JP2005300266A - Positioning device of nuclear reactor inspection/repair robot - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To position a robot on an execution position easily and accurately, when executing inspection by applying a small-sized and thin robot or the like on a position in the narrow environment state where jet pumps are arranged on the whole periphery such as the core shroud outer surface, or the like. <P>SOLUTION: A waveform transmitter 21 for transmitting a sound wave in the water in a nuclear reactor 10 is loaded on the robot 1, and waveform receivers 22 arranged corresponding to an execution route of the robot 1 in the nuclear reactor, for receiving the sound wave transmitted from the waveform transmitter. The waveform receivers are provided plurally or movably, and thereby even when the waveform is changed in a narrow space, the absolute position of the robot is calculated and positioned by the waveform receivers by utilizing a waveform signal received after waiting a delay time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for accurately positioning a robot for performing inspection and repair work of a reactor internal structure of a nuclear power plant at a predetermined construction position, and in particular, laser repair in a very narrow part of a core shroud surface. The present invention relates to a positioning device for a nuclear reactor inspection / repair robot for positioning a robot used for construction or the like.

  The reactor internal structure is made of a material having sufficient corrosion resistance and high-temperature strength such as austenitic stainless steel or high nickel alloy. However, when it is operated for a long period of time in a high temperature and high pressure environment, there is a possibility that the material will deteriorate due to neutron irradiation.

  For example, in the vicinity of the welded portion of the in-furnace structure, material sensitization and tensile residual stress due to welding heat input are formed, and therefore there is a possibility of potential stress corrosion cracking.

  Therefore, in recent years, as an effective repair technique in the early occurrence of fine stress corrosion cracking, for example, a pulse laser is irradiated on the wall surface of the furnace, etc., and a welding rod is melted on the material surface to close the stress corrosion cracking and stress corrosion cracking. The prevention of progress is being carried out. Laser peening for modifying the surface of the core shroud is recognized as an effective technique for preventive maintenance.

  Conventionally, a self-propelled robot by remote control has been developed for such inspection and repair, and various proposals have been made to position the robot at a construction position with high accuracy.

  For example, as an example, there is a proposal to provide a robot with a light beam projector and a light reflection amount sensor, irradiate a light beam in the direction of the in-furnace structure whose position is known in advance, and determine the position of the robot from the reflected light ( Patent Document 1). In this proposal, an arbitrary reference point is set, a vertical position is measured from a difference in water depth, and light from a light beam projector is measured by a reflection sensor to detect a horizontal displacement.

  As another example, while moving the robot along the inner surface of the furnace wall, ultrasonic waves are transmitted to the furnace wall, and the type of protrusions provided on the furnace wall by the change of reflected waves, and the robot for the protrusions A method of detecting and specifying the position of the main body and performing positioning has also been proposed (see Patent Document 1).

Moreover, when making a laser repair apparatus approach to a construction part, a movable trolley | bogie is installed in the upper part of a nuclear reactor, and a repair apparatus is suspended from this trolley and it is made to approach a construction part by movement of a trolley | bogie.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-311178 JP-A-10-142383

  However, in the above-described conventional technology, for example, in a narrow place where the jet pump is arranged on the entire circumference, such as the outer surface of the core shroud, particularly in an intricate place where the robot needs to move back and forth and right and left after being suspended. In places where the waveform of ultrasonic waves or laser light is changed by a pump or the like, it has been difficult to perform highly accurate positioning.

  In addition, it is difficult to perform visual observation using an underwater camera, etc., and it is possible to accurately grasp whether or not the robot is positioned at the part where laser peening is performed for laser welding and core shroud surface modification. There were cases where it was not possible.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and is applied to a small and thin robot or the like in a narrow environment state where a jet pump is arranged on the entire circumference such as the outer surface of a core shroud. It is an object of the present invention to provide a positioning device for a nuclear inspection / repair robot capable of easily and accurately positioning a robot at a construction position.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 1, a self-propelled robot that performs operations such as inspection and repair on an underwater wall surface in the nuclear reactor, and the robot mounted in the robot, A waveform transmitter for transmitting sound waves in the water, a waveform receiver provided in the reactor corresponding to the construction route of the robot, and receiving the sound waves transmitted from the waveform transmitter, and receiving the waveform A distance measuring device for measuring a relative distance from the robot to the waveform receiver based on a waveform signal received with a delay time by a device, and information on a movement route to a preset construction position of the robot. Based on the stored construction route generator, the absolute position data in the furnace of the waveform receiver and the relative distance data from the robot to the waveform oscillator, the tribulation method is used to identify the robot. A position detector for calculating a position, and a target for the robot based on a difference between a current position of the robot obtained by the position detector and a set position on a construction route stored in the construction route generator. There is provided a positioning device for a nuclear inspection / repair robot characterized by comprising a movement indicator for giving a movement instruction to a position on a construction route to be performed.

