Design and experimental tests of an active cooling system for a kind of in-vessel inspection manipulator

Purpose This paper aims to present the design and experimental tests of an active circulating cooling system for the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak in-vessel inspection manipulator, which will help the current manipulator prototype to achieve a full-scale in-vessel high temperature environment compatibility. Design/methodology/approach The high-temperature effects and heat transfer conditions of the manipulator under in-vessel environment were analyzed. An active circulating cooling system was designed and implemented on the manipulator prototype. A simulative in-vessel inspection task in a high temperature environment of 100°C was carried out to evaluate the performance of the active circulating cooling system. Findings The proposed active circulating cooling system was proved effective in helping the manipulator prototype to achieve its basic in-vessel inspection capability in a high temperature environment. The active circulating cooling system performance can be further improved considering the cooling structure coefficient differences in different manipulator parts. Originality/value For the first time, the active circulating cooling system was implemented and tested on a full-scale of the in-vessel inspection manipulator. The experimental data of the temperature distribution inside the manipulator and the operating status of the circulating system were helpful to evaluate the current active circulating cooling system design and provided effective guidance for improving the overall system performance.