Walking on Walls

This new wall-servicing robot can significantly cut costs through its fully computerized decontamination, surveillance, and maintenance capabilities.

As part of a DOE EM-50 Office of Technology Development effort, Pentek successfully demonstrated a new robotic wall locomotion technology called the WallWalker® at DOE’s Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC) in Canoga Park, California. This exciting new technology makes it possible to deploy completely automated work modules to large vertical surfaces while eliminating scaffolding, respiratory protection, and other utilities/safety equipment normally required to protect human workers.

The ETEC demonstration entailed the decontamination and surface removal from the walls of a 27 foot (8 M) deep concrete waste storage vault. The WallWalker® was fitted with a scabbling module that scarified the walls of the waste storage vault in 14-inch (35 cm) passes at a 1/8-inch (3 mm) removal depth.

All hazardous debris was contained by the vacuum seal between the robot and wall surface and conveyed by hose directly into Pentek’s self-cleaning, self-drumming VACPAC® HEPA vacuum and waste collection system. The WallWalker’s integral radiation monitoring instrumentation performed pre- and post-decon surveys.

An ETEC paper presented to the American Nuclear Society concluded that it “is significantly cheaper (by about a factor of eight) to perform scabbling operations” with WallWalker® than with conventional vacuum blasting machines. This is consistent with a recent DOE Decommissioning Benchmarking Study, which found Pentek’s automated scabbling technology to be five to ten times more productive than traditional concrete decontamination methods.

WallWalker® technology provides Pentek’s DOE and industrial customers with new opportunities for dramatic improvements in production and cost containment. WallWalker’s precisely maneuverable central work module can be configured for completely dustless scabbling operations, hydroblasting, CO₂ blasting, flashlamps, abrasive blasting technology, and other cleaning operations. WallWalker’s first commercial assignments include reactor cavity decontamination and ship hull painting.

A computer with input grid coordinates controls the cable lengths, adjusting them as necessary for efficient locomotion of the unit across large vertical surfaces with a high degree of precision.

For more information please email us, see our contact page or visit our vacuum tool and robotics product pages.

Reprinted from Pentek Ink, Vol 11