Westinghouse has signed contracts in Korea and the UK to use SUPREEM™, its newest robotics technology designed for reactor vessel inspection. The two contracts are worth in the region of $4 million.
In Korea SUPREEM will be used to conduct 40 month inspections of reactor vessels at Yonggwang 3 and 4 power stations. The UK contract is for the 40-month inspection at Sizewell B. It is part of a larger undertaking which includes full-scale equipment and procedure demonstrations, reactor vessel visual inspections and inspection of the reactor vessel head. Westinghouse intends to build site-specific tooling for the vessel inspection with its UK partner Rolls Royce.
SUPREEM – submersible platform with ROSA end effector motion – combines proven, advanced robotics technology developed in the steam generator inspection field with ultrasonic inspection systems used in high-radiation, under water environments. The superstructure consists of a platform that also includes multiple radial arms connecting to support structures along the circumference of the vessel. The arms fold downward so that the platform can be installed in the reactor vessel using only the refuelling bridge crane.
