scholarly journals Optimal Energy Consumption for Mobile Manipulators Executing Door-Opening Task

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changyou Ma ◽  
Haibo Gao ◽  
Liang Ding ◽  
Jianguo Tao ◽  
Kerui Xia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Mobile Manipulator ◽  
Mobile Manipulators ◽  
Joint Torques ◽  
Door Opening ◽  
Base Position ◽  
Energy Consumption Optimization

As a substitute for humans, the mobile manipulator has become increasingly vital for on-site rescues at Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) in recent years. The high energy efficiency of the mobile manipulator when executing specific rescue tasks is of great importance for the mobile manipulator. This paper focuses on the energy consumption of a robot executing the door-opening task, in a scenario mimicking an NPP rescue. We present an energy consumption optimization scheme to determine the optimal base position and joint motion of the manipulator. We developed a two-step procedure to solve the optimization problem, taking the quadric terms of the joint torques as the objective function. Firstly, the rotational motion of the door is parameterized by using piecewise fifth-order polynomials, and the parameters of the polynomials are optimized by minimizing the joint torques at the specified base position using the Quasi-Newton method. Second, the global optimal movement of the manipulator for executing the door-opening task is acquired by means of searching a grid for feasible base positions. Comprehensive door-opening experiments using a mobile manipulator platform were conducted. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been demonstrated by the results of physical experiments.

PREREQUISITES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NUCLEAR ENERGY IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-158
Author(s):  
E. V. YANUSIK ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Economic Efficiency ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
World Market ◽  
Global Energy ◽  
The World ◽  
Global Energy Consumption

The article discusses the main prerequisites for the development of nuclear energy in the global econo-my, also defines nuclear energy and discusses the structure of global energy consumption. The article proves that the crucial prerequisite for the development of nuclear energy in the world market is the economic efficiency of nuclear power plants.

Determination of the base position and working area for mobile manipulators

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shunan Ren ◽  
Xiangdong Yang ◽  
Jing Xu ◽  
Guolei Wang ◽  
Ying Xie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Operation Mode ◽  
Mobile Manipulator ◽  
Planning Problem ◽  
Mobile Manipulators ◽  
Line Planning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Base Position ◽  
Intersection Area ◽  
Intersection Line

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the base position and the largest working area for mobile manipulators. The base position determines the workspace of the mobile manipulator, particularly when the operation mode is intermittent (i.e. the mobile platform stops when the manipulator conducts the task). When the base of the manipulator is in the intersection area of the Base’s Workable Location Spaces (BWLSes), the end effector (EE) can reach all path points. In this study, the intersection line of BWLSes is calculated numerically, and the largest working area is determined using the BWLS concept. The performance of this method is validated with simulations on specific surface segments, such as plane, cylinder and conical surface segments. Design/methodology/approach – The BWLS is used to determine the largest working area and the base position in which the mobile manipulator can reach all path points with the objective of reducing off-line planning time. Findings – Without considering the orientation of the EE, the base position and the working area for the mobile manipulator are determined using the BWLS. Compared to other methods, the proposed algorithm is beneficial when the planning problem has six dimensions, ensuring the reachability and stability of the EE. Originality/value – The algorithm needs no manual configuration, and its performance is investigated for typical surfaces in practical applications.

Investigation of Blast Wave Effects on Containment Wall and Steam Generator

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tae Jin Kim ◽  
Yoon-Suk Chang
Keyword(s):  
Blast Wave ◽  
Steam Generator ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Failure Criteria ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Secondary Damage ◽  
Main Steam Line ◽  
Main Steam

When a sudden rupture occurs in high energy lines such as MSL (Main Steam Line) and safety injection line of nuclear power plants, ejection of inner fluid with high temperature and pressure causes blast wave, and may lead to secondary damage of adjacent major components and/or structures. The objective of this study is to assess integrity of containment wall and steam generator due to the blast wave under a postulated high energy line break condition at the MSL piping. In this context, a preliminary analysis was conducted to examine the blast wave simulation using coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian technique. Subsequently, a finite element analysis was carried out to assess integrity of the structures. As typical results, strain and stress values were calculated at the containment wall and steam generator, which did not exceed their failure criteria.

