KR20080039044A - Exclusion apparatus of air flow - Google Patents

Abstract

An exclusion apparatus of air flow is provided to minimize generation of radioactive waste by minimizing a contamination area by restricting a radioactive contamination area to an inner space of a body unit in opening a hot cell door. An exclusion apparatus(100) of air flow includes a body unit(110), a connection unit(120), and a door unit(130). The body unit connects with a closed space in contact with an opening portion of the closed space under a contamination environment and has a predetermined inner space(A). The connection unit connects the air in the inner space to an external part of the body unit selectively. The door unit is provided on one surface of the body unit, and opens and closes the body unit. The closed space is a hot cell serving as a radiation shielding facility.

Description

Exclusion Apparatus of Air Flow

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an air flow blocking device according to the present invention;

2 is a side view of FIG. 1;

3 is a front view of FIG. 1;

4 is a configuration diagram showing a state in which the air flow blocking device of FIG. 1 is mounted;

5 is a flow chart showing the operation process by the air flow blocking device of FIG.

<Explanation of Signs of Major Parts of Drawings>

10: hot cell 12: hot cell door

100: air flow blocking device 110: main body unit

120: communication unit 130: door unit

140: mobile unit 150: height adjustment unit

160: sealed unit 170: pressure measuring unit

A: Internal space of the blocking device B: Closed space of the hot cell

The present invention relates to an airflow blocking device, and more particularly, to an airflow blocking device that effectively blocks air flow in a closed space placed in a polluted environment to prevent contamination spread.

In general, a hot cell, a radiation shielding facility, should be provided for the treatment of power generation or spent nuclear fuel using nuclear power or related experiments. These hot cells are usually forbidden for operators to enter, and all tests, equipment handling, and simple equipment repairs use remote controls. However, in case of repair of test equipment and equipment, most of them cannot be performed by remote controller, so the operator enters the hot cell and repairs it.

On the other hand, the hot cell is sealed to a very high radiation level, and the internal air pressure is set to about 15 mmWg lower than atmospheric pressure so that the air contaminated by the hot cell gap does not flow out. The pressure in the intervention area, the work area in contact with the hot cell, is set at a low atmospheric pressure of 6 to 8 mmWg. Thus, under normal circumstances, air in the work area flows into the hot cell so that contamination does not spread.

However, when the operator enters the inside of the hot cell to repair the test equipment and equipment, the hot cell door must be opened. When the hot cell door is opened, the air flow in the hot cell area and the work area is parallel, and the air inside the hot cell is moved out of the hot cell. It will flow and contaminate the work area several times larger than the closed space inside the hot cell.

Accordingly, conventionally, when the hot cell door is opened to repair equipment and devices in the hot cell, contaminated air is leaked out or the radioactive material that is buried in the machine parts, protective clothing, etc. is spread out to the work area when the worker comes out of the hot cell. The entire area was contaminated. In addition, a lot of manpower and time was required to decontaminate the work area of several tens of times the area of the hot cell, and a large amount of radioactive waste caused by decontamination occurred.

The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an air flow blocking device for preventing the air in the closed space of the hot cell is leaked to the outside to contaminate the work space.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an air flow blocking device that is movable to be applied to a plurality of hot cells.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is in contact with the opening side of the closed space placed in the polluted environment and communicate with the closed space, the main body unit having a predetermined internal space, the air in the internal space outside the main body unit And a communication unit for selectively communicating with and a door unit provided on one surface of the main body unit to open and close the main body unit.

The closed space may be a hot cell, which is a radiation shielding facility.

On the other hand, the air flow blocking device according to the invention preferably comprises a mobile unit for moving the body unit. Here, the mobile unit may include a plurality of moving wheels provided on the side portion of the main unit.

In addition, the air flow blocking device according to the present invention preferably includes a height adjusting unit for adjusting the height of the main unit. Here, the height adjusting unit preferably includes an air cylinder whose length is adjusted by the inflow and outflow of air.

In addition, the lower portion of the main body unit is preferably in contact with the bottom surface is installed to seal the inner space.

In addition, the air flow blocking device according to the present invention is preferably provided with a closed unit to block the air flow in and out of the main body unit and the outside in contact with the closed space or the bottom surface.

