 and 3 and spaced from tran~-
~ 16 - .
r
5 ~
~r9e w~118 3~ ~nd 30 ~t off the area ~ and 3tation 14
~rom the YaUlt~ .In~ dru~ming ~tation. Spaced tran3v~r~e
wall~ 27 and 2g, and 2~ and 30 to~e~her with a portion of
center wall 2~i and longitudinally cxtendin~ intermeaiate
s~ub walls 34 a!ld 35 define the drumming ~taci.ons 10 and
11 . .
An extension of ~all 35 and a short transverse
wall 36 joined to it d~fine the operator station 14.
Wall~ 3~ and 35 t~gether ~ith overla?ping longi-
tudinal wall portions 37 and 3~ respectively fixed to trans-
verse walls 27 and 28 and resp~ctively s~aced from walls ~
and 3~ and fxom walls 4 and 35, tosethar with the transverse
walls 27 and 28 and walls 32 and 33, de~ine labyrinthian
pa~age~ 39, ~a, 41 and 42 that prevent lateral escape Gf
radiation from storage v~ults 12 and 13 and the d~umming
stations 10 and 11 into area 8 and control station 14,
while permitting access to the dr~mming sta~ion and vaul~s
during construction and later i~ necessary..
All of these wall3 are o~ sufficien' thic}~ess
2.0 and formed of suitabls material such as ~oured concrete,
to prevent passage through the walls o~ harmful radio.~ct ve
radiation~.
The interior walls de~ining the control station,
drumming stations, storage vaults and labyrinthian passage~
extend to locations below ceiling 6 and are suitably shaped
; at their top~ to permit clearance for the o~erhead crane
apparatus 24 so that it can move over and ser~ice the
entlre interior area~ of building 1. The labyrinthian
pa5~age~ ana the control station have roofs 44r 45 for
~aety a~d added shiclding of personnel.
Crane APparatus: The crane apparatu~ including
a ;yetem for lc~a~ing th~3 d~ums i~ illu~3tra~ed ~n Figures
c- -- 17 --
r
0 4 ~ 9
2 ~hrough 29.
The crane a~paratu~ comprise~ a track 47 includ~
ing rail~ 48, ~9 e~tending lenytl~lw-ise of the bu~lding, a
bridge 51 that travel~ on the tr~.ck, a trolley 52 that
travel~ on the bridge and a grab 53, adapted to carry a drum
D, that i8 carried by and raised and lowered and manipulated
from the troll~y. As describ~d b~low, the grab i~ provided
with remotely control.led means to mechanically grasp secure-
. ly a drum D at its upper up~tanding circ-unferentLal edge 50.
Indicating means 54 above the trolley i~ provided
to aid the operator, by remote control ~rom contxol ~tatlon
14, in accurately locating and grasping a selected arum, or
accuxately locating and placiny a selected drum, or moving
it, ln ox out o~ storage axea ~, a drumming station 10 or
11, or a storage v~ult 1~ or 13.
The i.ndicating means, to be described below, has
on it indicia 55 (Fi~ures 2, 3, 28, 29) marked, as by nu~er
and l~tter combination~, that can ~e vi~wed and identified
by an upwardly d~rected television camera 56 (Figure~ 4, 7)
on the trolley that transmits an image to a televi ion
monitor screen 57 (Figure~ 1, 51) in control station 14.
By suitable movement oE the bridge and the trolley on ~he
bridge the trolley can be mo~ed to and accurately located
over a desired location for a drum by scanning through the
television camera to ~ind a de~ired indication on the ceil-
~.ng, the camera pre~erably having cross hair~ or other marX-
ings to a~d location as described later.
The grab wlll also be provlded with a do~nwardly
~aclng talevi~ion camera S8 (Figure~ 17, 19) that an focu~
on the canter of the drum. Preferably ~his cam~ra has on
it markin~s tha~, when the grab c~rrying the ~amerza 1~
lowered a sultable dist~nce, coinc~de with marXlng~ or
- 18 --
5~
structural ~eat~lr~s on a selected drum ~o indic~te ~he
height of ~h~ gx~b relative to the drum on a ~acond tel~~
vi~ion monitor ~creen 59 (Figures 1, 51) located in contr~l
station 14. By this mean~, the grab can be accurately
located over the proper drum at the prop2r height, after
wh$ch the grab can be actuated to grasp and lift the drum:
and the grab while carrying a drum can be locat~d in a
proper location to plac~ the drum.
Four adjuskable sur~eillance television cameras
60, 61 ~Figures 3, 4) are moun~ed on the bridge Sl a~ suit-
able locations so they can .~can downwardly to view other
location~ the~e camer~9 can resp~ctively show ~h~ir viewed
scenes on monitor screens 62, o3 in station 14 tFigurQs 1,
51).
A~ further indicated below, the grab is designed
to grasp the edge of a drum that may have toppled to turn
the drum so its top is up, or to remove the drum.
The track rails 48, 49 are supported ~rom
brackQt3 64 ex~ending from the walls of the building; the
~0 rails extend substantially throughout the length of the
building so that ~he grab 53 carried by the trolley, by
suitable manipulation of the bridge and trolley can service
substantially the entire internal area of the building
between the rails. Suitable control mean~, which may ~e
o known type, are provided in the control station 14 at
the monitor ~creens so that the crane and grab can be
operated by an operator at that ~tation. A record board 65
~gure 48) will be provided on which tags will be hooked
bearing location indicia, date o filling and storage,
radiation level and other data for drums that have bleen
filled and are stored in the ~torage area.
The interior of the buildillg i9 d~igned to
-- 19 --
prov~de a radlation-free ar~ ~ one end in which mainten-
ance work may be carri~d out on the crane. Such area 1~
protectcd by ~hield wall~ from r~iation fro~l radioactive
materials in the storage vaults 12, 13 or in drummlng
~tation~ 10, 11; area 8 may be used for such purpose in the
illu~trated embodiment.
Bridge 51 compri~es beams 66, 67 fixed at each end
to carriage ~tructures 68 and 69 each having flanged wheel~
71 and 72 tha~ travel on one of the rails o~ th~ track. In
each carriage structure one of the wheels is power driven
as described later to move the brid~e along the track a~
desired. The bridge be~ms carry spaced parallel rails 75, 76.
At each side, the trolley 52 has two wheels 77 and
78 that travel on these rails 75 and 76. One ~at o~ wheels
78 i~ freely rotatable; the wheels 77 of the other set ar~
power-driverl by electrically energizable dri~e means 79 on
the trolley, that is controlled by suicable ~no~n means
~rom the control 5 tation 14.
Drive means 79 comprises (Fi~ures 7-13) a trans-
mission unit 81 adapted to drive ~he~wheels 77 of thepower-driven set from shaft 82 (Figures 11, 12) thro~gh
universal joints 83 connected to the drive axle~ 8g on
which the wheels are rigidly fixed. Shaft 82 is rotated
by a gear 85 driven by pinion 86 mounted coaxial wi~h and
rigidly connected to gear 87 which is rotated in turn by
pinion 88 rigidly mounted on the same shaft as ~ear 89.
Gear 89 iq sotated by a plnion 91 mounted on a ~haft 92
directly connected to an electric motor 93 of ~ubs~ant1al
power. Shaft 92 is al50 adapted to be connected through
an electrically operated magnetic clutch 94 to shaft 95 of
~n electr~c motor 9G of leg~ power which dxives ~ha~t 94
~t a ~ubstantially lower spe~d than motor ~ha~ 92, through
20 - -
11~4~95~L
~eax reducer 97 int~ral wlth mo~or 95. Motor~ 93 and 96
may be o ~lown types.
Wh~n the clutch 94 i8 disconnected and the moto;:
93 i5 energizsd and motor 96 preferably de~en~r~ized, the
trolley 52 can travel at a relatively high ~peed on the
bridge 51. When clutch 94 i8 en~a~ed and m~tor 93 is de-
energized while unit 96 i~ energize~, the trolle~ 52 travel~
at a ~bstantially lower speed. Therefore, while motor 96
is energized for low speed operation e the trolley the
motor 93 is de-energized and i9 rotated from mo~or 96: while
motor 93 i~ energized for high ~peed operation of the trolley
motor 96 i8 de-energized and disconnected by clutch 94 from
the transmis~ion unit and Motor 96 to prevent damage to
motox 96 from over~peeding. These di~ference~ of speeds are
to enable ~he trollsy ~o be moved along tke bridge by motor
93 at a relatively high speed to within a clo3e di~tance of
itB de~tination, and then to be moved slowly by motor 96 to
it~ f~nal location. Moreover, each o motors 93 and 96
resp~ctively has its own isolated power }ine~ ~orming part
of known energizing and control mean~ diagrammatically
indicated at 93e and 96e (Figures 10, 50) connected to and
controlled ~rom control ~tation 14. The clutch is al80
energized and controlled from the control sta~ion 1~ by
mean~ diagrammatically indicated at 94e which ~ay be of
known type. Con~equently, in the event of fàilure of
either one of the motors or its power lines, the trolley
can till be moved on the brLdge by the other motor to a
de~ired location on the bridge.
Two wheelg 71 o~ the bri~ge ax~ freely rotatable,
whil~ the other two wheels 72 are driven (Figures 5, 13) by
meane ~imilar to that which drive~ the trolley. In this
ca~e, each wheel 72 i~ connected to a drive sha~t 97 that
- 21 -
~L04~
1~ conn~cted through ur.iversal joint~ ~ to the output sl~aft
99 of a kran~mi~ion unit 100 ~ubstantially ident1cal with
the transmissi.on unlt 81 that drive~ t.he troll~yO Power i~
supplied to this tran~mission unit bv a motor 101 o~ ~ub-
~tantial power that is adapted to provid~ a relati~ely high
speed drive, and alternatively by geared doTnn motor 102 of
lower power to drive the bridge at à relatively low speed.
The mechanism lnside of transmis~ion unit 100 is essentially
the same a~ that of transmission unit 81 on the ~rolley and
includ~ a clutch adapted to be el~ctrica~ly ~nerc3ized an~l
controlled through mean~ 103e rom control station ].~ by
Xnown ~eans to connect and disconnect. motor ~02 ~rom t.ran~~
mi~sion output ~haft 99. Motor~ 101 and 102 are al90 adap-
ted to be electrically energized and controlled by known
mean~ lOle and 'O~e from ~tation 14. In ~his ca~e aiso,
higher speed motor 101 is adap~ed to move the ~ridge to ths
vicinity of its final de~tination at a relatively high speed,
and then can be de-energized and lower ~peed motor 102 can
be energized to move the bridge slowly to it~ final destin~-
tion. Moreo~er, each of motor~ 101 and 102 has its own
isolated independent electrical power supply means and is
independently controlled rrom station 14, 90 that in the
eYent of failure of either of the motor units or its power
supply means, the other mo~or unit can be used to move the
bridge to area 8 a~ ~ar away as po~ible from vaults 12 and
13 90 maintenance can be safely p~rformed.
Trolley 52 al~o contains grab hoisting mean6 104
(F~gures 5-10, 14-17) which comprise~ a winch drum 105
adapted to wind on and unwind ~rom it lifting cable~ 106,
107 and 108 that support and ral~e and lower the grab 53~
Thi~ three ~able arrangement 3upport~ the grab ~n a level
po~ition with great stability ~o that tilting o~ thel g~ab
- 22 -
3~ 9~
~ 8 prevont~d and s~ringincJ 1~ eli.mina~ed; it al~o help~
insure accuracy of grab location~ and provide~ added sae~y.
The winch dr-lnl 105 is adclp~ed to ~e rotated b~ a pGwcr unit
109 (Figure 7), and is also adapted by means 110 to be moved
longitudinally a~ required to cause the cablcs to wind o~
and unwind from the drum wlthout piling up on the drwn and
al~o to cause the locations w~ere the cables wind on and
leave the drum to remain laterally fixed with r~spect to the
trolley.
