Monitoring of the Recovery Process of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant from VHR SAR Images

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Liu ◽  
◽  
Fumio Yamazaki ◽  
Tadashi Sasagawa ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Sar Images ◽  
Reactor Building ◽  
Building Footprint ◽  
Intensity Images ◽  
Fukushima Daiichi ◽  
Very High

The Mw9.0 earthquake hitting the Tohoku area on Japan's Pacific coast on March 11, 2011, triggered huge tsunamis and a Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant breakdown. Due to high radiation levels, plant damage could only be assessed from satellite images. Our study involves four very-high-resolution (VHR) TerraSAR-X/TanDEX-X SAR intensity images taken under different acquisition conditions and used to try and determine reactor building damage. Layover and radar shadow areas were specified first based on building footprint and height, then backscattering patterns in these areas were modeled by introducing sectional views of the target building. Criteria for detecting damage from individual SAR scenes were used to compare simulated backscattering patterns to actual SAR intensity images. Damage to other reactor buildings was then identified based on these criteria. Results were confirmed by comparisons to two optical VHR WorldView-2 images and ground photos.

scholarly journals PiROB: Vision-based pipe-climbing robot for spray-pipe inspection in nuclear plants

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 172988141881797
Author(s):  
Jae-Hee Kim ◽  
Jae-Cheol Lee ◽  
You-Rack Choi
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant ◽  
Mobile Robot ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Climbing Robot ◽  
Pipe Inspection ◽  
Nuclear Plants ◽  
Reactor Building ◽  
Fail Safe ◽  
Very High

Among many pipes in a nuclear power plant, the spray pipes in the reactor building are one of the most important pipes in view of their function and safety aspects. However, it is very difficult to manually reach and inspect the pipes for defects or damage, because these pipes are installed in very high places. To carry out this kind of inspection more easily, we developed a mobile robot to climb up and down and to cross over such pipes. A mobile robot should be small and light enough that it can be practically and safely operated in a nuclear power plant. Our robot is able to overcome obstacles such as valves, pipe flanges, and T-shaped branches, and it also meets the requirements of fail-safe, autonomous grasping, and self-power without the cables to the remote control station. The robot has a five-degree-of-freedom manipulator and two grippers and moves along the cylindrical pipes bypassing the obstacles. The robot should be able to grasp the next pipe autonomously, because the robot works in places high off the ground where the remote operator cannot see the next pipe for the robot to grasp. This article proposes a vision-based scheme for grasping a cylindrical pipe semi-autonomously and describes its solution along with the forward kinematics and inverse kinematics of the mobile robot. The configuration of the pipe-climbing robot, including its hardware and software, is described, and the robot control with visual grasping is explained. The robot can be used practically for spray-pipe inspection as well as many potential other applications, such as inspection of the roof frame of a stadium consisting of pipes.

scholarly journals Detection of alpha particle emitters originating from nuclear fuel inside reactor building of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuki Morishita ◽  
Tatsuo Torii ◽  
Hiroshi Usami ◽  
Hiroyuki Kikuchi ◽  
Wataru Utsugi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Alpha Particle ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Reactor Building ◽  
Fukushima Daiichi

As a resident and a counsellor

2021 ◽  
pp. 014664532110153
Author(s):  
Maiko Momma ◽  
Ryoko Ando
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Local People ◽  
Fukushima Daiichi

At the time of the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011, I was living in Iwaki City with my two children and my husband. With our home damaged by the tsunami and the deteriorating status following the situation at the nuclear power plant, we spent 2 years as evacuees before returning to Iwaki City. Subsequently, I decided to work as a radiation counsellor in the Suetsugi district of Iwaki City. I would like to describe my experience of taking measurements and helping to communicate with the residents while respecting the lives of local people.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document