MHOS HWM-P: Allows to detect contaminated material passing through the passageway defined by the two columns, which serve as support for the detectors. Data expressed in cps.

MHOS HWM-S: Performs a static measurement of the material, which is positioned directly upon the scale; by doing so, the measurement is automatically started. The weight and activity data are then elaborated to provide the radioactive concentration, expressed in Bq or Bq/g.

The acquisition and processing electronics is housed in the detector columns, directly connected to the detectors.

Through the touch screen panel PC, the operator can easily use the visualization software and manage the data, as well as the measurement parameters.

In every model the user can set the activity threshold; when alarms or anomalies occur, it is signaled through luminous and acoustic warnings, on the display and also by an integrated LED alarm beacon with siren.

The MHOS monitors are able to perform high sensitivity measurements, minimizing the false-negative and false-positive events. The measurement is continuous, performed accordingly to a pre-set integration time.

The HWM-P can detect activity concentrations <1 Bq/g in 15 kg of material.

The HWM-S can detect concentrations <1 Bq/g in 5 kg of material with a 30 seconds measurement.

The monitors perform an automatic subtraction of the environmental background. Each alarm event is archived and displayed in a graphical form.

MHOS HWM-S is equipped with printers, which produce a report label of each measurement (green or red for non-contaminated and contaminated waste, respectively).

The MHOS monitors have also an auto-diagnosis feature which controls continuously the electronics status.

The main components are:

• 3”x3” NaI(Tl) scintillators coupled to MCA (16 in total)
• Mechanical support structure for detectors
• Weighting platform
• Control PC with user-friendly software

The detectors are distributed in two arrays of 4 units for each side. Each detector is provided with a lead shielding, which acts as a collimator: this way each scintillator “sees” a defined portion of the container volume. The system can achieve an MDA of 0.04 Bq/g (15 minutes measurement, 300 kg of material, 1 g/cm³ density).

The mechanical support structure is made of stainless steel, which can well resist to the weight of the equipment and to accidental bumps.

The weighting platform has a maximum limit of 6000 kg. Containers of different type and dimensions can be placed on the platform, up to a maximum of 100x100x200 cm (WxHxD).

The operator interacts with FREE-AND 16 through a sophisticated yet easy-to-use software. To perform the measurement, the operator selects the proper geometry from a previously defined database, then sets the measurement time; the procedure automatically starts when the container is placed upon the weighting platform. Measurement reports are provided at the end of each scan.

The materials to be monitored are placed on one side of the conveyor belt, which is activated by PLC commands. The mechanical cycle and the measurement procedure are entirely controlled by the remote software, in automatic or manual mode. In automatic mode the conveyor belt is constantly moving, and a set of three photocells allows the software to know the object position and properly manage the conveyor motion.

If the alarm thresholds are exceeded, a proper visual and acoustic indication will be activated.

The automatic cycle consists in the following three stages:

1) The object length is determined by means of the first photocell, placed before the detectors

2) The object is moved in the measurement area, where the contamination level is determined: the software performs the data acquisition for a preset time. If the object is longer than the measurement area, consecutive steps are performed until the entire length of the object is scanned.

3) The object is carried at the end of the conveyor belt, which automatically stops for removal. The cycle is automatically resumed.

The 4 detectors are mounted in a tunnel-shape configuration: two at the side, one under the conveyor (inside a drawer), and one at the top. The upper detector can be vertically moved to adapt to the object dimensions. The detectors are shielded with lead on the external sides, to minimize the environmental background contribution to the measurement.

CARONTE is mounted on 4 blocking wheels, so it can be easily positioned and moved according to the customer needs.

Measurement results, alarms and malfunctions are displayed by the control console as well as the alarm unit.
The BOX COUNTER system can be easily moved and relocated by the user thanks to 4 pivoting and lockable wheels. The mechanical structure is made of stainless steel, all internal and external surfaces are specifically designed to be easily cleaned and decontaminated.

The 70x70x83 cm measuring chamber is accessible through 4 side doors. Up to six detectors can be installed, 4 in the doors, 1 in the top and 1 in the bottom side.

The available versions are:

2U – two detectors each installed in a side door
4U – four detectors each installed in a side door
6U – six detectors, four of which installed in the side doors, and two in the upper and lower sides of the measuring chamber

The detectors are large plastic scintillators, shielded with 10 mm lead sheets, in order to minimize the environmental radiation background. The system can reach an MDA as low as 4 kBq (Cs-137) in 10 seconds.
The control console consists in a touch-screen PC installed on the top of the system, equipped with an ELSE NUCLEAR management software.

The software allows to:

activate the measurements
analyze, display and save the measurement data
set the operational parameters such as alarm thresholds, detector enabling and calibration factors
activate, mute and reset the alarm and malfunction statuses through relay switches
perform a quality check to verify the proper functioning of the system

The measurement cycle is totally automatic, carried out by the PLC sequences, which are managed by the software installed on the host PC. The user interface allows the operator to set the input parameters, the measurement settings, and to start the automatic cycle by a simple command on the touch-screen display. The system status is shown both on the display and on the alarm beacon.

After loading the pipe, the system runs a series of preliminary tests through optical devices: diameter and length measurement, and roughness check. After all the preliminary checks have been carried out, the measurement cycle starts: the pipe is automatically divided in portions to be scanned by the detectors, according to its length, and for each section the system acquires the radiometric data. The system can also detect hot spots of contamination. At the end of the scanning a measurement report is produced. Safety devices and a perimeter infrared barrier prevent any dangerous man/machine interaction.