The power unit ~or rotating the drum comprises
(Figure~ 7, 9, 10, 14, lS) a known commercial unit suc~ as
the "Reuland Hydraulic P~lmp Mount Mokor", manufactured ~y
Reuland Electric Company of How~ 1ichigan and Indu~tr
Caliornia. ~h~g unit comprises a first relativ~ly high
power, high speed electric rnotor 112, and a second relatlvely
low pcwer, low spead electric motor 113 each directl~ con-
nected to a shaft 114 (Figure 14) that through a gear redu-
cer unit il5 rotates the shaft 116. An indi.vidu~lly elec-
trically operable ~rake unit 117 i5 al50 connected to sh~rt
114. Each of motors 112 and 113 has its own isolated power
lin~s and is independently controlled from control sta~ion
1~ by known means 112e and 113e (~'igures 10, 50): brake unit
117 is also independently controlled as required from the
control station 14 by either of two isolated electrical
circuits 117e and 117e'. By this means motor`112 (operat-
ing for example at 1800 rpm) can cause the winch drum to
rotate at a relatisrel:y high speed or relatively high speed
operation to bring the grab into relatively close proximity
to its ultimate height l~vel for its destination, and than
motor 112 can b~ de-energ1zed and the other motor 113 [oper-
ating for example at 450 rpm) can be energized to rotat~ the
~rum relatively slowly to accurately locate the y:rab at it~
- 23 -
1~44~
proper l.evel. ~loreover, this arrange~ent make~ po~sible a
~aet~ feature in that if either of ~he mokor~ ~ails or its
power ~upply unit fails, ~he other motor ~an be ~nergl~ed
to lower the grab or to raise it, with or ~ithout a drum D,
and enable the trolley to be moved and bridge to be moved
to a place where the failed unlt can be corrected.
The brake unit 117 i~ of the ~ipring loadecl type
that applies braking ~orce to the sha~t 11~ when the brake
unit is not energized, and must be energized te relea~e the
brake to allow the ~hàft to turn, which prov.id~ another
saf e~y f eature.
Shaf t 114 (Fi~ures 14, 16) drives ~ worm 118 that
meshes with a worm wheel 119 rigidly mounted on a rot~table
axle portion 121 that slidably but non-rotata~ly carries
sha~ 116 on which the winch drum 105 is rigidl~ mounted.
One end of sha~t 116 is carried by a bearing 122 in a sleeve
123 that rotatably and slidably support~ shaft 116. 'rhe
other end o~ sha~r 116 has ~n internal screw thread portiQr.
124 that me~he~ with an externally threaded screw 125 ri~idly
carxied at the end of the housing reducel~ 115. As the wo.~m
wheel 119 rotates, it rotates snaft 116 and the drum 105 on
it. Since screw 125 is stationary on the trolley~ rot~t~on
of sha~t 116 cau~e~ the shaft and it~ winch drum to move
axially by interaction o~ threaded portion~ 124, 125. The
thread pitch of the~e portion~ is such that they cause the
drum so to move axially that the cables 106, 107, 108 wind
on and off of the drum without lateral movement relative ~.
the trolley of the location where any cable winds on or
. unwind~ from the drum. The winch drum iB of the ~ame dia-
meter where the cables 106, 107, 108 wind on and off the
drum and these portions o~ the drum pre~erably have hellcal
groove~ 126 or each cable to aid in in~urin~ level unwlnd-
- ~4 - .
ing and windi.nq of the cable~ and maintainillg later~l po~l-
ti~n~ of the c.ables relative to the trolley. Therefore all
cable~ un~ind ana wind evenly and at the same rate and i~
unchanged latsral po~itions relative to the tr~lley to
prevent tilting o the grab, provide a ~table level po~,ition
of the grab, simplify control of the grcl~, and contribute to
3afety.
Because of the worm 118 and worm gear 119 and
brake 117, thc winch is self braking and halts when its
power ~upply i~ de-enèrgiæed. The apparatus also includes
(Figure 14) a disk 127 fi~ed to the ~nd of the worm, having
a notched periphery that passes through a proximity ~l~i.tch
128 that ~ct~ a~ a counter connecte~ to known mean~ 123e
compri~ing known indicatiny means in the control station 14
to indicate the numb~r o revolutio~ of the worm and hence
of the winch drum 105. The height of the grab can thu~ be
indicated in the control station.
The trolley al~o carries an upwardly direc~ed
televi~ion camera 56 of known type connected by known mean~
56e (Figure~ 17, 50) ~o the monitor scresn 56 and controls
in the control station, to show on the screen the scene that
i3 viewed by the camera, including locating indicia 55.
Utiliæing this mean~, and by Ruitable control o~ the bridge
and the trolleyf the trolley can be properly positioned to
enable the grab 53 to be located over a drum or other item
to be handled, a-~ will be described later. Light fixtures
129 of known type may be mounted adjacent the television
camera to illuminate upwardly the sc~ne viewed by the up-
wardly facing television camera. These light fixtures ~re
divlded into two 3eparate ~ets each set having its own
l~olated known circuit means 129e ~y which it i~ electric-
ally energ~zea and controlled from control ~tation 14.
- 25 -
3~1
Th0 trollcy 52 has an opening 130 through which
the three cable~ 10~, 10~ and 108 extend downwardl.y t.o
support 'he grab 53. The~e cable~ are arranged o that
they support the grab at locations that are equldistantly
and ~quiangularly spaced around an axi~ A of the gr~b. To
accomplish thi~, cable 107 pa~ses directly rom winch drum
105 to the grab, whiie cables 106 and 108 pa~39 frola the
winch drum lOS over guid~ pulleys 131 and 132 ~ixed to the
trolley and under weighted pulleys 133 and 134 fixed to
supporting and tension senqing means 135. Means 135 oper
ate~ so that if cable 106 or 108 becomes slack or loses
tension its weighted pulley 133 or 134 will lower and also
trip a known limi~ing device 13~ ~E~igure 7) such ag a limit
switch, the function of which will be later described.
Trolle~ 52 includes means for automatically limit-
ing and halting upward travel of the grab 53. The illus-
trated means comprises (Figures 7, S) duplicate limit
switch~ 137 mounted on the trolley and having a common
actuating lever 138, the free movable end of which extend~
over trolley opening 130 ~o the end can be contacted and
moved by the top of the grab 53 when it reaches the up~er
end of .ts travel. The le~Jex 138 is a~fixed to duplicate
cams 139 that actuate the limit 3witches to interrupt
electrical current to whichever o~ hoist motor~ 112 or 113
i5 operating; the circuitry is such that when the gra~ is
to be lowered, the circuits to the motor~ can be completed.
Thus the trolley has redundancy of power means
and controls ~o that if one power means that moves the
trolley or grab fails, another completely ~eparate power
and control ~ystem is available~ and if one set o~ light~
129 fails, the other i9 independently available.
.Grabs The grab S3 (Flgure~ 9, 10, 18-22~ which
lO~S~
ls adapted to b~ raisod clnd lower~d by three c~bles 106~
107 and 108 colnprl~ a rigld frame 140 to which the lower
ende of ~he ca~le~ are conn~cted, e~ch through a 1eJI~th
adjustlng means 141 to perrnit th~ length of all of the
cables to be accurately equali~ed to support th~ grab in
the de~ired level horizontal position. Fr~me 140 i.9 of
generally circular conf iguration and ha~ a central axis A
about which the cables are equidistantly and equiangularly
located. Frame 140 rotatably ~uc)ports by bearing ~;tructure
142 a subframe 143 that is rotatable abou~ axis ~. Sub~rame
143 carries, equidistantly and e~uiangularly ab~ut axi~ ~,
three set~ of clamping fingers 144 adapted to clamp the up-
standing edge 5~ o eac~ drum D. Each set of finger~ cozn-
prises ~Figurss 9, 10, 1'~ a ~ing~r member 145 that i~
pivotally ~upported at it~ upper end xom franle 1~3 ~nd has
a toothed jaw portion 146 rigidly joined to its lower end.
This finger member is limited against inward tiltin~ move-
ment by its inwardly trano.ver~e lug 147 that bea~s ag2inst
a ~top nut 148 adjustably mounted on a bolt 149 t~readed
into subframe 143; and the finger membe~ is yieldably
limited against outward tilting movement by co~pre~sion
~pring 151 that ~ears against ~he other side of transverse
lug 1~7 and again~t a nut 152 adjustably threaded on bolt
149 .
Finger member 145 pivotally carries near it~
lower end a cooperating finger member 153 that has a d~wn-
wardly extending portion 154 carrying a jaw portion 155
adapted to cooperate with jaw portion 146 of member ~5
and a gulde portion 15~ that engages the outer side of the
30 drum to assist alignment of the grab with the drum. Finger
member 153 i~ o~ bQll crank shape and ha~ a tran6versely
extending portion 157 pivotally connected through yoke
27 --
~44~
link 158, compres~lon ~rlng 159 and bol~ 160 to vertic-
ally movable ~ctuating mem~ex 162. Actuc~tinq member 162
~omprls~3 a lower portion 16~ to which :Link 158 o~ each
Ret of fin~crs i~ connected, and a guide portion 164 that
en~age3 a grooved gu~de mernber 165 fixed to rotatable sub-
frame 143 to prevent rotation of the actuating member rela-
tive to the subframe.
Actuating member 162 1~ moved vertically a~ re
quired by a gear member 166 rotatably but immovably axlally
supported on ~ubframe 143 and having external teeth 167 and
internal threads 168 that engaqe eY.ternal threads 169 on
actuating member 162. Gear member 1~ is rotated by a
pinion 171 non-rotably mounted on a ~haft 172 rotatabl~
carri~d by 3ubframe 143 and rigidl~ rnountin~ a gear 173 th~t
is rotated a~ required (Fi~ure 18) b~ either OL both of gear~
174 and 175 mounted on electric motor~ 176 and 177. Prefer-
~bly only one of these motors will be eneryi~ed at a time,
- although both could be. ~a~h of the motor~ has an individ-
ual isolated power supply and i~ lndividually controlled
from control station 14 by known mean~ diagra~oatically
indica~ed at 176e and 177e. These two motors are provlded
to insure that in the event o~ f~ilure o~ cither motor or
its power suppl~, the other motor could actuate t~e ~inger
~ets 1440 It is apparent that wher. either of the motors
i~ actuated and ~ear member 166 i6 rotated to raise the
a~tuating member 162~ the finger members 145 and 153 of
each set will close to grasp an edge of the drum; and when
either of the motors is rota~ed to cause the actuat:ing
memb~r to move downwardly, the finger members o~ each set
are opened. Upward and downward movement of men~er 162 is
properly limited ~Figure 21) by ~ngaqement of vertically
~pac~d ~top membcrs 178 and L79 ad~ustably mounted on the
a -
upper end of actuating member 162, with actuating member~
180 of duplicate electrical limit ~witches 181 that are
suitably conn~ted to motor~ 176, 177. Known circuit mean~
181e makes this pos~ible and al~o send~ signal~ to control
~tation 14 yiving information of the op~n or closed p~8i-
tions of the finger men~bers 153. Operatl~n o~ the finger
~ets 144 is also reported visually by came~aS8 to the control
~tation.
Subframe 143 carrying finger sets 144 and motors
176 and 177 is adapted to be rotated on frame 140 as
required by an electric motor 183 on sub~rame 143 drivin~
a worm 184 engaging a worm gear 185 that drives through
shaft 186 and flexible coupling 187 a shaft 188 rotably
mounted on ~he 9ub~ame. Shaft 188 rigidly carries ~ drive
pinion 18g havin~ external teeth that engage internal teeth
; of an internal annular gear 190 bolted to ~rame 140. Motor
183 has it~ own independent power supply and is adapted to
be controlled as required ~rom ~he control station 14 by
known means 183e. By energization of motor 183, subframe
143 carrying finger set~ 144 can be rotated as required
about axi~ A to locate the grab fingers properly to grasp
the de~lred drum or other object to be grasped, ox to
orient the ~ingers or load carried by the grab to a desirea
angular position about axi5 ~ to clear parts of the appara-
tu~ or durm~ or other objects. In the illustrated embodi-
ment, the amount of rotation ~s contr~lled and limited by
engagement of the movable member 192 tFigures 18, 20) of
limit switch 193 mounted on subframe 143 with angularly
spaced ~tops 19* and 195 fixed on frame 140. The angular
di~tance between ~tops 194 and 195 is ~omewhat over 120,
permitting the ~ub~rame and its fin~er~ to be rotated ~o
that the ~et~ of inger~ can c~ver a 360~ circumference.
