An investigation of in-situ characterisation and processing of irradiated nuclear graphite using novel robotic technologies

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Introduction and BackgroundThe UK has some 90,000 tonnes of irradiated graphite, a waste source that represents a significant technical challenge for the UK. New inspection systems will be developed as part of this project to characterise this graphite and carry out proof-of-principle in-situ treatment.Once prototypes are developed, visits and trial deployments at Magnox sites will take place across the UK. Primarily this will be to investigate the efficacy of selected techniques for characterisation and carry out deployments of the instruments inside Magnox nuclear reactors.Objectives1. Develop working robotic inspection systems to characterise the inside of the UK's Magnox reactor fleet.2. Produce data pertaining to the inside of these reactors, contributing to the Magnox decommissioning strategy.This project will focus specifically on characterisation of the Magnox graphite, and make use of a range of inspection techniques and has the potential to carry out some non-invasive treatment of the graphite surface.