The mechanical structure is composed by two pipe lodging supports and the detection station mounted on a railway.

The lodging supports are two robust structures manually movable on the railway; they can be fastened through manual brakes in a proper position according the length of the pipe. In each support there is a pair of compass rollers: when the work cycle starts, they lift up the pipe and put it into rotation around its axis, at a proper speed depending on its diameter.

The plastic scintillators are installed in pairs in the tip of two poles, mounted on a vertical column in order to “see” both the pipe’s surfaces, internal and external. The support station moves along the railway in order to scan each sub-section of the pipe.

The main components of AURAS 3000 are:

• Main rail with moving platform for materials to be monitored
• Cross rail with two detector towers (up to 2 HPGe each); the towers can be positioned to best fit the measurement geometry, and each detector can be independently moved along the vertical direction
• Remote PC control station and local PLC interface

Analysis of spectra is performed with a waste assay algorithm operating under the control of a proprietary software.

Optionally, the system can be designed with a fixed platform for materials loading and with moving detector columns; in this case, the scanning would be performed moving the detectors along the platform with the materials, reducing the length of the mechanical structure when space is an issue.

The container is first positioned by crane or forklift onto the heavy-duty platform. The operator starts the scan through the user interface, and selects the container type to be scanned from a pre-set table. This results in an adjustment of the detector position under computer control as required by the counting geometry. Bookkeeping data such as container description is entered at this stage.

The scan begins and the heavy-duty platform is moved to the measurement area. The HPGe detectors start acquisition from predetermined sub-sections of the containers.

The portal is composed, in its standard configuration, of two couples of large surface detectors (5000 cm2), each mounted on one of the two sides of the portal structure.

The portal configuration provides a wide measurement area and it guarantees the best sensitivity. The monitor has an open top; this allows to easily place the containers and boxes to be monitored on the platform.

The boxes have specific and defined standard dimensions, which can be inserted in the system database so that they can be recalled during the measurements. The relative position of the detectors is adjustable through a PLC, to maximize the counting efficiency according to the different geometries.

The portal is equipped with a platform scale, installed at the base of the measurement area, to measure the weight of the boxes.

The whole ARCHIMEDES III system is managed by the user-friendly software installed on the control PC. The software performs the following main functions:

• Commands the PLC for the detector movement and adjustment
• Receives as an input the measurement parameters (box dimensions)
• Detects the weight of the box
• Acquires and processes the data
• Receives as an input new measurement geometries, if needed
• Manages the alarm and malfunctioning statuses
• Saves the measurements in dedicated archives

The environment background is automatically and continuously measured, and it is automatically subtracted from the measurements.

Its structure is mounted on wheels, hence it is easy to handle and move.

The system is composed of an anti-vibration base structure with a control console, and two vertical detection units facing the measurement area where the bags are loaded.

The material-detectors distance can be adjusted to maximize the counting efficiency.

The detectors are fully removable from the support base, allowing remote-mode measurements when needed; the acquired data are sent to the control console through a WiFi connection, to perform data processing.

When the detectors are used in remote mode, the power supply is provided by rechargeable batteries installed in each detection unit. When the detectors are connected to the support base the batteries are recharged and the power supply is provided by the mains.

The system ARCHIMEDES II WiFi calculates the gamma activity of the material being monitored and compares it with the operative clearance limits; then it issues an acoustic and visual signal (thanks to the integrated beacon) to confirm the good functioning and the measurement result.

The software allows the setting of the operative parameters, as well as the analysis and the archiving of the data coming from the electronics associated with the detectors.

ADAMOS stations are composed by the following main components:

• Mechanical structure: rugged steel structure composed of modular conveyors sections, a measurement chamber and a switchboard
• Detection equipment: moving and collimated detectors, either HPGe, large plastic or NaI(Tl) scintillators
• Management software: user-friendly operator interface

All versions of ADAMOS share the following features:

Scanning procedure

The drum is moved by the conveyor to the measuring chamber, equipped with a rotating platform, while the detectors are moved to different heights to scan the total drum volume in sub-sections.

The system also features an automatic centring function, a horizontally movable detector frame and a set of collimators; the correct measurement setup is automatically selected and applied by the software based on the measurement type and the radioactivity level.

PLC and PC

All the actuations and safety devices of the system are locally managed by a PLC. The operator interacts with the PLC through the touch-screen panel installed on the switchboard, and manages the system work cycle through a PC. The software manages the workflow, sending commands to the PLC, which then performs the related macro operations. The system status is constantly monitored in order to detect failures or anomalous conditions.

Safety devices

ADAMOS system implements the “safety by design” principle to prevent any harm to operators and to the mechanical parts of the system. Typically, ADAMOS stations are equipped with perimeter protections and interlocks to prevent harm to the operator when the work cycle is running, and several emergency switches activated by potentially dangerous conditions (collision sensors, proximity sensors, emergency buttons, etc.).

The EasyScan compliments HPGe-based systems

Operation Over Time:

• Easy transport to new site (detectors do not need to be disassembled)
• Zero maintenance required (only energy re-calibration once per month)
• Easy replacement in case of detector/electronics failure (with zero downtime)