Rotating BOP Rubber Accessories Rotating Bop Rubber Accessories,Rotating Bop Seal,Rotating Sealing Element,Rotating Sealing Element Parts Sichuan Xinwei Rubber Co., Ltd , https://www.boprubber.com
Elios 2 tested at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
November 12, 2020—Flyability, a Swiss company known for its innovative drone solutions, collaborated with DroneUA to carry out an important mission at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The primary objective was to determine whether nuclear waste existed in one of the plant’s decommissioned reactors, specifically Reactor Five. This reactor had been under construction during the 1986 disaster but never fully completed.
A year ago, Flyability’s skilled pilots ventured into the heart of the Chernobyl facility, a place forever marked by history. The video footage captured by their Elios 2 drone provides a fascinating glimpse into the reactor’s interior. It's worth noting that Reactor Five had holding pools designed for depleted uranium fuel bars, but records from the chaotic aftermath of the disaster were unclear about whether these pools were ever filled.
Three decades after the catastrophe, the decommissioning team at Chernobyl faced the challenge of understanding the reactor's internal state. They reached out to Flyability, seeking assistance to explore Reactor Five. The goals were straightforward yet critical: confirm the presence or absence of nuclear fuel bars and verify whether essential equipment was ever installed.
The Elios 2 drone, renowned for its durability and precision, proved invaluable. Its unique design features a protective cage, enabling safe entry into confined spaces like those found within a nuclear reactor. Typically used for inspections in active nuclear power plants, this was the first time the drone was deployed in the complex process of decommissioning such facilities.
Charles Rey, Flyability’s Training Manager and key leader of the mission, recalls the tension of the operation. "Flying over a 70-meter-high wall without the ability to retrieve the drone if the signal failed was nerve-wracking," he admits. Yet, the mission succeeded admirably, delivering high-quality video and imagery from inside Reactor Five that greatly pleased the Chernobyl team.
Access to certain areas of Reactor Five was restricted due to their elevated positions, making traditional methods impractical. The Flyability pilots positioned themselves in a pit approximately 25 meters below the reactor floor—a location that would have been hazardous if the reactor were operational. Using the Elios 2, they navigated the reactor's labyrinthine interior, collecting vital visual data.
Their efforts revealed that the holding pools were empty, confirming the absence of nuclear waste. This discovery was groundbreaking, as previous attempts to gather such conclusive evidence had failed. The visual data collected by the Elios 2 became a crucial component of a comprehensive report submitted to international regulatory bodies, providing transparency about the reactor's condition.
---
About Flyability
Flyability specializes in creating tools that facilitate the inspection and exploration of challenging environments, including indoor and confined spaces. Their drones offer businesses across industries like power generation, oil and gas, maritime operations, infrastructure, and public safety a safer, more efficient way to conduct inspections. With clients spanning over 50 countries, Flyability continues to push boundaries in commercial drone technology.
For more insights, visit www.flyability.com or follow us on @fly_ability.
Contact: , +41 21 311 55 00