Testing of a 3-D Sonar for Future Deployment to Image Solids on the Floor of Hanford, HLW Conditioning Tanks - 15646

Florida International University (FIU) has tested the capability of 2-D and 3-D sonar systems to image solids settled on the floor of tanks, on the bottom of streams and small rivers, and in 55 gallon drums. FIU developed and successfully tested the Solid-Liquid Interface Monitor (SLIM) for mapping the interface between supernatant and settled solids in several test tanks. SLIM is comprised of: a sonar, a mechanical system for deploying the system into large high-level radioactive waste (HLW) tanks, and imaging programs and algorithms developed at and by FIU faculty and staff. Early testing had the objective to demonstrate the ability of SLIM to image and quantify the height and volume of settled solids on the floor of 1-million-gallon, HLW tanks at Hanford. Testing showed that SLIM: (1) functions accurately in liquid radioactive HLW tank conditions [i.e., caustic (pH>14), warm (up to 45 degrees Centigrade), and highly radioactive]; (2) provides accurate imaging of solids surfaces (1-2% relative error in the height of interfaces); and (3) provides an excellent volume estimation of the solids, thereby allowing engineers to fill tanks closer to the maximum allowed level and optimize solids retrieval; and (4) enables better placement of pumps inside tanks during retrieval to minimize the potential for plugging. The New Hanford technology need is for rapid imaging (even during vigorous mixing) of solids on the floor of conditioning (mixing) tanks. Results of recent successful testing show imaging times under 1 minute, solids volume estimates with <5% error and effective filtering and visualization. (authors)