- 29 -
., ~O~
Th~ ~lnger~ thuq can be turned to engage any de~lred portion
of the circumferential edge S0 of a drum D. The fin~ers can
readily grasp drums of varying sizes or out of round shapes,
because of the pivoted support~ of generally parallel member~
145 and 158 and the ~paced pivotal connections t~ these mem-
ber3 of portion 157 of member 153. These supports and ~onnec-
tion~ permit the fingex ~ets to move substantial distance~
laterally and still be operative to grasp a drum edge. Guide
portions 156 of members 153 can move the ~inger sets to accom-
modate out of round or differentl~ sized dxums.
Grab 53 also includes the television camera 58 thatis directed downwardly. This television camera is mounted
on a cover member 196 that is xlgidly carried by main frame
140 of the grab, and i~ coaxial with the axis A o~ ~rame 140.
It is located within the actuating member 162 which is made
tubular for the purpose. Cable 197 carries the necessary
wiring ~or the camera. Cover member 196 completely enclose~
the upper portion of ths grab. The cover member and n~als
198 and 199 between the main frame 140 and the subframe 143
20. in~ure against entrance of dust or other contamination to
the bearings and gears to reduce maintenance problems.
Electric power i~ supplied to the grab by cables one of
which is shown at 200: each of the cables i~ looped in a
hou~ing 201 to provide a length o~ cable that maintain~
electrical connections as portion 143 of the`grab rotates;
the housing prevents ~na~ging of the cable on other parts
o~ the grab apparatus. Downward illumination .is provided
by lamp~ 202 connected to the subframe 143 around the lower
~dge of television camera 627 the lamps are divided into
two ~et~ each having ~t~ own indivi~ual isolated cixcuit
means 202e by which it i6 energized and controlled from
~ontrol station 14. Brackets 202a may be pro~iclecl to
- 30 -
protect the lamp~ again~t dam~ge.
Equiangularly spac~d annular yuide~ 203 on the
outer periphe~ry of the yrab enga~e sl.otted guicle hr~ckets
20~ ~Figures 18, 22) on the troll~y when the grab ls in it~
uppermo~t position, thu~ laterally steadying the grab and
its load when he trolley or bridye i6 accelerated or decel-
erated.
It is apparen~ from ~igures 23~27 that the tele-
vision camera 58 has, on or adj~cent to its len~ where it
will show on the viewing screen 59, cross hairs 205 and
markings 206, 207, 208, shown on the viewing screer~s illu~-
trated in Figures 24-27. The centers of the cross hairs
are located on axis A o the grab and the mar~ings 2~-20
indicate radial distances from the axis ~. ConsequentLy
an operator at control station 1~ viewing the monitor screen
5~ connected to camera 58 can determine the distance of the
grab from the top of a selected drum after the grab has been
located over the drum. Figures ~3-27 illustrate how an
operator can deter~i~e the distance o~ the grab rom drum D.
Reference numeral 58a indicates television camera 58 and
grab 53 at the ~arthest distance from the drum, and Figure
24 illustrates the corresponding view oX the drum as shown
on screen 59. ~he next arthest camera and grab position
i~ indicated by 58b, while corresponding Figure 25 show~
the drum D as larger. The next farthe~t pos~tion of the
camera and grab are indicated by 58c, while Figure 2~
depicts the corre~ponding view on ~cxeen 59 in which drum
D occupies almost the entire depth of the screen. The
~lo~e~t po~ition o~ the came~ and gra~ to drum D are
30 indicated by 58d and the view on screen 59 iB represented
by ~lgure 27 ~howing the outline o the cap openlng
structure C at the center o the ~op ~urfac~ o~ the drum.
~ 5 ~
W}~en the cal~ opening structure C i~ of proper BiZe on the
~creen to corr~spond with markinc3s 207 at the camera lens,
the operator ~ow~ that the grab i8 at the propcr height
and proporly aligned with th~ axis o~ the drum to enable
fingcr members 145 and 153 of the grab to be actuated to
grasp properly the top edge of the drwrl as shown in
Figures 8 and 9. When the grab is at the proper height
as shown in Figure 27 on ~creen 59, he reduce~ the lowering
speed; as ~he fingers of the gra~ contact the top of the
lO drum, the cable~ 106, 107, 10~ become loose, allowing
weighted pulleys 133, 13~ to move down on the trolley and
trip limit switch 136, which through known circuit means
stops operation o~ the grab hoisting mean~ 104. Thi~ limit
~witch alE.o ~erve~ as an interlocli to pxevent the ~ingers
o~ set~ 1~}4 ~rom opening when th~ drum ~ i9 in hoi~ted
- position.
The trolley 52 and grab 53 can be readily properly
located with reference to a drum to be picked up or deposi-
ted, by use of indicating means 54 (Figures 2, 3, 23, 29)
that is viewed by the upwaraly directed television camera
56 on the trolley. The means 54 illustrated compri~es
supporting rames 209 ~upported and extending near the
ceiling of the building to ~upport the location lndicators
55 at predetermined locations, so they clear all parts of
the crane apparatus. One indicator 55 i~ provided for each
horizontal drum location. Indicators are therefore provi-
ded to locate all drum~ in each of the storage vaults, to
locate a drum for each position in each drumming ~tation
where the crane ~g to handle a drum~ and to locate all
drum~ in the genexal storage location 8. Crossing ~rame
portion~ 209 at each indicator provide a target ~or ~he
camera 56. Indicator~ bear an accurate relationship to
- 32 -
~ 495~
th~ cLnTQr po~ition de9ired for a drum. By ~uitable con-
trol from ~tation 1~, trolley 52 may bo mov~d ~o an appro-
priate mark on or near the len~, and preerably at the
cQnter of the lens, o~ television camera 56 on the trollay
1~ aligned with the target on the appropriate indicator 55
for the de~ired location. By ~uitable further control from
station 14 of trolle~ 52 and grab 53 the ~rab can be lowered
and cau~ed to grasp ~he drum as previo~sly described, and
to be raised to lift the drum and lower it and relea~e it
in a desired location.
. Pr~ferably, each indica~or 55 has two designa~ions,
one for a direction paralleL to an X axis extending longi-
tudinally o the building and o~e for a clir~ction parallel
~o a Y axiæ extending across the buildin~; in the cmbodi-
ment illu~t,ra~ed (~'igur~ 29), each indicator 55 ;.s made up
of two portions 55a and 55b fixed to frame 209 ~t the proper
location, portion 55a carrying a n~ber designation and
portion 55b carrying letter de~ignation.
The indicators 55 and hence the drums are located
on center~ a predetermined dis~ance apaxt in the X and Y
directions in the stora~e vaulL ~nd in general 6torage area
8. The drums in the lowermos~ layer in ~he vaults and
storage are~ are e~uidistantly spaced in the horizontal X
and Y directions; the drum~ in the second layer are offset
by half the distance between the centers of the drums in
~he first layer in the horizontal ~ and Y direction~, so
that each of the drums in the second layer i8 firmly 8Up-
ported by four drums below it in the lowermost layer; the
drums in the third or top layer are also equidi~tantly
located in the layer ~o that each drum is ~upported by
~our drums b ~ow it ln the second la~er and directly ~ver
: a drwm in the ~irst layer. The indicator~ 55 on the
r
indicating means 54 axe prop~rly located and identi1~d to
provlde ~or thi~.
Wh~n the drums are stac~ed in tiers a~ in the
illu~trated embodiment 50 that drum~ in a higher tier are
directly over drums in a lower tier, it ls desiLa~le to
have additional coded markings to indicate each location in
which a drum may be directly over another, to alert the
operator to watch the appropriate surve;illance camera screen
to check which tier of drums for whi~h he is handling a drum;
he could then watch the grab the grab elevation read-out in
the control ~ation to decelerate and halt the ~rab at the
proper level.
In the illu~trated crane apparatus ~he vari.ous
wir~ for transmittin~ electrical enercJy or power and
con~rol purposes are ènc~sed in cables, which are pa.~sed
through means that compensate for changes in lenyth o~ the
cable due to movement of parts of the crane apparatus.
Thus, a~ shown in Figure 5, cable 210 passes through means
211 that compensates for changes .in cable length as the
bridge 51 passes along the track 47s and as zho~n in Figure
6, cable 212 pas5es through me.ns 213 that comp~nsates for
changes in the cable length as the. trolley 52 travels on
the b.ridge. The length compensating means 211 and 213
shown are like that disclosed in British patent 979,862
published January 6, 1965, but other types may ~e employed.
If desired, means may also be provided for the trolley to
compensate for changes in length of cable between the
trolley and grab.
Drumminq Station
General Arran~ement of Drun~ing Station: Each
drummin~ station (Figures 1, 2, 30-33) has sub~tantially
identical appara~us; for convenience only the apparatu0 in
- 34 -
10~5~
dxumming ~a~ion lO will be des~xibed, it being understood
that the appaxatu~ 1n the other drumming station i~ identi-
cal ~xcept ~r situation~ where parts may be of the othex
hand or convenience ln installation or operation. Corre~
spor~ding parts will have identical reference characters in
both drumming stations.
The apparatus in each drun~}ng ~tati~n comprises
6ubstantially the same four basic components: a metal shield
wall 214, drumming equipment 215, a decanting tank 216 and
a ~et of metering pumps 217a,b,c. While the relative posi--
tion~ o~ these components could b~ chang~d the basic func-
tion o each remain~ the 9ameO 80 the drumming station
apparatus can be installed in a right or left hand arrango-
ment, if such posi~ioning is re~uired or desired.
Shield T~all: The shield wall 2]4 serves as a
locating and anchoring means for the other components 21S,
216, 217a, b, c. It is formsd of strong me~al to support
the other co~ponents and to serve as a barrier to stop the
escape of harmful radiation from the ~ide of the ~hield
wall carrying ~hese components, to the o~her si~e. The
shield wall ~ay be of any oE various thic~nesses, depend-
ing on thc intensity of radiation expected te be encountered;
~ince it i~ formed of metal its thickness is substantially
le~s than conventional shielding such as concrete; moreover
the faces o the shield wall may be machined, drilled and
bored to present accurate surfaces for equipment mounting
and uniform smooth surfaces for cleaning if raquired. Use
of the metallic shield wall and its resulting lesser thick-
ne~ ~implifies drlve connections and maintenance woxk done
throu~h the shield wall. A shield wall of steel approx-
imately 12 inche~ thick i~ advantageous for most uses of
the inven t lon .
-- 35 --
~4~5~
The ~hield wall i~ rigidly but demountably
attached. to the concrete building wall 29 or 30 by an accur-
atel~ macnined, grouted in ~rame 218 (Figure~ 31, 32) ;ur-
rounding wall opening 219 to which tha shield wall is
secured by bolts and nuts 2~0 on t:he safe ~ide of the ~hield
wall~ Preferably, the ~hield wall has a supporting sye 221
at its top. Therefore, the shield wall can be demounted
with the other components still attached, and bodily re~
moved as by an overhead crane to a remote location for main-
tenance or repair the cantilever mounting of ~he componentsmounted on the shield wall, as describ~d below, ~acilitate~
thisJ the cantileve~ ~upporting of components al~o ~liminAtes
floor supports and facilitates cleaning. The ~hield wall
preerably overlaps the opening 219 to provide an offset
joint that prevents possi~le radiation leakage aro~md the
shield wall edges.
The shield wall may be divided into ~ections 21~a,
214b, 214c, by transverse joint~ 214d to facili~a~e easier
handling and ~hipping. These joint5 are offset or ~tepped
a~ ~hown in Figure 31 ~o prevent radiation leakage outwardly
to the safe side of the shield wall outside of the drumn.ing
station. As explained later, parts ~uch as drives tha~ pass
through the ~hield wall are also sealed to removable plUg8,
as at 222, 223, 224 that orm similar offset or stepped
joint-q to prevent radiation leakag~. Where space or design
doe~ not permit sealing to an ofset or ~tepped plug, a
secondary shield 225 is provided tv block radiation escape.
