• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.1913-1924
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• 2024

This paper presents the design and operation of an autonomous robot for pyroprocess automation, which requires unique approaches beyond those used in industrial applications to achieve the desired performance. Maintaining an extremely dry atmosphere is crucial to handle various materials, including chloride, and an autonomous system ensures this dry environment. The drying room dehumidifier was carefully selected and designed to generate dry air, and different types of dry air conditioning performance were evaluated, including assessing worker accessibility inside the mock-up to determine the system's feasibility. Containers used for process materials were modified to fit the gripper system of the gantry robot for automation. The loading and unloading of process materials in each equipment were automatically performed to connect the process equipment with the robotic system. The gantry robot primarily operated through macro motion to approach waypoints containing process materials, eliminating the need for precise approach motion. The robot's tapered jaw design allowed it to grasp the target object even with imperfect positioning. Robot motions were programmed using a robot simulator for initial positioning and motion planning, and real accuracy was tested in a mock-up facility using the OPC platform.