Steam Generator Maintenance Robot Design and Obstacle Avoidance Path Planning

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Nuclear Engineering

Background:

• Manual installation/removal of steam generator plugging plates in nuclear power plants is hazardous.
• High-radiation environments pose significant risks to human operators.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and validate a robotic system for safe and efficient steam generator main pipe plugging plate operations.
• To address the safety and convenience issues associated with manual operations.

Main Methods:

• A ten-degree-of-freedom robot combining a collaborative robotic arm and servo electric cylinder was designed.
• Forward and inverse kinematics were solved using a D-H parameter model.
• The RRT algorithm was employed for path planning in a simulated environment, with paths analyzed in three stages.

Main Results:

• The robotic system demonstrated the ability to complete the plate plugging task autonomously.
• Obstacle avoidance was achieved even with some path zigzagging in complex simulated environments.
• Simulation revealed stable joint parameter changes in the initial stage, with notable zigzagging in later stages for specific joints.

Conclusions:

• The developed plate plugging robot effectively reduces risks for operators in high-radiation nuclear environments.
• The system shows significant research and application value for nuclear power plant maintenance.
• Automated operation enhances both safety and efficiency in steam generator maintenance.