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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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Deep geologic repository progress—2025 Update
Editor's note: This article has was originally published in November 2023. It has been updated with new information as of June 2025.
Outside my office, there is a display case filled with rock samples from all over the world. It contains a disk of translucent, orange salt from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M.; a core of white-and-bronze gneiss from the site of the future deep geologic repository in Eurajoki, Finland; several angular chunks of fine-grained, gray claystone from the underground research laboratory at Bure, France; and a piece of coarse-grained granite from the underground research tunnel in Daejeon, South Korea.
J. Q. Ling W. D. Booth, R. Carrera, D. Tesar
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 19 | Number 3 | May 1991 | Pages 1823-1827
Impurity Control and Plasma-Facing Component | Proceedings of the Ninth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (Oak Brook, Illinois, October 7-11, 1990) | doi.org/10.13182/FST91-A29609
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A remote system is considered for the in-vessel maintenance of the IGNITEX device. The specified maintenance tasks include: inspection, coating repair of the first wall, and cleaning of the vacuum vessel. In this paper the conceptual design of the in-vessel remote maintenance system (IVRMS) is presented. The IVRMS consists of a manipulator chain, a series of dedicated tools as end-effectors, a control system, and a delivery system. A manipulator of snake type with 11 degrees of freedom (DOF), consisting of a toroidal chain (6 links) and a poloidal chain (3 links), is used to provide 90° toroidal reach and 360° poloidal reach in the IGNITEX vacuum vessel. The mechanical structure design of the manipulator uses light weight and compact actuator modules and carbon fiber materials for the links. The interface of the IVRMS with the IGNITEX system is described. A system control layout including the hardware and software architecture is discussed. The concept and implementation of this design provides general features for in-vessel remote maintenance of a small fusion tokamak.