_umminq Equipments The drumming equipment 215 il-
- lu~trated a closed housing 226 ~upported ~rom the s~de o~
30 the ~hield wall fa~ing into the drummlng ~tation. This
housing tFlgures 30-33) .ha~ up6tandlng ~ides 227, 22a
carrying detachably moun~ed acce~ plates 229. T.he top 231
~ 36 ~
3~
of the hou~ing has a hatch op~nlng 232 ~urrounded by ul~ard
~lange 233, closed by a hinged hatch cover 23~ having inner
and outer downward flanges 235 that overlap flange 233 in
the closed positlon to prevent e~cape o radioactive mater-
ial. The housing and hatch cover when closed provide a
closed enclosure in which drum loading and mi~ing occurs.
The hatch cover permits access to the enclosure for intru-
duction or removal of drums, while preventing ~scape intothe atmosphere of air displaced by material~ loaded into
the drum, and while preventing escape of radioactive mater-
ial due to spla~hing should the drum ~ing processed develop
a leak or ~hould ma~erial be aecid~n~a1ly 9pill~cl du~ing
the loading operation. Hatch cover 23~ can be moved to
closed and open positions by a lever 236 pivotally supported
on housing 22~ and is rigidly secured ko an arm 237 carrying
the hatch cover through a re~ilient connection 238. Lever
236 is actuated rom the safe ~i~e of the shield wall by a
known fluid-operated cylinder 239, the fluid valves 240 of
which are controlled by known means 240e ~rom the control
station 14. The cylinder is spring loaded to close the
hatch if the energizing fluid ~ails, ~or saf~tyJ the s~ring
load can be overridden by hand or by mechanical means.
Housing 226 has a venting conduit 226a preferably connected
to a closed venting system.
A fixed loading dock 241 is externally mounted
at one side of the housing 226 and i~ adap~ed to support
a drum to b~ filled that is first deposited by the crane
on this dock. A ~ixed unloading dock 242 is ext~rnally
mounted on the other side of housing 226; a drum removed
from houslng 226 is ~et by the crane on thi~ unloading
dock, and the intensity of radiation emanating rom the
drum i8 measured by known radiation monitor mean~ 24~ that
- 37 -
~nd~ by known mean~ 243e electrical ~ignal~ to the control
~tation 1~ whore the information i~ noted, Each of the
loadlng and unloadlng docks carries a ~cale 244 conn~cte.d
with known mean~ ~or reporting the scale reading to ~he
control station. The 6cales are adapted to be removed from
and placed on their supporting stations by the grcab, ~o if
nece~ary the ~cales can be serviced in a radiation free
area.
In~ide of drumming equipment 216 i5 a drum posi-
tioner cradle mechanism 245 (Figures 31~ 34a, 34b) adapted
to carry a drum and move it (Figure 32) about a vertical
axis P from a drum loading and unloading position "I", then
to a fir~t intermediate position "II" in which the drum i9
clamped into it3 cradle in a vertical position, then to a
second intermediate position "III" in whic~ the drum i~
opened by unscrewing and rem~ving its cap, then to a third
intermediate po~ition "IV" where the drum i9 filled then
back to intermediate position "III" in which the drum is
closed or capped,then to intermediate po~ition "II" wher~
the dxum i8 turned end-over-end to agitate and mix its
contents, rom which po~ition the cradle returns the drum
to locakion "I" under the hatch ~rom where the clrum can be
xemoved by ~rab 53. The cradle mechani~m compri~es a
vertical shaft 246 (Figures.30-32, 3~a) on which a cradle
frame 247 is rigidl~ moun~ed; the ~ha~t is rotatably and
vertically slidably mounted in bearings 248, 249 mounted
at ~he top and bottom of hou~ing 226. A cradle 251 rotat-
ably ~upported in the cradle frame ~y bearings in two
spaced hub portion~ 2520 253 o~ the ~radle ~rame for rota-
~ion ahout a horizontal axi~ H on its cradle frame whichthus ~c>rm~ a trunnion ln which the cradle can be rotat~d
to impart o the drum the de~ired end-over-end motion to
- 38 -
thoroughly mix the content~ of the drum, tumbl~ng movemant
~ the 1006e mixing welght~ DW ~Figue~ 5, 6, 31~ in ths drum
aiding this mixing.
The cradle frame 247 i~ moved to angular po~it.ion~
I, II, IlI, IV indicated a~ove by actuat~ing means (Fiyures
30, 31) comprising a lever arm 254 rigidl.y moun~ed on the
lower end of shaft 246 and pivotally connected to a rod 255
that may be reciprocated a~ required by a known mechanism
~56 driven from an electric motor 257 energization of which
is controlled by known mean~ 257e from control station 14.
The linear travel provided by mechanism 256 may be controlled
by known means acc~uratel~ to stop the cradle in ~he various
angula~ pO8itiGI18 as described above.
The cradl~ ~rame 247, its supportinc3 sha~t 246
and cradle 251 carrying a drum can be raised and lowered as
required to permit movement of the craclle and perormance of
necessary steps in the position~ I-IV, by a known type o~
srrew jack mechanism 258 (Figures 30, 31,32) ac~uated by a
drive shaft 259 extending through the shield wall to its
safe side. Shaft 259 is rotated as recIuired by a gear box
electrlc motor combination 260, controlled by known means
260a from the control station to raise the cradle to an
upper elevation reerred hereafter as the "U'` elevation in
po~itions III and IV, and to lower the cradle to a lower
elevation hereinafter referred to as the "L" elevation for
movement between the positions and for operating in po~i-
tion~ I and II.
When ~he cradle frame 247 iQ rai~ed to elevation
U in either of pc)sition~ III or IV, an upwardl~ pr~jecting
tapered dowel pin 261 ~Figures 31, 34a, 35~ fixecl to the
top o the cradle frame engage~ ln the open~ng 261Cl of the
app~oprlate one o~ two hardened ~teel hu8hing~ 261b in the
_ 39 -
10~4951
top wall 231 of the housing 226. Thi~ aesurt?~ accurate and
po~itlve location of the cradle in po~ition~ III and IV for
~h~ g and capping operations that are carried out ln
these po~ition6.
When the cradle frame 247 i3 in any o~ position~
I, III, IV, cradle 251 can be held in a vert~cal position in
the cradle frame by a latch member 262 ~Figure 34a) pivotally
mounted on the cxadle frame and blased by compression spring
~63 to latch~ng positlon wh~re the beveled free end 264 of
member 262 engages between a pair of spaced lugs 265 on the
cradle. The la~ch member can be released from the cradle by
the tapered end 265 of a pin 267 that ex~ends through the
~hield wall and i~ adapted to be axially inser~ed into a
flare-mouthed socket 268 on the cradle to a depth sufficient
to contact and releas~ the latch member. When pin 267 is
so inserted, it secures frame 247 against angular or other
movement while the cradle is being ro~ated about it~ hori-
zontal axi3 ~ to agitate the contents of the drum. Af~er
such cradle rota ion has ceas~d and the cradle ha~ been
properly located with the drum vertical and its cap side
up by sultable known means ~uch as conventional ~lectxical
interlocking means, pin 267 i9 withdrawn ~rom socket 268,
and latch member 262 by the ~orce o~ spring 263 re engag~
the cradle to lock it in the vertical position with respect
to ~t~ frame 247. Pin 267 i~ moved axially as required by
a double acting fluid energized cylinder 269 having control
valves that are actuated in a known manner from control
~tation 14 by known electrical mean~ 269e (Fi~ure 503.
Cylinder 269 i~ equlpped with limit ~witches 270a
and 270b, operat~d by stop ~70c on the cylinder rod to
interlock through suitable conventional circuit mez~ to
pre~en~ startlng of the below de~cribed mean~ ~or rotating
- 40 -
the cradle whil~ the latch membsr ~62 enyages the cradle.
The drum may be centered ana firmly clamped in lt~
cradle 251 by clamping means ~3 shown in Figure~ 34A, B. ~wo
oppo~in~ c~amping arms 271 and 272 p~votally carry cl~mping
member~ 273, 274 and are rigidly mounteci on ~hafts 275, 276
pivotally mounted in the cradle about axes parallcl to the
drum axis. These shafts rigidl~ carry arms 277, 278 having
rounded outer ends 279 that ride in an external groove 281
o~ a member 28~ that i~ axially slidahly mounted in hub
portion 283 of ~he cradle in hub portion 253 of the cradle
frame neares~ the shield wall when the cxadle frame is in
position II-L. When member 282 moves axially away from the
dxum carried by the cradle, the clamping arm~ 271, 272 mov~
toward the drum and their clamping member~ firmly ¢ngage the
dx~n. When ~h~ member 282 move~ toward the drum, the clamp-
ing members relea~e the drum.
Member 282 i~ so moved by engagement or ~n intern--
ally threaded nut 284 rigidly mou~ted in member 2~2 with an
externally threaded screw 285 rota~ably but axially immov-
ably mounted on hub portion 283 of cradle 251~ Screw 285
has a projecting end 286 that has a polygonal preferably
hexa~onal cro~s section. When, a~ will be described later,
this polygonal end portion i~ enyaged and rotated relative
to the cradle, me~ber 282 will move axially and, depending
on its direction of rotation, will clamp or unclamp the drum.
The clamping means of ~he cradle is actuatea, and
the cradle itself may be rotated, provided that latch member
262 is released, by the means ~hown in Figures 34A, B which
comprise~ stapped plug 224 that fits through the shield wall
and carrie~ at the drumming ~tation side an lnternal bearing
287 and its o~her ~ide a removable gear box 288 carrying
another bearlng 289. These b~aring~ carry an eloncJated
5~1
member 291 ior rotation ahout an axi~ that 1~ coaxial with
thc axis ~1 of the cradle when the cr~dle i3 in drum rotating
po~ition II. Member 291 h~ an axial. open.in~3 292. On the
dxumming station side, member 291 carries a dxivin~ coupling
portion 2~3 adapted to engage and drive a dri~en coupling
portion 294 on hub portion 283 of the c:radle when the cradle
i9 in position II,
Driven coupling portion 294 has axial and radial
dog~ 295 adapted to fit l~osely in corresponding slots 296
of an in~ermcdiate coupling member 2~7 that is Llexibly
mounted, as by bolt~ 29~ threaded onto rubber moull~s 299 on
driving coupling portion 293. Intermediate me~n~er 297
its slde a~Jay from portion 293 has slots 3~0 al~ernatillg
with and spaced 90 angularly rom its slots 2g6. Driving
coupling portion 293 has radial and axial dogs 301 that can
loosely fit in slots 300. The driving coupling me~ber 297
thus flexibly mounted so it i5 capahle of sub~tantial but
limited lateral movement, so the driven coupling member can
engage and ~o the cradle can be rotated even i~ there is
substantial misali~nment of the two coupliny portions 293
and 294. By suiteable means of known type, the dog~ Z95 of
driven cradle coupling portion 294 and the slots 296 of .
intermediate member 297 ~lexibly mounted on driving portion
293 will always be positioned to extend horizontally when
the cradle is not rotating, so that these dogs and ~lots
can mate and engage when the cradle is swung into position
and to readily di~engage when the cradle i8 moved out
of such position. The power means for rotating the cradle
when i~ i~ in position II-L i8 electric motor 303 ~Figure
31) controlled by known mean 303e from control ~tation 14,
that i3 adapted to rotate member 291 through ~uitabl~ gear~
304 in g~ar box 288.
~LQ~9~
The hexagonal portion 286 for actuating the cl~mp-
ing arm~ can be engaged b~ a ~ocket 305 mounted on a shaft
306 th~t is rotatable and axi.ally ~ovable in memb~r 291.
Shaft 306 is moved axially as required 'by a double acting
~luid operated cylind~r 307 connected through bracket 3U8
to the end of the shaft on the ~a~e side of the shield wall
and controlled by conventi~nal mean~ 307e from station 14.
A~ter it~ socXet is engaged with polygonaL end portion 286,
the shaft is rotated as required to clamp or unclamp the
drum, by an electric motor 309 ~Figure 31) that rotates th~
shaft through suitable gears 310 in ge~rbox 311; motor 309
i~ cont~olled rom station 14 by suitable known means 309e.
