Automation
THE PHOENIX ROBOT SOLUTION
Broad range radio analytical measurements are carried out in support of verification of nonproliferation treaties, commercial nuclear applications, nuclear waste processing, environmental monitoring, cleanup and restoration of the contaminated sites, and other national and global security applications. Wet radiochemical analysis techniques continue to be paramount importance in the analysis of beta and alpha emitting radio nuclides that can be readily measured using gamma or mass spectroscopic techniques. In many cases radio analytical methods require tedious and labor intensive sample preparation, separation, detection and data interpretation procedures.
In this respect, the Scope of the PHOENIX project was to automate the handling of hot radioactive samples (high active liquid waste solutions, spent fuel/input accountancy tank samples from reprocessing facilities) in order to facilitate analytical separations in the spent fuel laboratory and reduce radiation burden on staff in accordance with the ALARA principle. Previous experiences with robotic systems showed decreased failing rates on sample analysis, increased repeatability and higher throughput, compared to manual operations.
The Phoenix Project Components
The automation system utilizes a one-arm robotic system (Theromo-CRS-CataLyst-5) and several electronic modules for controlling pumps, hotplates, IR-switches and other devices.
State of the art software techniques like .NET 2.0 development, MS SQL Server database (utilizing stored procedures) were applied to reliably control the robotic arm (COM component) and the associated electronic devices (ADAM .NET library).
The tailor-made software application prioritizes reliability (no downtimes due to software bugs) as well as automatic and reliable continuation after unexpected down times. Furthermore the software application provides flexibility regarding changes in the chemical procedures.
The Phoenix Management System
The main application called Phoenix Management System allows:
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Defining new hardware components (pumps, COM-ports, reagents, ...) |
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Integrating these components into the system by assigning robot locations, electronic controller action (ADAM) or rack locations |
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Defining process steps with various actions related to a specific system part |
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writing new porcedures without any programming skills |
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Executing, pausing and continuing procedures as easy as running your DVD at home |
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Watch our demo-video (download make take a minute or two at a high speed connection) Courtesy IAEA-SAL Seibersdorf/AUSTRIA |
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The image on the top shows the main view of the Phoenix management System application. The background image can be replaced with any drawing or image the user provides, by simply uplopading it. The image on the bottom shows the dialog for defining process steps. Here it is possible to "reprogram" a hole procedure without any programming skills, by simply defining the parameters for each step and shifting the entry into the list at an apropriate location. The application utilizes state of the art ribbon technology for navigation through the application. |
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The ribbon to the left is the main ribbon to handle and execute processes. The ribbon to the right allows access to the application setup including process and procedure definition. |
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The photo to the left shows an IAEA-workshop designed barcode reader station, an IAEA-workshop designed separation rack unit and the teach pendant provided by the robot vendor. The photo to the right shows the hotplate rack without the covering hood (required to exhaust acidic vapors) |
