Diakont, a leading provider of refueling services and tooling to the nuclear industry, is now performing underwater cleaning and decontamination of reactor refueling cavities while flooded, using advanced robotic tooling.

Diakont, a leading provider of refueling services and tooling to the nuclear industry, is now performing underwater cleaning and decontamination of reactor refueling cavities while flooded, using advanced robotic tooling. Historically, plant operators completed cleaning and decontamination of these surfaces manually during refueling outages. However, this method is a slow and less effective process that can result in excessive personnel dose exposure. Diakonts robotic cleaning and decontamination services also outperform competitor robotic solutions. Featuring unmatched maneuverability through the use of thrusters to fly/swim when navigating to difficult-to-reach locations, Diakonts robotic cleaning and decontamination services deliver considerably safer and more efficient results that can reduce both personnel dose exposure and critical path schedule duration.

The key functional element of the Diakont cleaning tool is a hybrid crawler-ROV tool, remotely operated by a small team of Diakont field technicians from a control station on the perimeter of the refueling floor. Only a single technician is required at the side of the cavity, to belay the umbilical. The tool transitions seamlessly during operation between ROV "flying" mode and cleaning "crawler" mode, for maximal deployment flexibility and bridge-free operation. No adjustments are required to the tool during operation, including when transitioning between cleaning the cavity floor, walls, and complex shapes such as a drywell head. The cleaning tool attaches and drives along the cavity and component surfaces using a high-force, no-flow vortex generator, even in the presence of RHR or shutdown cooling flow. Efficient, effective cleaning is performed utilizing a rugged brushing action to detach the crud, while vacuuming it away at high flow rates to a submerged filter.
"With our underwater cleaning and decontamination service offerings, weve introduced game-changing robotic technology to the way this task has traditionally been handled by plant operators," says Jacco Goemans, Director of Nuclear Solutions for Diakont. "By eliminating the need to send personnel into the cavity to perform these tasks by hand, Diakonts service provides a low-risk solution for decontaminating the reactor cavities, resulting in a reduction in personnel dose exposure, and in some cases shortening critical path outage durations."
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About Diakont
Diakont is a leading designer, manufacturer and provider of high-technology products and services for the nuclear power industry, providing radiation-tolerant cameras and robotics, as well as inspection, maintenance and repair services for plants of all designs. With a mission of enhancing safety while improving the overall efficiency of the nuclear industry, Diakont has been deploying state-of-the-art robotics and world-class service to solve inspection and repair obstacles for over 25 years.