Means ~or insuring that the cr~dle canno~ b~ rota~ed until
the drum i.s clampc~d in the cradle comprises a f~ler ro~
313 slidably coaxially mounted in sha~t 306 and biased
toward hexagonal portion 286 hy ~pring 214, and limik
~witches 315, 316 adapted to be actua~ed by a stop 317 on
the other end of the rod as it moves. When the rod i~
xetracted ~u~ficiently because of su~icient clampiny travel
of 3crew 285, the limit ~witche~ through suitable conven-
tional interlocking circuit means 315e, 31Ge permit rotation
o~ the cradles othexwise they do not.
The drw~ning station also includes cap handling
means 320 for remcving and replacing a screw cap 321 in the
top of a drum, (Figures 33, 36-38). After the drum is at
position III for cap removal, the cradle frame 247 is raised
to elevation U ~o raise the drum D carried by the cradle 251
so its cap 321 can be en`gaged by means 320.
When brought lnto the drumming stat~on according
to the illustrati~ process, each drum will contain a pre-
loaded accurately determlned amount of cement or other
~olidi~ying agent Da and one or more ~reel.y movable mixing
- 43 -
4~5:~L
~qigh~ I~ (Figure~ 5, 6, 313 which may takc the ~o.rm o
oblong piece~ of ~teel about 1-l/2" x l-:L/2" x 6" in dimen-
~ion~; a cap 321 closes the drum.
The drum, which i~ of generally cylindrical form,
- has (Figure 36) a cap opening ~tructure c at th~ center of
; the top wall 322 of the drum, comprising a steel collar 323
having an internal threaded opening 324, fixed in the top
wall 322 o~ the drum. Collar 323 has a radial flange 325
around the outer edge of which the top wall metal i5 crimped
at 326 to hold the collar securely in the drum; preferably a
sealing ring 327 is clamped between the drum mekal and the
flange 325 to provide a fluid-ti~ht seal between the collar
and the drum. The internally threaded openir~g 324 i9 adap~ed
to be closed by cap 321 that ha~ an external thread khat
pexmit~ ths cap to be ~crewed into the threaded opening.
The cap has a central depres~ion 328 of circular cross
~ec~ion with vertical serrations or other suitable gripping
~urface, and an outward radial flar.ge 329; cap 321 also
carries a sealing ring 330 that forms a fluid-tight seal
between the cap and the drum.
Cap handling mean~ 320 comprises frame structure
331 rigidly mounted on hou~ing ~26, and a wrench 332 xotat-
ably and axially mova~ly supported on the structure 331 to
grasp and remove and replace cap 321. The wrench is a
resilient expandable slotted collet that is rè~iliently
bia3ed to contract and ha~ an outer surface shaped to fit
~n~ide depre~sion 32B v~ the cap 80 that when the collet
i~ expanded it irm1y grasp~ the inner wall of the de-
pre~sion. The wrench 1~ expanded by a pull rod 333 having
: 30 an externally conical expanding porti~n 334 that beax~
against a matching lnternally conical surface 335 in the
wrench, so that when the pull rod 1~ drc~wn upwardly it
- 4~ -
~xpandq the wr~nch to grasp the cap.
The pull rod i~ drawn upwardly and moved down-
wardly as required by a cam 336 tFiguxe~ 37, 38) that i~ -
ro~ated ~bout its horiæontal aXiB to lift and ].ower a
follower 337 that is slidably mounted on frame ~tructure
331, and 6upport~ the pull rod ~or rotatable but no rela-
:: tive axial movement. ~he cam i-~ eQnnected to and rotated
(Figures 32, 33, 36~ by a shaft 338 that extends through
~hield wall 215 to a gearbox and electric motor unit 339
the motoL being controllable by conventional means 339e
from the station 14. The cam is shape~ to provide a pre-
deterrnined amount of ten~ion on the pull rod and collet
wrench 332 ~o permit ~he cap to be gripped wi~h adaquate
force to hold it ~ecurely ~or remo~al, but not to deform
it. When the cam 335 is turned so it move~ the cam follow~
er down, rod 333 is lowered, thus moving its conical por-
tion 334 ~ownwardly of the collet wrench and allowing the
wrench to contract tG release the cap.
While the wrench is engaged in the cap, the cap
is rotatsd by the cap handling mean~ 320 to unscrew the
cap to open the drum, and ater the radioactive material
ha~ been placed in the drum to ~crew the cap in the drum to
close it. For this purpose a hollow shaft 341 surrounds
and is coaxial with the wrench pull rod and is adapted to
~upport and rotate wrench 332. It is supported from frame
structure 331 for rotational and axial movement correlated
with the pi~ch o~ t~e thxead~ of cap 321 and opening 324.
The ~haft 341 is rotated by a worm gear 342 that drives a
worm wheel 343 rotatably but axially immovably supported
from fram~ 331. It ~ rotated tFigure~ 33, 36~ 383 a~
required by a shaft 344 extending through the shielcl wall
to a gearbox and electric motor unit 345 controlled from
- 45 -
~tation 14 by means 345e.
Shaft 341 is ~ bly but non--rotatabl~ onnec~ed
to worrn ~ar 343 and ha~ projectirl~ dcg~ 346 at it9 lower
; ~nd that ~ngage shoulders 347 on the wrench 332 to rotat~
it when ~haft 341 i8 rotated~ Vertical travel o the wrench
~haft and wrench are correlated with axi.al movement of the
cap as it screws in or out by a nut 348 riyidly carried by
~ ~rame 331 engaging a lead screw 3~9 ~ix~d to shaft 341, the
-~ nut and lead screw having thread~ o the same linear pitch
as the thread on the drum and cap, ~so a3 to r~tain exact
relationship between thr~adY in the drum and on the cap to
acilitate xecapping with~ut cro~threading. The cap hand-
ling means is so de~iyned ~ha~ cam 33~ maintain~ and holds
ten~ion on the pull. rod that cau~e~ the wrench to gra~p and
firsnly hoJ.d the cap durin~ the xemoval o~ the cap and i.n the
int~rim period while th~ drum i~ b~ing filled. Senslng
means 350 embodying sprin~ loaded eeler 350a and limit
~witch 350~ senses when the drum i9 in the proper position
to ha~e the cap removed or inserted, and through interlock
means permits the apparatus 320 to operate: otnerwise it
preven~s opera~ion~ .
After the cap has been removed at position III
the drum i8 r~ad~ ~o have the radioactive material pu~ in
it. This is accomplished by locatin~ the drum carrying
cradle 251 in the filling po~ition IV and li~ting the
cradle and drum to engage the opening 324 with the fill
nozzle 351 (Figures 32, 39, ~0) in the top wall 231 o~
housing ~26. Nozzle 351 compri~es a mounting bo~ 352
fixed to the top wall 231 and rigidly detachably carrying
a nozzle portion 353 havin~ a tapered lower erld adapted to
pro~ect through opening 324 into th~ dxu~n D, a~d carrying
veral downwardly through openin~ 354a, b, c: 354a b~ing
- 46 -
s~
~or intro~uctlon into the drum of radioactiv~ resi~ di~per-
~ion ~rom the decanting tank, 354b for evaporator bottom~,
and 354c being for venting during ~illing, being connected
by conduit 354d to a clo~ed venting ~ystem, ~ot shown. The
nozzle portion al~o has a smaller opening 3~5 that may be
connected to means 355a ~or sensing the level o~ liquid in
~he drum, such as known means for ~ensing back pre~ure
when the drum has been fille~ to the le~el of the bottom
opening of vent 355.
~ozzle portion 353 slidably carried a collar 356
that is biased downwardly by compression spring 357 and
downwardly limited by stop bolt~ 358. Collar 356 engage~
the drum top and seal~ with collar sealing ring 359 arouncl
the drum ope~ing 32~ to insure ventiny through the proper
pas~ge and prevent splashing or leakage during the filling
operation. Openings 354a an~ 354b in the no~zle will be
xe~pectively connected to a decanting tank and to a source
of evapor~tor bottoms through metering pumps to be dea-
cribed later.
_ a _ n~l_Tank: Decanting tanlc 216 ~Figures 30,
31, 47j is a ~lo~ed tank ~ormed of corrosioll re~istant
durable metal, such as ~tainless ateel, and is can~ilever
supported from shield wall 21~. The tank has a frusto-
conical lower portion 360 to aid in emptying material from
the tank. A dl~persion or slurry of radio-active resin
particle~ in water is supplied to the tank from a suitable
~ource ~uch aa a pipe 361 connected to a plant holding
tank, by pump 217b connected to pipe 362 opening into the
bottom of tank 216. The decanting tank ha~ an internal
mixer 363 ~or ~tlrring the material in the tank wllen
desired~ ~hat shown comprisea three propeller~ 36~
mounted on a common ~haft 365 rotatable about a vertlcal
- 47
axi~ aligned with the central axi~ of the tank. Thi~
shaft 1~ rot~ted through a gearbox 36~ by a drive 3ha~t
367 extei.~ing through the shield wall from an electric
drive motor 36~ on the safe side of the ~hield wall. As
desirsd the motor can be ener~ized and controlle~ from
control 3tatlon 1~ by conventional m~an~ ~68e to cause
propellers 364 to mix thoroughly the makerial in the tank,
regardless of the level of materials in the tank.
Tank 216 also has means ~or provlding an adequate
supply to the drul~ling station of a mixture of raclioactive
con~aining resin and water in a predetermined proporti.on.
In geneLal, ~he slurry supplled to the dec~nting ~zln~ co~-
tains excess wa~er; and the decanting tanl; includes mean6
for removing excess water by decanting.
A dewatering or decanting pipe 369 is pivotally
mounted in the tank at i~s inner end by a leakproof joint.
The outer end of the pipe carrie~s a floa~ 370 so that ~he
end of the plpe can rise and fall with the liquid level.
conduit 371 connects the inner end of pipe 369 to one of the
~etering pump~ 217a the outlet o~ which is connected by pipe
372 through a fine strainer 373, such as lO0 microns, to an
outlet pipe system 37~ ~orminy part of a plant equipment
drain system.
The levels of the water and of the radioactive
resin particle~ in khe decanting tank 216 are sensed b~
sensors 375, 376 (~igures 31, 41-43) that transmit electric~
al signals giving information as to levels ~o the control
; station 14. Both sensor~ are identical except for ~he
specific gra~ities of their ~loats, so only ~ensor 375 for
sensing the water level will be described in detail. This
~ensor comprises a fram~ 377 having a lateral portion 37~3 ~
that extend~ through an c~pe~ing throuyh a steppe~ plug 379
- in ~hiel.d wall 214 and through a housing 3~0 into the tank.
~rame 377 is pivotally mounted between its end~ at the end
portion 378 on a bracket 381 fixed outEiicle of wall 214
The outer end of frame portion 3~8 carries a
pulley 382 over which passes a strand 383 ~uch a~ a stain-
les~ steel cable or wire, that at its free end suspends a
float 383a and extend~ along the frame and ar~und intermed-
iate pulleys 384 to a winch drum 385 that is ~riven by a
motor 3~6 mounted on the inner end of frame 377. Frame 377
includes an upwardly ex~cJnding portion 387 adapted to bear
against an adjustable stop 388 on the out~ide o~ ~hield
wall 215 and carryin~ a rearward portion 389 on which th~
winch and ~otor are mounted. Portion 3~9 also carriQs ad-
justa~le balance weight 391 threaded on support 392 ex~end-
ing above portion 389 to permit accurate ~alancing of the
pivotally mounted rame 377 and its associated apparatu~
Stop 388 when engaged by frame portion 387 limits tilting
of frame 375 about its pivot support in a directton that
causes the outer end of frame portion 378 to move downwardly.
Frame 377 a~o rigidly carries a transvers~ly ex~ending
metal member 393 adapted alternately to actuate proximity
switches 394 and 395, depending on the position of the
frame and hence of member 393.
As-shown tFigures 4~, 423 the other sensor unit
376 i9 substantially identical, except that its electric
motor and winch extends in the opposite direction trans-
ver~sly of frame member 377 to conserve space, and except
that its float 383b has a different pecific gravity than
10at 383a of sensor 375.
Float 383b may have a specific gravity of about
0.5 and i8 used to determine the level of the ~urface of
the water in tank 216.
- 49 -
5~. `
~ loat 383a ha~ a ~peclfic gravity o~ approximately
.05 so that it wil]. sink in the wator but will float at the
~urace o~ the resin in the tank.
