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Waste Retrieval End Effectors

Ultra-high Pressure Lightweight Scarifier on EMMA

Technology Category: Robotic End Effector Design

Description: The Pacific Northwest National Lab, the University of Missouri-Rolla, and Waterjet Technology, Inc. have developed two waterjet based robotic end effectors for the retrieval of sludge and hard waste inside underground storage tanks. The development was funded by DOE EM-50 through the Tanks Focus Area. These end effectors have been fully tested to measure their retrieval performance and dynamic reaction forces.

The Lightweight Scarifier (LWS) uses two 55,000 psi waterjets to fracture and dislodge hard waste at low water consumption rates. The LWS is coupled with an air conveyance system to pneumatically remove the dislodged waste and water that is used as the cutting fluid. The LWS has been tested with the GreyPilgrim EMMA manipulator (see above) at the National Institute of Science and Technology. Proof-of-principle retrieval testing was also conducted with the Light Duty Utility Arm (LDUA) retrieval system at PNNL to confirm that the LDUA has the structural capacity to maneuver the LWS while managing the conveyance and high-pressure hoses.

Confined Sluicing End Effector

The Confined Sluicing End Effector (CSEE) was developed for retrieval of wastes from the gunite storage tanks at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The CSEE uses a rotating array of three waterjets operating at 250-10,000 psi to cut and slurry soft wastes or scarify gunite surfaces. The dislodged waste is aspirated into a conveyance line through the central inlet system that is connected to the suction side of a jet pump. The CSEE has been deployed in low-level gunite waste tanks at the ORNL North Tank Farm using the LDUA and the Redzone Robotics Houdini tracked crawler equipped with a short tele-operated arm.

Point of Contact: Brian Hatchell (509) 375-2762, Dennis Mullen (509) 375-2395, and Mike Rinker (509) 375-6623