Abstract
With nuclear power plants worldwide approaching their design lifespans, plans for decommissioning nuclear power plants are increasing, and interest in decommissioning technology is growing. Laser cutting, which is suitable for high-speed cutting in underwater environments and is amenable to remote control and automation, has attracted considerable interest. In this study, the effects of laser cutting were analyzed with respect to relevant parameters to achieve high-quality underwater laser cutting for the decommissioning of nuclear power plants. The kerf width, drag line, and roughness of the specimens during the high-power laser cutting of 50 mm-thick stainless steel in an underwater environment were analyzed based on key parameters (focal position, laser power, and cutting speed) to determine the conditions for satisfactory cutting surface quality. The results indicated that underwater laser cutting with a speed of up to 130 mm/min was possible at a focal position of 30 mm and a laser power of 9 kW; however, the best-quality cutting surface was obtained at a cutting speed of 30 mm/min.
Highlights
As of December 2020, 192 nuclear reactors have been permanently shut down, and 313 reactors have been connected to the power grid for more than 30 years [1]
Ever, because the study was not conducted in an underwater environment, we examined the effect of the focal position during underwater laser cutting
Because the study was not conducted in an underwater environment amined the effect of the focal position during underwater laser cutting
Summary
As of December 2020, 192 nuclear reactors have been permanently shut down, and 313 reactors have been connected to the power grid for more than 30 years [1]. Decommissioned reactor structures are disposed of in a radioactive-waste facility through a process involving storage and transportation after being decontaminated, packaged, and subjected to various treatment steps to prevent the spread of contaminants In this process, in order to increase the efficiency of the storage space of waste, it is necessary to reduce the load volume by increasing the cutting quality when dismantling the structure. Their study provided meaningful results in terms of laser cutting parameters and cutting quality, their findings are not applicable to the thick stainless steel plates used in nuclear power plants. In this study, underwater laser cutting experiments on a 50 mm-thick stainless steel specimen were conducted using a fiber laser with a maximum power of. The kerf width, drag line, and roughness of specimens were analyzed with respect to key cutting parameters, such as focal position, laser power, and cutting speed, to determine the optimal conditions for a satisfactory cutting surface quality [32]
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