With the ever-increasing presence of drones in industry, the potential to use drones for radiation detection as part of nuclear safety inspection is suddenly not just an idea, but a viable option.
Radiation exposure is one of the hardest challenges to manage when it comes to nuclear inspections. The careful management of exposure to an unseen, unfeelable danger requires stringent safety protocols as well as regular reviews of regulations. Modern technology is rapidly evolving to help meet this challenge, but few solutions have posed a viable option for effectively removing people from radioactive or nuclear environments. Until now.
Remote inspections with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have now gained such capabilities that it is possible to use these devices for radiation detection. Specialized drones can be deployed as part of nuclear safety inspection processes to gather data in previously inaccessible or highly dangerous environments. In this blog article, we’ll explain the existing difficulties faced by inspectors working with radiation, and how drones are proving to be an effective solution.
Radiation detection requires specialized technology, but what if we could use remote inspection tools and eliminate the risk to humans?
Radiation detection is the term we use to describe the process of identifying and measuring radiation. There are different types of detection tools, including gas-filled detectors, scintillators, and solid-state detectors. These tools can be carried by personnel into a potentially radioactive environment to determine if there is any radiation and how high it is.
However, the problem is that they require a person to carry them. When it comes to nuclear safety, we must keep human exposure and the general risk as low as is reasonably achievable (also known as ALARA). This includes wearing protective equipment and setting a dose limit for staff. This means that they can only be exposed to a certain amount of radiation per year. That dose is based on radiation exposure rather than time exposure - for example, if you enter a highly radioactive environment, you may reach your annual dose limit in 10 minutes compared to recurrent work in a low exposure area, which could be repeatedly visited without reaching the maximum limit.
This brings us to the next challenge: cost. It is incredibly expensive to ensure the safety and efficiency of nuclear safety inspections. Staff have to be carefully trained and given high quality protective gear. In addition, if the exposure limit is quickly reached, then more staff are required to do work in radioactive environments, which in turn, drives up costs.
In summary, radiation detection has inherent safety risks, high costs, and challenges inspection efficiency due to the amount of safety protocols and checks that must be followed and completed.
This turbine deck could have radiation hotspots invisible to the human eye, meaning careful inspections must be made to ensure there is no unexpected radiation exposure and all levels are closely monitored
Drones can access environments people can’t, or scout an area prior to human entry. 10 years ago, drones had little capabilities indoors, but now, there are various specialized drones that can fly in confined spaces or inside buildings and thus, within radioactive environments. When equipped with nuclear safety inspection tools, such as radiation detectors or dosimeters, they can gather critical data that was not easily accessible before. Drones can determine the level of radiation present, making it easier to manage dose planning for personnel, or drones can determine the most efficient path that limits exposure.
When drones are deployed for nuclear safety inspections instead of people, there are several benefits:
Here is a same turbine deck to the image above after the Elios 3 RAD has flown around it, providing a radiation hotspot map laid over a 3D model captured by the drone's LiDAR scanner
The frontrunner drone for nuclear safety inspections and radiation detection is Flyability’s Elios 3 with its RAD payload. In fact, this technology is so impressive that it won the Innovation award at the 2023 World Nuclear Exhibition.
The Elios 3 is a unique and powerful remote inspection tool. Designed and built in Switzerland, the Elios 3 features a hard exoskeleton cage that helps protect it in confined spaces. This means the drone can withstand collisions when flying indoors and can be confidently used beyond the line of visual sight. It has a modular payload design, meaning it can carry different sensors or payloads according to the mission at hand. One of these payloads is the RAD payload, which is a powerful RDS32 dosimeter that was designed by Flyability’s partners at Mirion Technologies, who have over 20 years of experience in radiation detection.
When using the Elios 3 and its RAD payload, inspectors can get a clear picture of radiological conditions while people are kept out of harm’s way. The dosimeter carried by the Elios 3 records the current and cumulative level of radiation. It provides comprehensive in-flight readings of radiation levels as well as a post-flight radiation reading, localization, and reporting system. After the flight, the Elios 3 creates a radiation “heat map”, showing which areas had the highest levels of radiation in the space it inspected. This can be used for standard inspections or for detecting “hot-spots” where radiation may be leaking into a specific space.
The Elios 3 is the market leader when it comes to drones used in nuclear safety inspections. Currently, over 80% of nuclear power plants in the USA are equipped with Flyability drones, and in many cases are seeing 6-digit savings in repeat missions where the drone is deployed. In addition, the drone’s robust design means it can cope with up to 4,000R of cumulative dose.
There are already multiple instances of the Elios 3 being used in radioactive environments as part of inspecting dangerous areas or accessing no-go zones.
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At one major US power plant, the Elios 3 was used with the RAD payload to locate and measure radiation hotspots. Typically, this work would be done with a “Telepole”, a handheld sensor that extends 11 feet (3.3 meters). Although both can be used to reach remote areas, the Elios 3’s advantage is that the pilot can stand much further away than just 3 meters away while in use, unlike the Telepole. As the pilot flew the Elios 3 RAD through the space, they could see in-flight radiation readings, including spikes that indicated hotspots. Two higher dose rate locations were identified in bends in the piping for the steam system in the room. This is a clear demonstration of how drone radiation detection can work - and how it can keep people out of harm’s way.
Read the full case study of the Elios 3 drone detecting radiation.
Dominion Energy in the USA use the Elios 3 as part of inspecting nuclear energy infrastructure. Read their case study on our blog.
The Elios 3’s case studies prove that drones provide real value to nuclear safety inspections as their remote access capabilities ensure greater safety and lower exposure for inspection staff. The drone’s ease of use in these environments has seen it adopted by multiple energy and governmental agencies around the world, including EDF in France and Europe’s largest nuclear waste management site, Sellafield in the UK.
The use of drones in radiation detection will continue to grow as the technology develops, and it is finally possible to gather this vitally important data while reducing the exposure and risk to inspection staff. The future is here, and it’s ready for take-off.
Interested in learning more? Discover the Elios 3, your ultimate nuclear inspection drone.