When tank 216 is filled, and al50 when the re~in
and water are being mixed in the tank by agitator 363 both
10at~ are raised to the top of their travel by their winch
drums 385 and motors 386. When the float o a ~ensor is in
its uppermost position with the float unsupport~d by li~uid,
the wei~ht of the 10at causes the frame portion 378 to tilt
downwardl~ until frame porcion 387 contacts sto~ 388. This
cause~ member 3~3 to actuate upper swicch 3'~4. circuitry is
provided so that if khe circuit is energiæed from the contro1.
station, actuation o~ upper ~witch 394 ellerc3izes the motor
386 o the ~ensor to rotace its winch to lower ~he ~loat.
When the ~loat f~oats, its weight i9 removed ~rom the frame
377, which then tilt~ the other way around its pivot support
until member 393 actuates lower switch 395. This s~ops the
motor.
Each motor 386 has on its shaft a notched rotor
396 so designed tha~ when its notches pass a conventional
electronic pickup 397 electrical pulse~ are generated ~hat
are transmitted to the con~rol station through circuit means
397 including conventional electronic counting n:eans that
: makes it pos~ible to determine the distance down to the
float elevation and hence the level of the liquid on whic~
the float float~.
Both sensors operate in essentially identical
mannex, except that the ~loat of which one ha~ a specific
yravity ~uch that it detects and sense~ the level of water,
while the other sen~es the le~el of the re~in pa.rt~cles
after they settle.
The operator at control station 14 can therefore
- 50 -
!
~v~
determin~, a~ from a predetarmined curve ox chart, the amount
of wat~r that ~hould be left wi~h the resin to provide th~
de~ixed proportion of radioactiva re~in partlcle~ to the
water. ~e can then actuate metering pump 217a to remove
excess water ~hrough the 10ating and o~ decan~lng pipe 3~9,
conduit 371, pump 217a, strainer 273 and conduit 374 un~il
the desired level is reached, as indicated by the sen~ors
375, 376 to proride a dispersion in the tank of the desired
predetermined proportion of water to xesin particles.
After the proper propor~ion has been achieved, a
proper amount of the di~persion can be caused to pass
through conduit 362 from the bottom o~ tank 216 through
metering pump 217b and conduit 398 to port 35~a o~ Iiller
nozzle 351 ~nto a drum ~ (Figure~ 31, 32, 40).
Pre~erably, ~pray head~ 399 (Figure 30) axe provid-
ed inside of the decanting tank to ~pray clear water to
cleanse the floats 383a and 383b when they are lifted to
their highest ele~ations; their ~alves can be controlled
by suitable means, as from proximity switches 394.
Meterinq Pump: While a pump of any of various
type~ may be employed to pump the dispersion of radioac~ive
particle~ in water ~rom tha decantin~ tank 216 through
iiller nozzle 351 unto the drum D, the pump illu3trated in
Figure~ 44-4~ i8 exceptionally ad~antageous. It delivers
accurately measured quantities ~f liquid and thus makes
pos~ible accurate remote control of the amount of liquid
pa~sed from the decanting tank ~nto the drum. It al90
makes pos~ibLe the pumping of clea~ water for disrupting
~edimentation of the particles in the tanlc or conduits, the
- 30 use o clean water ~or sealing purpo~es, and has saety
~eatures in making po~ible maintenance o~ the pL~p ~rom
the safe ~ide o~ the ~hield wall 214.
- 51 ~
~ rhe illustratccl pump 217b ~ho~n in tha above
Figurer3 comprises a cylindcr 400 made up o cylinder b~rrel
401, head 402 containin~ inle.. po~t3 ~03 and 40~ al~d outlet
port~ 405, 406, and another head ~07 made up o~ internal
member 408 and that clo~eq the end of the cy].inder and a
surrounding member ~09 that contains pe~tions of valve
actuating mcchanism. The head~ are secured to the ends of
barrel 401 by being bolted to the ends o~ a f langec~ cylinder
410 that surrounds barr~l 401 ancl has inlet and ~utlet con~
duits 411 and 412 for clear water flow.
The pump is mounted as by bolts ~]3 on a mounting
bracket 414 that is itsel:~ mo~mted by through bolt:s ~L15 on
the shield wall 214. Bracket 414 has a drain ope~ning ~16
for esaape o~ l~akage i~ i~ micJh~ occur.
The pump al50 compri.ses a piston ~17 ~ixecl to
piston rod 418 that extends throuyh head 407 and shield wall
214. The piston has sealing rings 419 and rod ~18 sealed by
means 420 in head 407. The pifiton rod is recipr~ca~ed a5
requirèd by an air cylinder 421 (~igure 31) supplied with
air from pipe 422 connected to suitable source and contLolled
by an air valve sy~tem 423. The valve i3 controlled by suit-
able known means 423e from the control station 14 so-that it
can cau3e a predetermined number of strokes of the pump, and
hence the pumping of a predeterrnined amount of slurry of
radioactive wa~te paLticles and wa~er into the drum D.
Valve 424 ~or port 405 comprises a cylinder bar-
rel 425 that i~ ri~idly connected and ~ealed to heads 402
and 407, and a movable member 426 in~luding a closure member
427 adapted to b~ar again~t a valve ~eat ~28 in head 402.
Movable member 426 also include~ piston ~29 carrying sealing
xings 430 that seal against e~cape o~ liquid from the 3pace
on th~ aide at which closure membar 427 i8 located to the
- 52 -
~pace o~ the other aide o~ piston 429. Movable memb~r ~26
is actuated by a valve rod 432 actuateA by an alr cylinder
433 on t~e safe side of the shield wall and sllp~lied with
air from source 422-under control of ~uitable valves in
~yste~ 423 remotely controlled from cont:rol station 14 by
known elec~rical means 423e.
V~lve rod 432 is connected to clo~ure member ~27
by a loo~e connection (~igure 46) comprising a stop nut 434
on the end of the rod and a compression spring 435 operating
between clo~ure member 427 and pi~on 429. Another compres-
sion ~pring 436 operatinb between piston 429 and a head 437
at the inner end of valve barrel 425 urges movable member
426 toward the po~ition where its clo~ure member 427 contactc:
valve ~eat 42a ill sealiny engagemen~, exept when the valve
i~ open~d by air cylinder ~33.
The air cylinder 433 positively opens ~he valve b~
pul~ing clo~ure membex 427 away from its seat ~28. The va7ve
is impositively closed ~y the force of the spring 43G a~ the
rod moves in the othe~ direction; the preset force o~ spring
435 also in~ures that closure member 427 will not strike
~eat 42~ with excessive force, -thereby eliminating p~s~ibil.-
ities of chipping or spalling of the valve sea~ or the clo-
sure mem~er and thuG reducing mainten~nce problems.
All valves are sirnilar ir~ construction and opera-
tion. Each i5 operable independently of the pi~ton 417,
and each can be operated as an outlet or afi an inlet valve,
depending on how it is operated relative to the pi~ton
operation.
Conduit 411 provide~ clean water ~rom a sui~able
cour~e ~uch as an slevated tank or a pre~surized tank, to
- th~ ~pace b~tween the outer housing 410 and ~h~ cylinder
baxrel 401 of the pump and the valve barrel~ 425; and
- 53 -
througll ports 438 to the space on the rod side o~ pi~torl 417
in cylind~r 400, and through ports 439 to the ~pace~ on the
rod sid~ o th~ piston 429 of each valve.
In the il.lu~trated embod~nent (Figuree 30, 47)
this clean water is supplied to ~uch space~ in all pumps
217a, ~17b, 217c from an elevated tank 440 throu~3h an expan-
sion tan]c 441 and conduit 411. ~herefore, a5 i~ pre~rable,
the clean water in these spaces at all times is at a pres--
sure higher than the mixture o~ water and radi.oactive
particles at the piston sides of the pump c~nd its valves.
Conse~uently, any leakage that may occur past a piston pack-
ing in the pump or a valve will be lealcage of clean water
into the porti.on o the apparatus containing th~ radioactive
materi~l~, and not the reveLse~ Consequen~ly there is much
less opportuni~y for the parts including sealing rings, to
pic~ up radioactive material and thereby make the entire
assembly radioactive. This is another feature that greatly
reduce~ maintenance problems.
Preferably, the piping may be arranged so that one
valve of each pump is connected to a clean water source such
as line ~50, and the valves ar~ operable either a~ inle~ or
outlet valves, so that clean water may be pumped rom the
~ource by each pump. Thus pump 217b can be u~ed to pump
clean water when desired back through conduit 362 into the
decanting tank. This is advantageous since such back flush-
ing can break up any ma~s o~ re~in particle~ that may tend
to settle in the decanting tank to orm a cake that is diffi-
cult to.start with the agitator 363. Any 3ettling of r~sin
particles that tend~ to occur, betw~en drum filllngs, in
conduit 362 can also be xeadily di~rupted to prevellt cloy
ging by pumping a ~mall amount of li~uid ~uch a~ c:Lean
water back through conduit 362 by the pump. Such back pump-
~ 54 -
s~
Lng of clean wat~r can also provide additional llquid foragitation in tank 2lG.
A].l of the pi~ton and Vd ].ve rod~ for each pump 218
pas~ through a stepped plug 223 ~hat fits into a corr~spond~
ing opening in the shield wall, the steps providing a laby-
rinthian joint between the ~hield wall and plug that pr~
ven~s passage o radiation or radioac~ive materials. This
plug can be removed rom the safe side of the shield wall..
The deGign i~ such that after the piston a~d
valve rod~ are disconnected from their air cylinders and
plug 223 is re~oved, it i9 possible to remove head ~08 that
close~ the end of pump cylinder ~00 and members 437 that
close the end~ of the valve barrels. This permiks removal
of the piston or movable valve portions or maintenanc~, a~
for examination, lubrication, replacement o packings~ from
the safe ~ide of shield wall 214 without removiny the pump
as a whole. I there sllould be any radioacti~ity in these
parts, then by mean~ of long handled wrenches and mir~ors a
- maintenance man can inspect or take corrective action with-
out exposing him~elf to radiation.
Brack~t 414 a~ indicatecl has opening 416 throughwhich any lic~uid leaking rom the pump apparatus into the
housing will drip out into a small tanlc 44~ (Figure 30).
If the operator find~ liquid in this tank he will kno~ th~t
there is a packing leak somewhere and take corrective action.
~he small tank can be drained into the overall drain system.
Pump 217c may be identical to that descr;.bed
above. This pump i~ adapted to acc~pt liquid carrying evap
orator bottoms (Figure 47~ from a suitable source, ~uch a~
condui~ 445 connected to a hold~ng tank not ~hown and dis-
charge through conduit ~46 a mea~ured quantity of ~uch
llquid throu~h ~11 nozzle 351 into a drum in the clrumming
- 55 -
~ta~ion.
Ch~mical~ in the evaporator bottoms may hav~ a
tendellcy t~ cry~tallize out of solution~ and if 80 it is
preerab1e that the pump 217c together with its valve and
the piping associated therewith be provided with heating
mean~, ~uch as wound heating ele~ents, to prevent crystal-
lization at lower temperatures.
Pump 217c also is adapted to flush clean water
through the pump bac]c through the evaporator bo~oms line
in order to clean the pump and line at the end of a drum-
ming session.
Pump 217a which removes excess water from the
decanting ~ank may, if de~ired, be iden~ical witll pump 217b
and filled with clean sealing water in the ~ame ~nanner as
that de~cribed above, althouyh it ic; no~ ne~e~ary that it
be a measuring pump. Preferably the excess water removed
from the decanting tank by this pump passes eventually-to
the nuclear plant system that supplies evapora~or 'Dottom~
to the drumming ~tation.
~y suitable operation of the proper pumps Z17a,
b, c, clean water can al~o be flushed through other line~
to clear blockayes or clean the system, such as ~he lin~9
that discharge into the drum; clean water can al~o be added,
a~ to the decanting tank if desired. This is facilitated
because all valves o~ each pump are identical and indepen-
dently operable 50 ~ach can be used a5 an inlet or outlet
valve, and the piston is operable independently of the
valvea; these capabilities provide features of ~afety and
redundancy ~or maintenance o~ operation~.
