The Investigation related to the study on the method to withdraw the in-vessel transfer machine; Observation of the structure in the reactor vessel of the fast breeder reactor Monju

Harigae, Hitoshi; Takagi, Tsuyohiko ; Hamano, Tomoharu; Nakamura, Shoichi; Oba, Toshio; Ebashi, Masaaki; Okuda, Eiichi; Kinoshita, Tomonobu

In-Vessel Transfer Machine (IVTM) came off from the gripper claw in the Auxiliary Handling Machine (AHM) and fell at a height of approximately two meters during a withdrawal work of the IVTM in the Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) Monju. The withdrawal work of IVTM from the reactor vessel by AHM was performed. The work, however, was suspended due to the excessive load alarm. To grasp the situation of the IVTM fall, observation of the machine was necessary. An interior observation and an exterior observation of the dropped IVTM were performed. As a result of these observations, the radially deformed lower end of the upper guide tube was observed at the connection part, and it was jammed in the fuel throat sleeve when the dropped IVTM was withdrawn. Based on this information, the IVTM could be safely withdrawn from the reactor vessel with the fuel throat sleeve.