scholarly journals Constrained Quadratic Programming and Neurodynamics-Based Solver for Energy Optimization of Biped Walking Robots

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liyang Wang ◽  
Ming Chen ◽  
Xiangkui Jiang ◽  
Wei Wang
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Quadratic Programming ◽  
Energy Optimization ◽  
Biped Robot ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Walking Robots ◽  
Biped Robots ◽  
Biped Walking ◽  
Joint Torques ◽  
Force Moment

The application of biped robots is always trapped by their high energy consumption. This paper makes a contribution by optimizing the joint torques to decrease the energy consumption without changing the biped gaits. In this work, a constrained quadratic programming (QP) problem for energy optimization is formulated. A neurodynamics-based solver is presented to solve the QP problem. Differing from the existing literatures, the proposed neurodynamics-based energy optimization (NEO) strategy minimizes the energy consumption and guarantees the following three important constraints simultaneously: (i) the force-moment equilibrium equation of biped robots, (ii) frictions applied by each leg on the ground to hold the biped robot without slippage and tipping over, and (iii) physical limits of the motors. Simulations demonstrate that the proposed strategy is effective for energy-efficient biped walking.

The Autoignition of Nuclear Reactor Power Plant Explosions

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Leishear
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Reactor ◽  
Nuclear Reactions ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Reactor Power ◽  
Common Cause ◽  
Fluid Transients ◽  
Accident Conditions

Abstract Explosive research proves that there is a common cause for most explosions in nuclear reactor power plants during normal operations and accident conditions. The autoignition of flammable hydrogen is a common cause for nuclear power plant explosions, where complex corrosion processes, nuclear reactions, and thermal-fluid transients autoignite explosions. Research evaluated increasingly complicated accidents. First, piping explosions occurred at Hamaoka and Brunsbuttel. Fluid transients compressed oxygen and flammable hydrogen to heat these gases to autoignition, where resultant explosions shredded steel pipes. This identical mechanism was responsible for pipe and pump damages to U.S. reactor systems since the 1950s, where water hammer alone has been assumed to cause damages. Small explosions inside the piping actually cause damages during nuclear reactor startups and flow rate changes. Second, explosions are caused by thermal-fluid transients during nuclear reactor restarts, following accidental nuclear reactor meltdowns. Disastrous explosions destroyed nuclear reactor buildings (RBs) at Fukushima Daiichi. Previously considered to be a fire, a 319 kilogram hydrogen explosion occurred at Three Mile Island (TMI). The explosion cause following each of these loss-of-coolant accidents was identical, i.e., after meltdowns, pump operations heated gases, which in turn acted as the heat source to autoignite sequential hydrogen explosions in reactor systems to ignite RBs. Third, the Chernobyl explosion followed a reactor meltdown that was complicated by a high energy nuclear criticality. The hydrogen ignition and explosion causes are more complicated as well, where two sequential hydrogen explosions were ignited by high-temperature reactor fuel.

Head Loss Through Fibrous Beds Generated on Different Types of Containment Sump Strainers

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saya Lee ◽  
Suhaeb Abdulsattar ◽  
Yassin A. Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Safety Issue ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Head Loss ◽  
Debris Accumulation ◽  
Approach Velocity

During a Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA), the high energy jet from the break may impinge on surrounding surfaces and materials, producing a relatively large amount of fibrous debris (mostly insulation materials). The debris may be transported through the reactor containment and reach the sump strainers. Accumulation of such debris on the strainers’ surface can cause a loss of Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH) and negatively affect the Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) capabilities. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (U.S.NRC) initiated the Generic Safety Issue (GSI) 191 to understand the physical phenomena involved in this type of event, and help develop the tools to prove the safety and reliability of the existing Light Water Reactors (LWR) under these conditions. Some nuclear power plants have already adopted countermeasures in an attempt to limit the effect of the debris accumulation on the ECCS performance, by replacing or modifying the existing strainer configurations. In this paper, two different strainer designs have been considered and sensitivity analysis was conducted to study the effect of the approach velocity on the pressure drop at the strainer caused by the debris accumulation. The development of the fibrous beds was visually recorded in order to correlate the head loss, the approach velocity, and the thickness of the fibrous bed. The experimental results were compared to semi-empirical models and theoretical models proposed by previous researchers.

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