In each ~f the lllustrated drumming stati~Dn~ two
type~ of radioactive waste products, ~lurrie~ o radioactive
xe~in pa~ticle~ and llquid~ containing ev~porator bottoms,
- 56 -
lay ~e alterna~el~ put into drums, or if desired, both may
be put into a ~ingle drum in proportional ~uantities. If
de~ired, the system can be modified to handle more than ~wo
wa3te materials alternately or put all ~imultaneou3ly in a
drum.
~ rummin~ Station Cle n~L~System Spray heads 4~9
~Figure 31) connected to clean water source 440 and contro]led
from station 14, are provided inside of drumming e~uipment
enclosure 226 to wash down the walls and equipment in the
enclosure if de~ired. rrhe spray water used -flushes down the
eloped bottom 45} of enclosure 226 and drain~ out throuc3h a
bottom openlng ~52 into a sump tank ~53 (FicJure3 30, 31, 33).
~hiY sump tank has internal baf~lcs 454, 455 to provide a
settling tank for ines that might be in the flush water,
thus trapping solid3 that might be radioactive and that other-
wise could contaminate downstream equipm~nt i~ they entered a
plant drain system. Exce~s water fre~ of fines flows out
through an overflow gate 456 into a drzinage spout 457 dis-
charging into a drain 4~8 located in the drumming station
floor and connected to p~ant equipment drain system 459 that
if desired may discharge into the system for producing evap-
orator bottoms. The sump tank is so designed that it can be
moved laterally on rollers 460 on a track 4Sl to a location
whexe it can be removed by the crane. It can be placed by
the crane ~or disposal into a drum, having a completely
removable top, which top can be replaced ater the sump tank
and its radioactive content~, water and cement or other solid-
ifying agent i desired, are placed in the drum.
Another drain in each drumm~ng station floor forms
part o~ a plant floor draln ~ystem 462 to remoYe liquids or
wa tes that may have collected on the floor, as ~rom drm
loakage or wa~hdown of the drumming tation,
- 57 -
The conduit ~y~telll of FLgure ~7 is ~hown fOL' a
~ingle dru~uning station, but it can he duplic~ted. In ~uch
case line- 361, ~45, ~50, 459, 462 and 463 as well ag other
lines, can be common to two or more drumming 3ta~ions.
As di~closed above, the illustrative ~mbodiment
has separate piping for each type of radioactive w~ste to
and in the drumming station equipment, for safety and contin-
uity of operation. The drun~ing apparatus ~15 i~ completely
enclosed and sealed ~o al]ow no e~cape of liquids, solids ~r
gasses except through conduits plann~d and provided for ~ch
purpose~. Thus, a ven~ system ~63 remove~s aslcl cleanse~ hy
known m~ns, alr or ~a~es frorn d~canting tank 21~ through
vent conduit 21~a, and from drummi~g hoLlC:ing 22b through vent
condult 226a, as ~ell as from other locations~ The interior
of housing 226, and the equipment in it, can be washec1 down
by remotely controlled spray heads ~49 for decontamination
purposes i~ necessary.
Material.s such as r~dioactive-conta;nin~ solids
washed out of the hous;ng 226 are removed in the described
removable sump by xemote con~rol. The above disclosed
~illing m~s~s i8 also designed to elimirlate thc ~ossi.bil1ty
of radioactive waste material b~ing soilled on the exterior
of the appratus o~ the drumming station by error or accident.
As disclosed, two ~eparate and independent means
are used to determine the amount o~ material in the drum and
to prevent overfill; one means comprises metering pu~ps that
pump accurately determined amounts of fluids into the drums;
the o~her means comprises the liquid level sensing ~ystem
indicated.
In the illustrative apparatu~ and process, the
~olidifying agent, cement for example, and mixing weights
are placed in thc drums beore they en~er the system, and
- 5B ~
th~ drum~ are lm~led~at~ly ~al~d. Each drum remal~ al.e~
~til the drum i8 opened in the drumming ~tatlon immedlately
prior to in~.roductlon of radioactiYe material, at~r which
th~ drum i~ Ll~ne~iately clc)sed~ This ,prev~nts ~ntranc~ into
the drum of unde~ixed moi~ture or other contaminant~ tha~
could harmfully affect the ~olidifying ayent or other mater-
ial~ in the drum.
~ ation of Drun~ingLStation: A typical cycle of
operation~ of the drumming ~tation i~ a~ follow~, a~uminy
that the cradle Xrame 247 i~ located so its cradle 251 i~
propexl~ located in po~ltion I undar the hatch cover 23~,
the cradle being loc~d by la~ch 262 in the cradl~ ~r~me to
r~c~ive a drum in the vertical po~ikion~ the hatch cover 2.34
1~ open; and a capped drum D containing cement and mixing
weight~ on thc- loading dock 241 of the drummi~ tation
to be operated as shown in broken lines in Fig-lr~ 30. The
operator in control station 14 therl controls the overhead
crane 25 and it~ dr~m yrab 53 to pic.~ up the drum ~rom the
loading dock and load it into the cradle. The operator then
20 cau~e~ the hatch cover to clo~e and thc cradle ~rame 2~7 to
move to position II. The clamping memberY 271, 272 are then
actuate~ by encJaging socket 305 on ~haft 306 wlth polygonal
cl~mp actuating portion 2~6 o~ the cradle and rotating the
~haft a~ describe~ above, to cl~mp the drum. The socket 3Q5
is then disengaged and the cradle frame angularly moved to
locate the drum at po3ition IIX for cap removal. The cradle
frame i~ then raised to cau~e it~ pin 261 to enter the
~ocke~ 261a ~ox position III~ and to rai~e the drum ~o i
cap 231 can ~e en~aged by the wrench 332 of cap handling
mean~ 320, whlch i~ then cau~ed to operat~ to remova the
drum c~p. Th~ cradle frame 247 i~ then lowered, and moved
~ngularly to tha drwn ~llllng po~it~on IVo
- 59
9s~
Th~ cradl~ frame 3.~ here rai~ed to caus~ its pin
261 to ent~r the socket 261a for position III, and ~o raise
the drurn so th~ fLll no~zle 351 e~tend~ into th~ drum. The
fllling cycle is then carried out as de~cribed pr~viously by
~upplying a meter-ed amount of a di~per~ion of radioactive
particles in water from decanting tank 216 or from evapora-
tor bottoms ~upply line ~5.
~ ft~r the proper predetermined amount of the dis-
pex~ion of radioactive particles in the proper pr~portion of
water has been put into the drum, the cradle ~'rame is then
lowe~r~d and rnoved anyularl,~ to the c~apping position III where
th~ cradle frame will a(,~ain raiYe the drum ~o .it i3 in cap-
ping relation to the cap handling means 320 the wrench os-
which is still holding the cap in a position 5Q that when
rotated the cap move~ downwardly and en~ayes the threads
in the drum. Th~ cap is then reinserted and scre~ed tight
a~ described above. The wrench of the cap handling means
is then released and the cradle lrame lowered.
The cradle frame is next moved to posi~ion II to
locate the closed drum ~or mixing. As the crac'lle rame moves
into position ~ he clutch pOLtions 293 and 294 encJage a8
described abc~ve. The tapered pin 267 is pushed in to secure
the cradle rame against movement and to releasq the cradle
for rotation. The drive motor 303 for rotating the cradle
i~ then started and the drum is rotated end~over~end about
axi~ H to mix the drum contents thoroughly, the freely mov-
able mixing weights Dw in the drum greatly aicling thorough
mixing. During the lat~er part o~ the mixing cycle, the
drum may be wa~hed as it is rotating by wator sprayed from
heads 449 so that drum and the interior of the drum hou~ing
226 can be thoroughly washed down. When the mixing cycle
ha~ been completed, the mixar stops with th~ drum ~n an
- 6~ -
s~
upright vertical po~ition as descrihed. Socket 305 on sha~t
306 i~ then engaged wlth pol~rgonal ~nd portion 286 O:e the
cl~mp mechanism on the cradl~, an~ ~ha~t 306 i~ ~otclt~d to
unclamp the drum in the cradle. Aft~r t:he ~rum i~ unclamped
and ~ha~t 306 i~ retracted, pin 267 is also retracte~ to
~ecure the cradle to the cradle frame with the drum ~n its .
upright vertical po~itlon and to release the cradl.e frame
from the housing so that it may be angu:Larly mov~d to posi-
tion I for unloading.
Hatch cover 234 is then opened and drum grab 55
lowered through the hatch into the houc;ing 2~G to pick up
the drum. The drum i5 then placed on the unloadin~3 cloc}c 2~2
where i~ weight i9 checkecl by scale 2~ and i.t~ radi.ation
level is monitored by monitor 2~3 and the in~ormation trans-
mitted electrically to control station 14 for recording.
The operator places another drum with its pred~~
termined quantit~ of dry cement on the loading d~ck 241 as
shown in Figure 30 while the drum bein~ filled is in housing
226 in it~ ~illing c~cl~. The scale 24~ on thc loadin~ dock
is u~ed to vexi~y the cement quantity in the drum, and the
drumming appara~us is ready ~or the next cycle.
Aftcr the operator loads the next drum into the
cradle and ~tarts the drumming cycle, he then places the
processed drum ln one of the decay vaults 12, 13 for stor-
age and brings another drum into position on the loading
dock. Modifications may be made in this illustrative
proce~ o~ operation~.
Control Station: Equipment in the control sta-
tion 14 i5 shown in Figure~ 1, 50, 51 and S2.
; 30 The control station includes a control con~lole 23
at which the op~rætor will sit and from which hc can control
the oporation of the apparatu~ by remote control. The
-- 61 --
con~rol ~t~tlon also includ~ unl~ 24 s~a~d rearw~rdly froln
the control console and containlng other appara~u~ and the
telcvision monitor screen~ 57, 59, 6~ a~d 6~, so that they
are at a di~tanc~ from the operator to avoid eyestrain,
As indicated pr~viously, screen 57 is connected
to the television camera 56 on the trolley and is u~ed to
locate the trolley with refercnce to the indicators 55 on
the indicating means 54. As also indica~d previously,
screen 59 shows what ls viewed by the camera 58 mounted on
the grab 53 and particularly to indic~te the distance of the
grab from th~ ~ops o drums ~5 indicat~d below. Television
screens 62 and 63 arc adapted ~o ~e connected to selec~ed
surveillance televi~;ion cam~ras 60, 61, mo~mted on th~
bridge Sl o the ove~rhead crane.
Switches 475 and 476 are used to select the sur-
veillance camera~ to be uYed and to tilt ~-he select~d ~ur-
- veillance television cameras, which may be of kno~n types
tiltable by remote control~ The stritches are of the type
having control levers that if moved down will cause the
camera to tilt downward and if moved up will cause ~he
camera to tilt upward to ~ de~slred degree. The surveillance
cameras may be provided ~ith zoom lenses, and tilese can be
controlled by switches assocla~ed with the switches 477 and
478.
Control console 23 i~ provided with camera control
lcnobs 479 for properly focusing and controlling the cameras
to provide a good image on the televi~ion monitor screen~.
Tho control console al90 has electronic counters
481 and 482, 483 and 484. Counters 481 and 482 are connec-
t~d to the ~cales 244 in the drumming station~ and used tor~cord the weight~ of the drums as they go into the drum-
ming stations and the weights of the drum~ a~ they come out
- 6~
~ 4~
o~ the drumming stations. Counter~ ~83 ancl 4~ indica~e the
; cgrab el~vation, and are actu~tcd by the pro~rimity switch 127
that c~un_~ thc rotations of the winch druM 105. By this
mean~ the elevation oI- tho grab can be d~termis-ed wi~hout use
of the lines on the grab camera screens, a~ wh~n it is
de~jred to determin~ or chcck the el~vation of the yrab in
locations or at times other than when it is u~ed to grasp a
drum. Push butkon~ 485 and licJhts at the center of thc
console are used to control the various op~ratlons of the
dru~niny ~tation manual.ly i~ desired as indicated above.
Switch ~86 is used to control the moveraerl~ o~ the trolley
on ~he bridcJe of the crane; switch ~7 is used to rnove the
bridcJ~ it~el~. ~ s~itch ~ is used ~o con~rol ~he ~Jx:.lb
hoisting mean~ lO~ on trolley 52 to move thc grab 53 up and
down. Swi.tch 489 is used to open and close the yrab fingers,
while swi~ch 490 i5 used to control the rotation of ~he 5ub-
frame 143 and yrab fincJers around axis A of the grab.
switch 491 9 provided ~o control a heavy duty hoist i
used ~igure 47).