In addition, the communication unit may exhaust the contaminated air in the inner space and adjust the pressure of the inner space. Here, the communication unit may include a control valve for adjusting the amount of air communicated with the outside of the main body unit and a fan-motor assembly for exhausting the air in the inner space controlled by the control valve. In addition, the communication unit more preferably comprises a filter unit for filtering the air exhausted by the fan-motor assembly. Here, the filter unit may include a HEPA filter.

On the other hand, the air flow blocking device according to the present invention is attached on the inner surface of the main body unit and provided on the detachable decontamination film and the inner space to measure the pressure difference between the pressure of the inner space and the outside of the main body unit It is preferable to include a pressure measuring unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of this embodiment, the same name and the same reference numerals are used for the same configuration and additional description thereof will be omitted.

1 to 3, the configuration of the air flow blocking device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. 1 is a perspective view showing the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a front view of FIG. 1.

The air flow blocking device 100 according to the present embodiment includes a main unit 110, a communication unit 120, and a door unit 130.

The main body unit 110 is configured to communicate with the closed space (B) by contacting the opening side of the closed space (B), in particular, a hot cell (hot cell) 10 which is a radiation shielding facility, partly open and contaminated. do. In addition, the body unit 110 has an internal space (A) of the operator can enter.

In the present embodiment, the main body unit 110 is formed in a box shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, and illustrates a form in which the front surface is open, but the main body unit 110 may be modified in various ways.

The material of the wall surface constituting the body unit 110 is not limited, but preferably made of a transparent material so that the working situation can be visually confirmed. In this embodiment, the main unit 110 is made of transparent tempered glass.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the lower part of the main body unit 110 is open and is configured to seal the inner space (A) in contact with the bottom surface to be installed.

That is, the main body unit 110 is in front contact with the opening side of the closed space (B) and the lower portion of the main unit 110 in contact with the bottom surface, so that the air in the inner space (A) of the main body unit is blocked from the outside do.

Here, the closed space (B) or a portion in contact with the bottom surface, it is preferable that the sealing unit 160 for blocking the air flow in and out of the main body unit 110 and the outside is preferably provided. In the present embodiment, the sealing unit 160 is provided in the form of a gasket at the corner portion of the main body unit 110, and specifically, the front sealing unit 162 and the bottom surface provided at a portion contacting the closed space (B); It is configured to include a lower sealing unit 164 provided in the contact portion.

The communication unit 120 exhausts the contaminated air in the internal space A after the operation of the main body unit 110, and is a component for adjusting the pressure when the main body unit 110 is installed.

In this embodiment, the contaminated air in the inner space A sequentially passes through the control valve 126 and the fan-motor assembly 122 constituting the communication unit 120, and is a work area that is external to the main body unit 110. Is exhausted.

On the other hand, since the pressure of the inner space A of the main body unit 110 is lower than the pressure of the work zone that is outside of the main body unit 110, the outside air follows the flow path of the fan-motor assembly 122 and the control valve 126. It can be naturally introduced into the inner space (A), the amount of air introduced is to be controlled by the control valve 126.

As such, in this embodiment, the pressure of the inner space A of the main body unit can be adjusted by adjusting the opening and closing degree of the control valve 126.

On the other hand, it is preferable that the communication unit 120 is further provided with a filter unit 124.

The filter unit 124 filters the particles of air contaminated with radiation from the air exhausted from the internal space A through the fan-motor assembly 122 and discharges them to the outside.

The filter unit 124 may be configured in various forms, for example, a HEPA filter may be applied. Here, the HEPA filter refers to a High Efficiency Particulate Air Filter, that is, a high-performance dust collection filter, and it is generally composed of a rectangular frame that wraps the filter paper overlapping several layers with a constant thickness using asbestos fibers.

The HEPA filter is capable of adsorbing fine particles with strong adsorption power, and is currently widely used in clean rooms of electronics manufacturing industries and operating rooms of hospitals.

In the above-described embodiment, the communication unit 120 is configured to simultaneously perform the function of exhausting the air in the interior space (A) and the function of adjusting the pressure by introducing the outside air into the interior space (A), Alternatively, the fan-motor assembly 122 and the filter unit 124 may be configured separately from the exhaust device for purifying the internal air to be exhausted to the outside, and a pressure regulator that can communicate with the outside to adjust the pressure Of course.

Next, the door unit 130 is provided on one surface of the body unit 110 to open and close the body unit 110, so that the worker can enter the internal space (A) of the body unit. In the present embodiment, the door unit 130 is illustrated in the side portion of the main body unit 110.

