In Oxfordshire, UK, a power plant was demolished on 17 July. But this demolition took place in a rather unusual way. After the tragic death of four workers at the site, organized for the demolition of this power plant at the beginning of the year, the site was deemed too dangerous to carry out demolition as usual (and even the bodies of the victims were forbidden to search in the current situation). This led to the fact that I had to turn to a team of robots.
The tragic accident happened in February this year, when the boiler room of a power plant, which is preparing for demolition, partially collapsed. In light of the danger that had manifested, the workers were evacuated. It was decided to continue the project using robots..
A plan for the use of robots at the demolition site was developed over the next months. Several small machines, weighing about 40 kg, were connected to the project. Two robots were provided by the Irish company Reamda, known for its Robot Reacher and R-Evolve robots, which were used to survey the site, survey the object and place the charges. Six columns supporting the structures were examined using a 3D laser scanner. Based on the data obtained, Alford Technologies created column models that were used to validate the demolition plan..
After the plan was drawn up, three different types of explosive devices were placed. Reamda believes its Reacher robot is the industry’s first remotely controlled robot capable of positioning charges at the right angle more accurately than other hardware..
Placing the charges correctly on the first try is very important as the strong magnets that hold them in place make it difficult to reposition without damaging the device..
Large ROVs from the UK Department of Defense were used to lift tiny robots wherever needed..
Elsewhere on the site, Swedish remote-controlled vehicles Brokk were operating. They were used to install heavy charges. These machines do not have cameras, so additional robots were required to control them..
The robotic demolition took place without any major problems. At 6 a.m. on July 17, everything was quickly and efficiently demolished. After that, it became possible for people to access the site and search for the bodies of workers who died in February).