  In the invention according to claim 2, a plurality of the waveform receivers are installed along the reactor wall of the reactor, and the position detector calculates the position of the robot for each receiver. Provide a positioning device for inspection and repair robots.

  In the invention which concerns on Claim 3, the said waveform receiver is set as the structure which moves to the up-down direction or the circumferential direction along the furnace wall of the said reactor, In the said position detector, the position of the said robot is set for every fixed height. A positioning device for a nuclear reactor inspection / repair robot is calculated.

  In the invention according to claim 4, the position detector includes a light source installed on the robot, at least one light source detector installed in a furnace with a predetermined installation position, and the light source detector. Provided is a positioning device for a nuclear reactor inspection / repair robot, which is a distance calculator that calculates a distance to the robot using an angle formed with the light source.

  In the invention according to claim 5, the robot includes an inclinometer that detects the amount of inclination in water, and the robot can be controlled to a constant posture based on a detection value of the inclinometer. Providing a positioning system for nuclear reactor inspection and repair robots.

  According to the present invention, the robot is equipped with a waveform transmitter that transmits sound waves in the water in the reactor, and receives the sound waves transmitted from the waveform transmitter in the reactor in an arrangement corresponding to the construction route of the robot. Even if the waveform changes in a narrow space by arranging a waveform receiver and providing multiple waveform receivers or making it movable, this waveform receiver can receive with a delay time. Since the absolute position of the robot is calculated and positioned using the generated waveform signal, for example, even in a complicated and narrow space environment where the jet pump is arranged around the entire circumference, such as the outer surface of the core shroud, By applying a small and thin robot or the like, the robot can be easily and accurately positioned at the construction position.

  Embodiments of a positioning apparatus for a nuclear reactor inspection / repair robot according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment (FIGS. 1 to 4)>
FIG. 1 is an overall schematic configuration diagram showing a positioning apparatus for a nuclear reactor inspection / repair robot. 2A is a configuration diagram showing the robot, and FIG. 2B is a side view of FIG. FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are operation explanatory views showing the in-furnace positioning method.

  First, the configuration of the robot used in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. This robot 1 is configured by supporting suction pads 2 as rotary suction legs at four locations on the top, bottom, left and right of a small and thin robot main body 1a by a telescopic mechanism 3 such as a hydraulic piston. Each suction pad 2 is provided with an ejector 4 and a roller 5 as a suction force adjusting mechanism.

  A suspension mechanism 6 is provided at the upper end of the robot main body 1a so that it can be suspended to a predetermined position in the nuclear reactor.

  The expansion / contraction mechanism 3 can be rotated with the end portion on the robot body 1a side as a fulcrum by a rotation mechanism 7 such as a gear. Then, the degree of suction by the suction pad 2 can be adjusted by the drainage jet function of the ejector 4, and the underwater movement is performed. That is, when approaching the underwater wall surface in the nuclear reactor, for example, the wall surface 8 such as the outer peripheral surface of the core shroud, the adsorption force can be adjusted by the negative pressure in the adsorption pad 2 generated by the ejector 4. With the suction adjustment function and the rotation function of the suction pad 2, it can be moved in all directions, including up and down, left and right, by a so-called worm-like operation.

An example of the robot moving method is as follows.
(1) The four suction pads 2 are sucked and brought into a state of being sucked by the wall surface 8.
(2) The roller 5 installed in the suction pad 2 is pushed out by the cylinder and pressed against the wall surface 8 to slightly push up only two suction pads 2 to reduce the frictional force with the wall surface 8, for example.
(3) For example, when moving from the state shown in FIG. 2 (A) to the right side of the figure, the expansion / contraction mechanism 3 of the pair of suction pads 2 arranged on the upper and lower sides on the right side of the figure is simultaneously extended and sucked. The pad 2 is pushed out.
(4) When the roller 5 in the extended suction pad 2 is contracted, it returns to a predetermined suction force, and the frictional force between the suction pad 2 and the wall surface 8 increases.
(5) After the frictional force with the wall surface 8 is restored, the roller 5 of the suction pad 2 disposed on the upper and lower sides on the left side of the figure is pushed out and pressed against the wall surface 8, and the suction pad 2 is slightly pushed up to frictional force with the wall surface 8 Reduce. In this case, the suction pad 2 is pushed out by simultaneously extending the pistons of the hydraulic cylinder.

