Remote handling of the blanket segments: Testing of 1/3 scale mock-ups on the ROBERTINO facility

The remotized replacement of the blanket segments inside the Vacuum Vessel of a fusion reactor is one of the critical tasks for reactor components design, operational procedures, and safety. This open-quotes hostile environmentclose quotes task must be accomplished by a specific Blanket Handling Device, with a grasping device acting as open-quotes end-effectorclose quotes, because of intervention complexity, of components dimensions and weights, and of consequences of possible accidents during the blanket segments handling operations. Therefore, specific support experimental studies in this field appear to be necessary in order to: select appropriate blanket handling devices and procedures; assess the design of all components involved in the handling operations; perform checks in all field related to the robotized handling control (kinematics and dynamics of the grasping device trajectory planning and motion control, sensing and intelligence of the blanket handling devices, etc.); improve reliability and safety for the replacement sequences; give a realistic estimation of the time duration of the replacement duration. During the test phase, handling operations were carried out on the blanket mock-ups by means of different gripping devices. The operations were driven in the control room by means of the Motion command computer and the real time sensing data display allowed operations' control. The results were analyzed by charting the sensors' data