On the other hand, the air flow blocking device 100 according to the present invention preferably further comprises a moving unit 140, the height adjustment unit 150 and the sealing unit 160.

The mobile unit 140 is a component for moving the main body unit 110, this embodiment illustrates a form in which the main body unit 110 is composed of a total of four moving wheels on the side. Here, the installation position or the number of the moving wheels can be variously modified.

As such, by providing the mobile unit 140, the air flow blocking device 100 can be easily moved to a place where the hot cell 10 is provided, and thus, the mobile unit 140 can be used universally for several hot cells 10. .

The height adjusting unit 150 is a component for adjusting the height of the main body unit 110, in this embodiment is configured to include an air cylinder 152 whose length is adjusted by the inflow and outflow of air.

That is, the height of the main body unit 110 can be increased by injecting air, and the air is discharged to lower the height of the main body unit 110 so that the lower part of the main body is brought into close contact with the bottom surface of the main body unit A. Prevent air inflow and outflow.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, a main body support pin for supporting the main body is detachably provided, and is usually configured to be detached when supporting the main body and lowering the main unit 110.

The decontamination film (not shown) is attached to the inner surface of the main body unit 110 and is removed after the operation is completed. By attaching the decontamination film to the inner surface of the main body unit 110, by removing the decontamination film after the work is completed, it is possible to simply perform decontamination.

Such a decontamination film may be, for example, transparent adhesive vinyl or a wrap.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment on the inner space (A) of the main body unit is further provided with a pressure measuring unit 170 for measuring the pressure difference between the pressure of the inner space (A) and the outside. In this case, the pressure measuring unit 170 generally uses a manometer.

Referring to Figure 4, the air flow blocking device 100 according to the present invention will be described in the form that is installed in the hot cell 10 as follows.

As shown in FIG. 4, the air flow blocking device 100 is in contact with an opening of the hot cell 10, that is, the door of the hot cell 10, and communicates with the closed space B inside the hot cell 10.

In addition, the lower part of the main body unit 110 is open and descends downward to contact the bottom surface, thereby allowing the lower part of the main body to come into close contact with the bottom surface to prevent air from entering and leaving the inner space A and the outside of the main body unit. Make sure

Therefore, even when the door of the hot cell 10 is opened, the air inside the hot cell 10 diffuses only into the internal space A of the main body unit, and it can be prevented from spreading outside the main body unit 110, that is, to the work area. have.

Next, referring to Figure 5, the operation of the air flow blocking device according to the present invention will be described.

First, the decontamination film made of transparent adhesive vinyl or wrap is attached to the entire body unit 110. Then, the air flow blocking device 100 is moved to the hot cell door 12, and the opening side wall surface of the hot cell 10 is brought into contact with the front part of the main body unit 110.

At this time, the air flow blocking device 100 is provided with a mobile unit 140 is a smooth movement, the body unit 110 in contact with the hot cell 10 is provided with a sealed unit 160 such as a gasket hot cell The air flows in and out of the 10 and the main body unit 110 to block the sealing.

Next, the air is injected into the air cylinder 152 to facilitate the removal of the body support pin 154 to support the body unit 110 and to remove the body support pin 154. Then, the air of the air cylinder 152 is removed to make the bottom surface of the sealing unit 160 provided in the lower portion of the main body unit 110. At this time, the body unit 110 is sealed by the sealing unit 160, the air flow to the work area is blocked.

Then, the worker enters the interior space (A) of the body unit through the door unit 130 and waits. Then, another operator opens the hot cell door 12 by an electric switch operation.

The operator who opens the hot cell door 12 checks the pressure in the inner space A by the pressure measuring device, opens the control valve 126, and introduces the outside air into the inner space A so that the inner space of the main body unit ( A) Adjust the pressure to 3 mmWg lower than the atmospheric pressure in the work area. This control pressure is also in equilibrium with the pressure of the hot cell 10 so that the internal pressure of the hot cell 10 is also maintained at 3 mmWg.

The reason for adjusting the pressure of the inner space (A) of the hot cell 10 and the main body unit is that the fatigue of the worker is extreme when the operation is performed at a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure.

After the worker enters the hot cell 10 and completes the work, the worker comes out of the hot cell 10 and waits in the internal space A of the main body unit.

