Automation and Control Challenges in Fuel Debris Retrieval Operations for Fukushima Daiichi Decommissioning
Fukushima Daiichi decommissioning is a long-term engineering challenge, of which advanced control techniques are essentially demanded. In the past ten years, the success in various decommissioning operations demonstrates the importance of elaborating state-of-the-art control and automation technologies. However, there are still various control engineering issues in the upcoming fuel debris retrieval operations at Fukushima Daiichi. These control issues cannot be resolved by applying existing control techniques or products, because typical control solutions do not need to consider the extreme environmental conditions and highly demanded safety requirements for operations within the post-incident environments therein. This paper and the associated discussions will introduce the automation and control challenges that need to be addressed by the control society. This aims to disseminate these control challenges to academia and industry, and therefore encourage practitioners to collaboratively develop novel solutions for the extreme engineering practice.