  By repeating the above operations sequentially and repeating the measuring operation, horizontal running becomes possible.

  As for the vertical movement, after the telescopic mechanism 3 as the two pairs of rotary suction legs is turned vertically, the movement can be performed by the same repetitive operation as the horizontal movement.

  The robot body 1a of the robot 1 is provided with a laser welding machine 9a and an underwater camera 9b.

  The robot body 1a is provided with an inclinometer 20 and a waveform transmitter 21.

  The inclinometer 20 detects the amount of inclination of the robot 1 in water, and the controller 1 operates the suction pad 2 based on the detected value and adjusts the support state to bring the robot 1 into a fixed posture. It is possible to control.

  The waveform transmitter 21 transmits an ultrasonic wave in a predetermined direction, for example, upward in water in the nuclear reactor.

  Further, the robot 1 is connected to a control device 30 arranged on the furnace, which will be described later, via a cable 9c.

  Next, the positioning device configuration of the robot 1 using the control device 30 and the like and the positioning action in the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) will be described using FIG. 1, FIG. 3 and FIG.

  In FIG. 1, as an example of a reactor inspection / repair using the inspection / repair robot 1, a core shroud 14 including an RPV 10 and an upper body 11, an intermediate body 12, and a lower body 13 installed in the RPV 10. The construction state in the gap part (annulus part) is shown.

  In the annulus, a plurality of jet pumps 16 are installed in the circumferential direction. For example, there are places where the jet pumps 16 are not installed at the reactor orientations of 0 degrees and 180 degrees. From this place, the robot 1 and accompanying self-propelled equipment are suspended.

  In the annulus, a plurality of waveform receivers 22 for receiving ultrasonic waves transmitted from the waveform transmitter 21 of the robot 1 are arranged corresponding to the construction route of the robot 1, and the shroud drag at the upper end of the core shroud 14. 15 is suspended by a fixing tool 23. The waveform receiver 22 is connected to the control device 30 disposed outside the furnace together with the robot 1.

  The control device 30 includes a distance measuring device 31, a position detector 32, a construction route generator 33, a movement indicator 34, a signal generator 35, and the like.

  The distance measuring device 31 performs internal processing such as waveform shaping on the output from the waveform receiver 22 that has received the ultrasonic waveform transmitted from the waveform transmitter 21 of the robot 1, and then the signal from the signal generator 3. The delay time is calculated using as a trigger.

  The position detector 32 calculates the absolute position of the robot 1 using the principle of triangulation based on the absolute position data of each waveform receiver 22 in the furnace and the relative position of the robot 1 to the waveform oscillator 21. It is configured as a distance calculator.

  The construction route generator 33 stores movement route information to a construction position of the robot 1 set in advance.

  The movement indicator 34 is configured as a distance calculator for moving the robot 1 along the target trajectory based on the position of the inspection / repair robot 1 obtained from the position detector 32 and the output of the construction route generator 33. Has been. For example, when the robot 1 shown in FIG. 2 is used, the movement indicator 34 controls the timing control of the suction pad 2 and the operation of the expansion / contraction mechanism 3 and realizes the function of moving to a predetermined position. is there.

  The signal generator 35 transmits a signal to the distance measuring device 31 and the robot 1 based on the distance calculation result from the position detector 32.

  Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 3 shows a detailed arrangement configuration example of the waveform receiver 22 schematically shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 shows a reception operation by the waveform receiver 22.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of waveform receivers 22 (a to h) are installed using a fixing jig 23. In the illustrated example, the waveform receivers 22 are arranged in a lattice pattern with a predetermined interval in the vertical direction, for example, in a two-row arrangement. The plurality of waveform receivers 22 are temporarily fixed to the bottom part (pump deck part or the like) of the annulus part by, for example, an anchor mechanism 25 for positioning in the furnace. As a temporary fixing method, for example, a suction pad or the like can be used.

  Under such a configuration, the ultrasonic output transmitted from the waveform transmitter 21 of the robot 1 is received by the waveform receivers 22 arranged in a grid pattern with different delay times.

  FIG. 4 shows the reception status of the ultrasonic waveform by the waveform receiver 22. The reception status to the waveform receiver 22 is changed by the jet pump 16 or the like described above, and as an example, reception is performed by (a), (c), (e), (h) among the plurality of waveform receivers 22. Suppose. In this case, the position of the inspection / repair robot 1 is received by the waveform receiver 22 of (a)-(e), (a)-(h), (a)-(c), (e)-(h). The calculation by the position detector is performed based on the waveform, and the position can be accurately identified with redundancy.

