Vertical Cask Transporter safely moves spent nuclear fuel.
Press Release Summary:
Using fluid suspension technology, self-loading OmniLoader engages cask at bottom in order to lift and then carry. This promotes efficient movement within and between independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSI), without needing to comply with single failure proofing. Operating on independent fluid suspension axles with air-filled jumbo jet tires, remotely operated loader also features SynchroSteer for all-direction travel over challenging and diverse surfaces.
Original Press Release:
Announcing New Patent by Intelliport Corporation: Proven Transport Technology in a New Package
Wheelift Systems Group introduces the licensed OmniLoader technology to safely and efficiently move vertical casks
Waverly, IA -Safely moving spent fuel is a top priority for nuclear power plants, manufacturers and the general public worldwide. Designed and soon to be produced in the United States, Intelliport Corporation's self-loading OmniLoader can safely and efficiently move nuclear spent fuel using its proven fluid suspension technology.
Spent fuel is stored in pools filled with water or in steel casks. According to data from the Nuclear Energy Institute at the end of 2009 there were more than 62,000 metric tons of commercial spent fuel in the United States with 78 percent in pools and about 22 percent in dry casks. The total increases by approximately 2,000 tons annually.
The OmniLoader vertical cask transporter being introduced by Intelliport and licensed to Wheelift Systems, engages the cask at the bottom, to then lift and carry, allowing for more efficient movement within and between independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSI) without needing to comply with single failure proofing. Operating on independent fluid suspension axles with air filled jumbo jet tires, the OmniLoader also features Wheelift's signature SynchroSteer for all direction travel over challenging and diverse surfaces. The self-loading transporter is operated remotely, thereby significantly reducing dosage exposure risks to operators and crew.
"The new OmniLoader is going to revolutionize spent nuclear fuel transport and storage. With Wheelift's proven successes in horizontal storage applications, their new vertical cask technology offers increased efficiency, radiation dose reductions to near zero, and delivers unparalleled maneuverability," explains Mel Terry who designed and patented the technology. "Our bottom carry OmniLoader will substantially contribute to extensive operational improvements."
Omniloader unveiled
The OmniLoader is a self-loading pneumatic tired carrier that can carry a cask to the ISFSI and deliver and deposit empty casks directly into the fuel building, thereby eliminating the often-problematic in-floor rails and related methods required for getting casks in and out of fuel buildings. The OmniLoader's fully equalizing fluid suspension will accommodate extreme surface irregularities and varying slope conditions. Absence of an overhead lifting beam allows the transporter to engage and lift the loaded cask only enough to clear the floor before driving out of the fuel building and directly to the ISFSI pad.
Wheelift's OmniLoader has several inches of vertical lift and fully equalizing fluid suspension. While prior top loaders introduced by others must adhere to stringent single failure proof hoisting requirements, Wheelift's OmniLoader does not require single failure proofing because it is bottom lifting. (Why this matters: Prior industry attempts at pneumatic tired carriers required meeting the single failure proof requirement and resulted in having to fill the tires with foam, thereby eliminating the only equalizing suspension capability those eight axle transporters had. With otherwise rigid suspension and that much weight, the stress on the entire machine was just too much thereby resulting in serious and even catastrophic axle failures).
To secure the cask during travel, the OmniLoader has an optional fail-safe toggle system to effortlessly engage the cask from a wireless controller (so crew members need not climb on the transporter to attach safety straps).
Wheelift has already successfully revolutionized cask handling in horizontal storage applications at Constellation Energy and Exelon plants. It was only a matter of time before Wheelift entered the market to serve a broader segment.
The engineers from Wheelift can be expected to bring the same superior design, exceptional quality, and effortless performance to vertical cast storage installations that they have delivered for extremely heavy load transport needs for the aircraft and ship assembly, mining and manufacturing across a wide range of industries.
ABOUT INTELLIPORT CORPORATION
Intelliport Corporation was formed in 1998 by engineer and entrepreneur Mel Terry as a licensing entity. Intelliport holds a comprehensive intellectual property portfolio featuring technology for multi-wheeled transport vehicles.
ABOUT WHEELIFT SYSTEMS
The Wheelift Systems Group is part of Doerfer Companies. As Intelliport Corporation's exclusive licensee, Wheelift Systems specializes in very heavy capacity in-plant tandem operating transporters, referred to as IP-SPMTs or In-Plant Self-Propelled Modular Transporters and automatic guided vehicles (AGVs). For more information and to test drive a simulator of Wheelift's transporters visit http://www.wheelift.com/contactinfo.html.