The switches 48G and 4~7 for mov.ing the crane
bridcJe and the trolley on the crane bridge ~re ~ive position
~witches o~ known type o~erating in an "~I" pattern, in which
the fi~th position is the neutral ~of~ center position).
When each of thsse switches is moved in the forward direction
lt will move the bridge or the trolley controlled by the
switch in a given direction; when it is moved in the reverse
direction it will move the bridge or trolley in the opposite
direction. When the ~witch is moved to the left it will
provlde high speed control; when it i5 moved to the right it
will provide low speed control. These swikche~ are ~o de-
signed that the ~witch must go through all posltion~ 80 that
t~ere i8 no posslblllty o~ energlzing a low ~peed motor when
.
63
- r
a high ~peed motor is enercJized, or the reverse ~ituation.
The ~witches ~8a and 489 used or controllirlg the
xai~ing and lowering of the c3rah and for controlli.ng openiny
and clo~ing o~ the yr(~b finc~ers are ~imilar.
A record board 65 (Figure 48) ~howinc3 the plan of
the building and having hooks 492 for d:rum locations will b~
mounted in the control station a~ a location readily access~
ible to the operator. On these hooks, ~ag~ 493 ill.ur,~rated
in Figure 49 will be hung. Each of th~e ta~s preferably is
marked with a drura number identifyin~ the c~rum, and has a
place ~ox the operator to rnark the rad.iation l~vel. and the
date. The operator thus can rec,clily keep tra~lc o~ all. o~
the locations and dura~ion irl sto~age of all dr~lms ~h~t have
hcen handled. For convenience only a portion of the hooks
and tags are shown in Figure 47, but a hooX will be prov.ided
for each drum position, and tags will be used wherever a
drum is located.
By a suita~le drum log, it is al~o pos~ible for
the operator to keep a record of each drura ~o identify it by
number, indicate its ~ei~ht before ~illin~ with radioactlve
material and water, the weight after fil.linc~ with radioactive
material and water, the type of radiQactive material, the
~tart and completion time of the drumming operati.on, ~he
radiation inten~ity of the drum immediately after it ha~
left the drumming station, and the radiat.ion inten~ity of
the drum at the time of shipment, to~ether with the date of
shipment and the destination.
Light~ 494 are preferably on the control box 24
to indicate that the crane circu.itry in the drumming ~ta-
tion circuitry i~ ready or operation. Control box 24 may
al~o contain disconnect ~witches to shut down the plant.
Modifications: It i~ apparent that variou~ modi-
~(~44~
fications may be made in the illustrated system, apparatusesand processes, and also that some or all portions of the
illustrated apparatus may be used for purposes other than
those indicated.
For example, it is possible that, in the course of
operation, a drum containing radioactive material could be
inadvertently caused to be in a horizontal or tilted positionO
Should the radiation be such that it would not be advisable
for a person to approach the drum, the drum can be advanta-
geously retrieved by the previously described drum grab 53,
trolley 52, and crane bridge 51. Figures 53-56 illustrate
a stép-by-step procedure whereby thls can be accomplished.
The irst step, illustrated in Figure 53 is to align one
of the grab support cables, in this illustrative case cable
106, with one of the grab finger sets 144. The grab is then
aligned and lowered until the end portion 154 of finger mem-
ber 153 contacts the top side of the drum adjacent its top
edge 50 at its uppermost portion when the drum is on its
side. The operator then (Figure 54) continues to lower the
grab 53 with the portion 154 of finger member 153 acting as
pivot. The cable 107 is then slack and the grab is sup-
ported between Einger member 153 and dables 106 and 108.
When the view from the center of television camera 58 on
screen 59 appears to be centered on a point midway between
the drum closure portion C and the drum rim 50, the drum
finger sets are actuated to cause the finger set contacting
the drum edge 50 to grip it firmly. The grab is then raised
as shown in Figure 55, after the fingers have gripped the
edge 56 to lift the drum toward a vertical position, Figure
55. It is not necessary to lift the drum clear of the floor
but only to a point where its center of gravity ("C.G.l',
Figures 55, 56) is located between the fingers gripping the
-65-
44~5~
drum and the lower edge of the drum resting on the Eloor.
The grab is then lowered to allow the drum to settle to a
normal upright position. Thereafter the grab can be con-
trolled to^grasp the drum normally by the three sets of
fingers, and the drurn can be hoisted and moved to and de-
posited at a desired location.
Another modification can be the addition oE a
second heavy duty hoist 496 constructed and powered by con-
ventional means, to the crane trolley (Figures 57, 58). The
trolley 497 shown in these figures is otherwise similar to
trolley ~2 previously described. Hoist 496 which would be
controlled as indicated previously from the control station
14~ malces it possible to move considerably heavier articles
than could be llfted by the 8rab 53 and its hoisting appara-
tus. For example, this heavy duty hois~ makes it possible
to remove the entire shield wall 214 and all of the equip-
ment mounted on it~ including the decanting tank 216, drum-
ming equipment 215, and pumps 217a, 217b, 217c and their
drives from the drumming station to another area for main-
tenance, as shown in Pigure 58. Furthermore, if any part
or all of the unit made up of the shield wall and its asso-
ciated apparatus, should become unusuable due to radiation
or other causes, it can be removed by the hoist for disposal
as by burial. It is apparent that when such a heavy duty
hoist adapt~djto carry a large load is provided, the crane
bridge 51, the trolley 4~7, and the track structure 47
should be designed and made to support and carry the addi-
tional loads.
As a further example of modification, while in
the illustrated embodiment the decanting tank 216 is located
above the drumming equipment 215, the decanting tanlc may be
located in other locations and even outside of the drumming
-66-
95~
station; or a common decanting tank such as a power plant
radioactive waste storage tank could be used as a decanting
tank for one or more drumrning stations.
In the illustrated embodiment two drun~ing stations
are shown in the building; they provide added capacity and
reliability if one station should be inoperative for any
reasons. It is apparent that for smaller installations or
where the reliability of two stations is not desired one
drumming station may be used. For larger installations more
than two drumming stations can be used.
While the illustrative embodiment discloses advan-
tageous process and apparatus in which excess water i5 de-
canted ~rom a tank to provide in the tank a proper proportion
of water and radioactive particulate material which proper
proportion is introduced in a predetermined amount into a
drum by a metering pump, it is apparent that desired amounts
of a mixture of radioactive material, solidifying agent and
liquid in proper proportions may be introduced into drums or
other containers by other means; and that a solidifying agent
be added at a time other than as disclosed above. Noreover,
drums may be loaded or filled with predetermined amounts of
radioactive materials in the forrn of liquids or slurries,
without use in the drums of solidlfying agents, and the
drums may be handled and shipped with liquid contents. Since
it appears that present regulations do not require shipment
of radioactive wastes in solid form, it may be desirable to
ship drums containing wastes in liquid or slurry form, and
the inventive apparatus and process may be used for such
prupose.
The term "fluent material" is intended to cover
slurries or dispersions of particulate materials in liquids;
llquids not containing particulate materials; and other
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4gSl
flowable materials that may be handled according to.~the
apparatus and process of the invention. The particulate
materials may be of sizes different from those indicated
above, as substantially larger~
While the container has been disclosed as a steel
drum, it is apparent that other types of containers may be
used.
Furthermore, although the invention has been
discussed above in connection with the radioactive wastes
resulting from boiling water or pressure water plants, the
process~.and apparatus of the invention may be employed in
connection with the disposition of other types of radio-
active wastes~ or radioactive wastes from~)other types of
nuclear plants, such as those utilizing sodium or heavy
water as heat transfer fluid and the invention may be em-
ployed in connection with the handling of dangerous wastes
or chemicals firom other types of plants.
Furthermore, it is apparent that the overhead
crane apparatus disclosed, in whole or in part o:r with mod-
ifications within the scope of the invention, may be used
for purpose other than that discl.osed; such other purposes
may for example include the handling of other dangerous
wastes or radioactive materials or bodies such as radio-
active fuel elements.
From the above disclosure, it is apparent that
the invention provides process and apparatus in which, by
remote control, radioactive waste or other dangerous mater-
ials may be handled, put into containers which are sealed~
and the containers handled and moved, without exposure of
personnel to dangerous radioactivity or other dangers aris
ing from the materials. Wherever necessary, all por~ions
of the system are fail safe, so failure of electric supply
-68-
v~s~
or on~rgy f luid riuc}~ a3 pres~uriz~d air will not cau.~e d~na~
or uns~fc conditic>nsO All posslbl~ drive~, ~luld cylinders,
controls, and ~wltche3 arc located in safe areas~ us~.ally on
the ~afo side of a shield wall. ~11 equipment for handlitlg
radioactive w~ta mat~rial can be moved from areas o~ hish
xadiation to areas of little or no radiation . For these
rea30n~ routine as well a~ essentially all major main~enance
or repair wor}; can be done 3a~ely with littlc if any ~3xposura
o maintenance Ol othex personnel to any radi.ation.
Wherevex the metal shield ~;all 214 that carries
the operative drumming apparatus is p~netrated by a drive,
~.he drive is by means of a rotating or reciprocating shart
in such a ~nanncr that th~ operation is accurately per~ormed
and e~cape of ra~iation is preven~ed; this m~es ~or relia-
bilit~ and sa~ety.
To insure that the apparatus pexforms satis~actor-
ily with the utmost sa~eLy to per~onnel and the environment,
the appara,us of the in~Jention ha~ a high degree o~ redun
dancy or dualicm in drives, controls, viewing means, lights,
and monitoring means. For example, the a~paratus is ae-
signed to avoi~ completely any ~pills of radioactive mater-
ial ~uring placement of the radioactlve matexial in the
drums, closing ~he dxums and rotating them. But if a spill
should occur during any of the~e step~, it i5 contained in
~he housing of the drummin~ equipmen t . Sprays axe provided
t~ wash the ~pills into a mo~able container or sump at the
bottom of the hous~n~; these sprays al30 cleanse the insido
0~ the housing and eguipm~nt in it to deter radioactive
contamination. Th~ movable container is de~igned to cause
30 the golid materlal to settle out and to be dischary~d into
thc plant drainO Alqo, th~ crane apparatus is prov:Lded
with double drive~ and circuit~ for the bridge, trollcy,
69
~ gL9S~
grab hoisting means, and grab fingers, so if there is a
failure of one drive of a double, the crane apparatus can
be operated with the other drive.
All necessary lighting in areas exposed to radia-
tion is provided on the crane apparatus on the trolley and
gra, and the lights and lighting circuits are duplicated
for safety and maintenance of operations; and if light fix-
tures or bulbs or television cameras must be replaced or
repaired, the movable crane portions can be moved to radia-
tion free areas for such purpose. The only fixed lighting
that need be supplied is in the oontrol station 1~ where
it is in a radiation free area~
Where necessary for a high degree of fail safe
characteristics, ~luid actuated drive cylinders are spring
loaded to close in the event of ele~trical or ~luid power
failure; examples are the cylinders for the drumming station
hatch, and the decanting tank valves including those on the
pumps. The spring load may be overridden manually or by
external mechanical means if necessary.
From the above~ it is also apparent the grab and
its finger sets and actuating mechanisms will work with out-
of-round oroout of size drums, or drums in which the top head
or gripping surface are not completely in a horizontal plane.
Moreover, the grab can be used to grasp and move articles
other than drums. If necessary or desired, other grab~means
than that disclosed can be used, particularly ~or grasping
articles other than drums.
The television camera on the grab is designed and
located to view the fingers at least in their grasping rela-
tion so that the operator can be certain the fingers are in
proper grasplng position before hoisting, this provides a
means in addition to the limit switch means previously
-70-
dcucrlbod, f~ indicatin~ the po.~it:iorl and operability of
t}10 intJor~;.
Thos~ and other modifi.cati.on~ may be made in the
apparatus or proc~ss di~clo~d, and oth~r modi~l.cation~O
~dv~nta~es, ancl modes af operation will hecome apparent
without departin~ rrom the ~pirit of the invention.
- 71 -