  That is, the ultrasonic wave from the waveform transmitter 21 mounted on the robot 1 propagates through the water in the RPV 10 and is received by the waveform receiver 22 by (a), (c), (e), (h). Based on the waveform signals received by these waveform receivers 22 with a delay time, the relative distance from the robot 1 to each waveform receiver 22 is measured by the distance measuring device.

  Then, the absolute position of the robot 1 is calculated by triangulation based on the absolute position data in the furnace of the waveform receiver 22 by the construction route generator 33 and the relative distance data from the robot 1 to the waveform oscillator 22. . Furthermore, since the construction route generator 33 stores the movement route information to the construction position of the robot 1 set in advance, the movement indicator 34 obtains the position detector 32 and the position detector 32. Based on the difference between the current position of the robot 1 and the set position on the construction route stored in the construction route generator 33, the robot 1 is instructed to move to a target position on the construction route. The posture of the robot 1 can be controlled to a constant posture by the tilt angle meter 20.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the reception status of the waveform receiver 22 is changed by the jet pump 16 or the like, for example, (a), (c), (e), (h) can be received. The position of the inspection / repair robot 1 can be calculated by the waveform receiver 22 of (a)-(e), (a)-(h), (a)-(c), (e)-(h), It is possible to accurately identify the position with redundancy. Further, the posture of the inspection / repair robot 1 can be controlled to a constant posture by the tilt angle meter 20.

<Second Embodiment (FIGS. 1 and 5)>
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

  The difference between the present embodiment and the first embodiment is that the waveform receiver 22 is configured to move in the vertical direction along the furnace wall of the RPV 10. This is in the configuration in which is calculated.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the waveform receiver 22 is mounted on an elevating jig 24 having a function of moving up and down along the core shroud 14. The waveform receiver 22 is temporarily fixed to the bottom portion (pump deck portion or the like) of the annulus portion by the anchor mechanism 25. As a method for fixing the waveform receiver 22, for example, a suction pad or the like can be used. Since other configurations are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the waveform receiver 22 is stopped at every fixed distance by the lifting jig 24 and the position of the robot 1 is calculated. That is, the output from the waveform transmitter 21 on the robot 1 is measured at different positions by the waveform receiver 22 that moves up and down along the shroud surface.

  Accordingly, in this embodiment as well, in the same way as in the first embodiment, when the reception status of the waveform receiver 22 is changed by the jet pump 16 or the like, the position of the inspection / repair robot 1 corresponds to each movement position of the waveform receiver 22. Thus, the position can be accurately identified with redundancy. In the present embodiment, the number of installed waveform receivers 22 can be reduced.

<Third Embodiment (FIGS. 1 and 6 to 8)>
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are operation explanatory views.

  The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the waveform receiver 22 is configured not only to move vertically along the furnace wall of the RPV 10 but also to move in the circumferential direction of the core shroud 14. The detector 32 is configured such that the position of the robot 1 is calculated for each fixed height. Since other configurations are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in this embodiment, the waveform receiver 22 is mounted on a moving jig 25 having a function of moving up and down along the shroud 14 and a function of moving around the shroud. .

  Then, the output from the waveform transmitter 21 on the inspection / repair robot 1 is measured at different positions by the waveform receiver 22 that moves vertically and horizontally along the shroud surface.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the waveform receiver 22 is moved by a fixed distance in the vertical direction x, and the waveform receiver 22 is wound and unwound by the moving jig 25 so that the waveform can be received. The position of the robot 1 can be calculated.

  Further, the position of the robot 1 can be calculated at a moving position on the shroud circumference of the moving jig 25 that can be moved by a certain distance in the circumferential direction (left-right direction in the figure) y and received by the waveform receiver 22. The posture of the inspection / repair robot 1 can be controlled to a fixed posture by the tilt angle meter 20.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, while controlling the posture of the inspection / repair robot 1 to a constant posture by the inclinometer 20, the distance is kept constant by using the waveform transmitter 21, and the moving jig 25 is shroud. The inspection / repair robot 1 can travel on the shroud surface by traveling on the circumference. At this time, when the transmission waveform cannot be received during traveling, the feeding amount of the moving jig 25 can be changed and the robot 1 can be guided in the same manner as described above.

  In order to change the vertical position of the robot 1, the posture of the robot 1 is controlled to a constant posture by the inclinometer 20, and the time difference between the output of the waveform transmitter 21 received by the waveform transmitter 21 is constant. The moving jig 25 is fed out while being controlled so as to maintain the above. Thereby, the inspection / repair robot 1 can be moved up and down.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the robot 1 can freely travel along the shroud surface by positioning up and down and left and right, and positioning can be performed reliably.

