A Performance Evaluation of a Notebook PC under a High Dose-Rate Gamma Ray Irradiation Test

Jai Wan Cho,Kyung Min Jeong

doi:10.1155/2014/362354

Abstract

We describe the performance of a notebook PC under a high dose-rate gamma ray irradiation test. A notebook PC, which is small and light weight, is generally used as the control unit of a robot system and loaded onto the robot body. Using TEPCO’s CAMS (containment atmospheric monitoring system) data, the gamma ray dose rate before and after a hydrogen explosion in reactor units 1–3 of the Fukushima nuclear power plant was more than 150 Gy/h. To use a notebook PC as the control unit of a robot system entering a reactor building to mitigate the severe accident situation of a nuclear power plant, the performance of the notebook PC under such intense gamma-irradiation fields should be evaluated. Under a similar dose-rate (150 Gy/h) gamma ray environment, the performances of different notebook PCs were evaluated. In addition, a simple method for a performance evaluation of a notebook PC under a high dose-rate gamma ray irradiation test is proposed. Three notebook PCs were tested to verify the method proposed in this paper.

Highlights

After the criticality accident at the JCO uranium refinery in 1999, Japan developed a number of robot systems for emergency response to accidents at nuclear facilities including nuclear power plants [1,2,3,4]
In the nuclear robot system for emergency preparedness developed after the JCO criticality accident in 1999, the radiation-hardness design life (20 Gy total irradiation dose) of the robot control unit including electronic circuits, devices, and Toughbook notebook PC was determined assuming that the robot should work for two hours in 10 Gy/h gamma ray dose-rate environments [5]
We describe the performance of a notebook PC under a high dose-rate gamma ray irradiation test

Summary

Introduction

After the criticality accident at the JCO uranium refinery in 1999, Japan developed a number of robot systems for emergency response to accidents at nuclear facilities including nuclear power plants [1,2,3,4]. In the nuclear robot system for emergency preparedness developed after the JCO criticality accident in 1999, the radiation-hardness design life (20 Gy total irradiation dose) of the robot control unit including electronic circuits, devices, and Toughbook notebook PC was determined assuming that the robot should work for two hours in 10 Gy/h gamma ray dose-rate environments [5]. The ultimate objective of nuclear power plant safety is to prevent the release of radioactive material into the environment To achieve this objective, a robot system for emergency preparedness in a nuclear power plant should enter the reactor building and PCV (primary containment vessel) and carry out missions to manipulate vent valve operations for the discharge of radioactive gas through a stack. Assuming that a robot system enters the reactor building to prevent or mitigate a severe accident in a nuclear power plant, the robot system should be able to manipulate the components for supplying water inside the reactor area to cool down the decay heat of the reactor core

Methods

Results

Conclusion