ADVANCED ABRASIVE-WATERJET TECHNIQUES FOR THE DECONTAMINATION AND DECOMMISSIONING OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES

THIS PROGRAM WILL INVESTIGATE ADVANCED ABRASIVE WATERJET (AWJ) TECHNIQUES TO FACILITATE THE DECONTAMINATION AND DECOMMISSIONING OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES. TWO SPECIFIC NEEDS ARE TO BE ADDRESSED: METAL SURFACE REMOVAL FOR COMPLETE DECONTAMINATION OF LARGE, HEAVILY CONTAMINATED METAL STRUCTURES AND UNDERWATER CUTTING OF THICK METALS AND CONCRETE. AN AWJ IS A SMALL DIAMETER ULTRA HIGH VELOCITY WATERJET INTO WHICH ABRASIVE PARTICLES ARE ENTRAINED. WATERPRESSURES UP TO 60,000 PSI ARE USED TO ACCELERATE THE PARTICLES. THE AWJ TECHNIQUE IS IN DAILY USE IN MANY INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS. IT HAS SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL FOR ADAPTION TO MEET THESE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY NEEDS AND IS ESPECIALLY ADAPTABLE TO REMOTE AND ROBOTIC OPERATIONS. THE PROGRAM WILL FIRST DEFINE THE METAL SURFACE REMOVAL AND UNDERWATER CUTTING NEEDS OF THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY. PARAMETRIC TESTS WITH EMPHASIS ON OPTIMIZATION FOR SYSTEM PERFORMANCE WILL BE CONDUCTED FOR BOTH APPLICATIONS. THE DATA GENERATED BY THE PROGRAM WILL BE COMBINED WITH EXISTINGINFORMATION TO DEVELOP CONCEPTUAL SYSTEM DESIGNS. EASE OF USE, DEPENDABILITY, AND SPOILS CONTAINMENT AND REMOVAL WILL BE EMPHASIZED IN THE DESIGN EFFORT. AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE SYSTEMS WILL BE DONE. IT WILL COMPARE THE SYSTEMS WITH EXISTING TECHNIQUES IN THE AREAS OF EXPECTED PERFORMANCE, COST OF OPERATION, AND COST OF SPOILS DISPOSAL.