Speaker
Description
During operations in Target Station 1 (TS1) of the ISIS neutron and muon source, the Target, Reflector and Moderator (TRaM) trolley became immobilised due to interference with stainless steel tunnel cladding within the Target Services Area (TSA). The resulting obstruction caused localised damage and prevented further trolley movement, requiring intervention in a highly constrained and radiation-contaminated environment with high residual radiation, where direct human access was not possible.
This work describes the rapid design, manufacture, and deployment of a bespoke remote handling cutting system to remove the obstructing cladding.
This project highlights key lessons in designing for remote intervention in high-radiation environments, including the importance of simplicity, modularity, and close collaboration between engineering and operations teams. Furthermore, the operational failure itself has highlighted problems in the trolley mechanism that requires addressing, in order to reduce the risk of the event reoccurring.