Application and Removal of Strippable Coatings via Remote Platform - 13133
P. Shoffner, Leonel E. Lagos, Silvia Maggio · 2013
Florida International University's (FIU’s) Applied Research Center is currently supporting the Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Management Office of D&D and Facility Engineering program. FIU is supporting DOE’s initiative to improve safety, reduce technical risks, and limit uncertainty within D&D operations by identifying technologies suitable to meet specific facility D&D requirements, assessing the readiness of those technologies for field deployment, and conducting feasibility studies and technology demonstrations of selected technologies and working with technology vendors to optimize the design of their current technologies to accomplish dangerous and demanding tasks during D&D operations. To meet one identified technology gap challenge for a technology to remotely apply strippable coatings, fixatives and decontamination gels, FIU identified and performed an initial demonstration of an innovative remote fixative sprayer platform from International Climbing Machines (ICM). The selected technology was demonstrated spraying fixative products at the hot cell mockup facility at the Applied Research Center at FIU in November 2008 under cold (non-radioactive) conditions. The remotely controlled platform was remotely operated and entered the facility and sprayed a fixative onto horizontal and vertical surfaces. Based on the initial FIU demonstration and the specific technical requirements identified at the DOE facilities, a follow-up demonstration was expanded to include strippable coatings and a decontamination gel, which was demonstrated in June 2010 at the ICM facility in Ithaca, NY. This second technology evaluation documented the ability of the remote system to spray the selected products on vertical stainless steel and concrete surfaces to a height of 3 meters (10 feet) and to achieve sufficient coverage and product thickness to promote the ability to peel/remove the strippable coatings and decontamination gel. The next challenge was to determine if a remote platform could be used to remove the strippable coatings and decontamination gels. In 2012, FIU worked with the technology provider, ICM, to conduct feasibility and trade studies to identify the requirements for the remote removal of strippable coatings or decontamination gels using the existing remote controlled platform.