Next, when the hot cell door 12 is closed, the control valve 126 is completely opened and the fan-motor assembly 122 is operated to cover the inner surface of the main body unit 110, the protective clothing of the worker, the gas mask, and the protective shoe. The radioactive pollutant is sucked in and filtered by the filter unit 124, and then exhausted to the outside of the main body unit 110.

At this time, if the pressure difference between the internal space (A) and the external working zone by the exhaust of air is 25 mmWg or more, by closing the main unit unit 110 by the operation of the air cylinder 152 slightly sealed unit 160 The differential pressure between the interior space (A) and the work zone can be lowered by the outside air introduced through.

After a certain time after the fan-motor assembly 122 is operated, if the contamination of the inner surface of the main body unit 110 and the protective clothing of the worker has been removed, the operator separates and removes the decontamination film attached to the inner surface of the main body unit and removes the protective clothing. After taking off, the door unit 130 exits to the outside of the main body unit 110.

So far, the air flow blocking device has been mainly described as an example applied to a hot shield as a radiation shielding facility, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be universally applied to various types of closed spaces placed in a polluted environment.

In addition, those skilled in the art can be modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention and such modifications are within the scope of the present invention.

Air flow blocker according to the present invention having the above configuration has the following effects.

First, according to the present invention, there is an advantage that air in the closed space of the hot cell can be prevented from leaking to the outside to contaminate the work space.

Specifically, when the hot cell door is opened, radiation contamination is limited to the internal space of the main unit rather than the work area, thereby minimizing the contamination area, thereby minimizing radioactive waste and reducing manpower, time, and expenses required for decontamination. .

Minimizing the contamination area can minimize the generation of radioactive waste due to decontamination, which can reduce the cost of radioactive waste disposal, which is increasing day by day, as well as shortening the decontamination time and reducing the radiation exposure of decontamination workers due to the reduction of decontamination time. Can be.

In addition, by having a decontamination film attached to the inner surface of the main body unit and separated after the operation is completed, the manpower and time required for decontamination can be further shortened.

Second, it is configured to be easily moved by the mobile unit provided in the main body unit, it is possible to use universally for several hot cells in several hot cells.

That is, when an operator needs to enter the inside of the hot cell, the air flow blocking device according to the present invention can be moved to a place provided with the corresponding hot cell, thereby effectively preventing the air leakage inside the hot cell.

Claims (14)

A main body unit which is in contact with the opening side of the closed space placed in the polluted environment and communicates with the closed space and has a predetermined internal space; A communication unit for selectively communicating air in the inner space with the outside of the main body unit; A door unit provided on one surface of the main body unit to open and close the main body unit; Air flow blocking device is configured to include. The method of claim 1, The closed space is an airflow blocking device, characterized in that the hot cell (hot cell) that is a radiation shielding facility. The method of claim 1, Air flow blocking device further comprises a moving unit for moving the body unit. The method of claim 3, The moving unit is an air flow blocker, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of moving wheels provided on the side of the main unit. The method of claim 1, Air flow blocking device further comprises a height adjusting unit for adjusting the height of the main unit. The method of claim 1, The height adjustment unit is an air flow blocker, characterized in that it comprises an air cylinder whose length is adjusted by the inflow and outflow of air. The method of claim 1, A lower portion of the main unit is open; Air flow blocking device characterized in that the inner space is closed in contact with the bottom surface is installed. The method according to claim 1 or 7, The air flow blocking device further comprises a sealed unit to block the air flow in and out of the main body unit and the outside in a portion contacting the closed space or the bottom surface. The method of claim 1, The communication unit exhausts the polluted air in the inner space, characterized in that for controlling the pressure of the inner space air flow blocking device. The method of claim 9, The communication unit, A control valve for adjusting an amount of air communicated with the outside of the main body unit; And A fan-motor assembly for exhausting air in the internal space controlled by the control valve; Air flow blocking device comprising a. The method of claim 10, The communication unit further comprises a filter unit for filtering the air exhausted by the fan-motor assembly. The method of claim 11, The filter unit air flow blocking device characterized in that it comprises a HEPA filter (HEPA filter). The method of claim 1, Attached to the inner surface of the main unit and the air flow blocking device further comprising a detachable decontamination film. The method of claim 1, And a pressure measuring unit provided on the inner space and measuring a pressure difference between the pressure of the inner space and the outside of the main body unit.

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