Nuclear Industry Focus
8/4/2009
Over the past few years political will has been building up to treat and dispose of nuclear waste that has been in storage for decades. ITS is benefiting from this interest due to the simplicity of the technology and experience in this challenging industry. The key attractions of ITS’s approach are:
-
simple sensors - ERT sensors are made up of
- electrodes (usually 316 steel, however can be almost any conductor) with cable
- mounted in a supporting insulator. This can be special plastics (eg PVDF) which are resistant to radioactive fields or ceramics; -
which provide vital information
- ERT sensors scan through a volume to provide information on the distribution of different materials e.g. how solid wastes are distributed in a liquid; -
and proven track record
- ITS participated in a successful project with BNFL and Leeds University to install a sensor in a challenging, highly radioactive environment in THORP.
- ITS has been in discussions with “Tier 1” and “Tier 2” contractors in the UK, as well as prime facilities in the US, UK and the Far East.
Applications:
Interfaces: - the applications which have attracted the most interest have been using tomography probes to determinate interfaces in liquid mixtures. For example, the supernatant / slurry interface in a solids mixture where it is necessary to agitate settled solids in a pond. Once effectively agitated, the slurry often needs to be pumped and an ITS pipeline sensor can determine the flow conditions of the slurry – “seeing” if the solids are mobile or settled and determining approximate concentration.
Overall, the ability to use simple sensors to determine homogeneity, flow and separation has a lot to offer the sector.
For further information, please contact ITS
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