<Fourth Embodiment (FIGS. 9 and 10)>
FIG. 9 is an overall view showing the configuration of the fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is an enlarged view for explaining the detailed configuration and operation.

  As shown in these drawings, the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the detector includes a light source 41 installed on the robot, and at least one installed in the furnace with a predetermined installation position. The light source detector 40 is a distance calculator that calculates the distance to the robot 1 using the angle formed by the light source detector 40 and the light source 41. Since other configurations are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  In this embodiment, the elevation angle of the light source detector 40 installed at a known position in the furnace is obtained by capturing the orientation of the light source 41 mounted on the inspection / repair robot 1 using the light source detector 40 installed in the furnace. The position of the inspection / repair robot 1 is identified by the value.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of the positioning method. As shown in FIG. 10, a light source detector 40 having a tilt mechanism 43 and a pan mechanism 44 is provided to capture a light source 41 mounted on the robot 1 with a built-in camera 42.

  By installing the light source detector 40 at a known position in the furnace, the position of the robot 1 can be calculated from the rotation angle (P) and the elevation angle (T). Further, the posture of the inspection / repair robot 1 can be controlled to a constant posture by the tilt angle meter 20.

  According to this embodiment, positioning can be performed easily and reliably even when the robot 1 is allowed to travel freely along the shroud vertical direction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The whole schematic block diagram which shows the positioning device in 1st Embodiment of this invention. (A) is a block diagram which shows the robot by 1st Embodiment of this invention, (B) is a side view of the figure (A). Action | operation explanatory drawing which shows the positioning method in a furnace by 1st Embodiment of this invention. Action | operation explanatory drawing which shows the positioning method in a furnace by 1st Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows 3rd Embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows 3rd Embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The whole figure showing composition of a 4th embodiment of the present invention. The enlarged view explaining the detailed structure and effect | action of 4th Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Robot 1a Robot main body 2 Suction pad 3 Telescopic mechanism 4 Ejector 5 Roller 6 Hanging mechanism 7 Rotating mechanism 8 Wall surface 9a Laser welding machine 9b Underwater camera 10 RPV
11 Upper body 12 Middle body 13 Lower body 14 Shroud 15 Lug 16 Jet pump 20 Inclinometer 21 Waveform transmitter 22 Waveform receiver 23 Fixing jig 24 Lifting jig 25 Anchoring mechanism 26 Moving jig 30 Signal generator 31 Distance measurement Device 32 Position calculator 33 Construction route generator 34 Movement indicator 40 Light source detector 41 Light source 42 Camera 43 Tilt mechanism 44 Pan mechanism

Claims (5)

A self-propelled robot that performs operations such as inspection and repair on the underwater wall surface in the reactor, a waveform transmitter that is mounted on the robot and transmits sound waves in the water in the reactor, and in the reactor Based on a waveform receiver provided with an arrangement corresponding to the construction route of the robot, receiving a sound wave transmitted from the waveform transmitter, and a waveform signal received with a delay time by the waveform receiver, A distance measuring device for measuring a relative distance from the robot to the waveform receiver, a construction route generator storing movement route information to a predetermined construction position of the robot, and an absolute value in the furnace of the waveform receiver A position detector that calculates the absolute position of the robot by triangulation based on the position data and the relative distance data from the robot to the waveform oscillator, and obtained by this position detector A movement indicator for instructing the robot to move to a target position on the construction route based on a difference between the current position of the robot and a set position on the construction route stored in the construction route generator. Reactor inspection / repair robot positioning device. The reactor inspection and repair according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the waveform receivers are installed along a reactor wall of the reactor, and the position detector calculates the position of the robot for each receiver. Robot positioning device. The waveform receiver is configured to move in a vertical direction or a circumferential direction along a reactor wall of the nuclear reactor, and the position detector calculates the position of the robot at every predetermined height. Positioning equipment for nuclear reactor inspection and repair robots. The position detector uses a light source installed on the robot, at least one light source detector installed in the furnace with a predetermined installation position, and an angle formed by the light source detector and the light source. The positioning apparatus for a nuclear reactor inspection / repair robot according to claim 1, wherein the positioning apparatus is a distance calculator that calculates a distance to the robot. The reactor inspection according to claim 1, wherein the robot includes an inclinometer that detects an amount of inclination in water, and the robot can be controlled to a fixed posture based on a detection value of the inclinometer.・ Repair robot positioning device.

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