Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
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Novel Roaming and Stationary Tethered Aerial Robots for Continuous Mobile Missions in Nuclear Power Plants

  • Gu, Beom W. (Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, KAIST) ;
  • Choi, Su Y. (Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, KAIST) ;
  • Choi, Young Soo (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) ;
  • Cai, Guowei (Department of Aerospace Engineering, Khalifa University) ;
  • Seneviratne, Lakmal (Department of Aerospace Engineering, Khalifa University) ;
  • Rim, Chun T. (Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, KAIST)
  • Received : 2015.11.30
  • Accepted : 2016.02.20
  • Published : 2016.08.25
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Abstract

In this paper, new tethered aerial robots including roaming tethered aerial robots (RTARs) for radioactive material sampling and stationary tethered aerial robots (STARs) for environment monitoring are proposed to meet extremely-long-endurance missions of nuclear power plants. The flight of the proposed tethered aerial robots may last for a few days or even a few months as long as the tethered cable provides continuous power. A high voltage AC or DC power system was newly adopted to reduce the mass of the tethered cable. The RTAR uses a tethered cable spooled from the aerial robot and an aerial tension control system. The aerial tension control system provides the appropriate tension to the tethered cable, which is accordingly laid down on the ground as the RTAR roams. The STAR includes a tethered cable spooled from the ground and a ground tension control system, which enables the STAR to reach high altitudes. Prototypes of the RTAR and STAR were designed and successfully demonstrated in outdoor environments, where the load power, power type, operating frequency, and flight attitude of the RTAR and STAR were: 180 W, AC 100 kHz, and 20 m; and 300 W, AC or DC 100 kHz, and 80 m, respectively.

Keywords

References

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