A pioneering design incorporating tools currently only used for keyhole surgery is being developed by Eadon Consulting in response to a recent Game Changers challenge.

The National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) needs a sampling tool to collect carbonaceous deposits from the cladding of Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR) fuel pins which are situated in cooling ponds during Post Irradiation Evaluation.

The carbon deposits affect heat transfer from fuel to coolant and consequently affect the fuel temperature. Effective sampling of the deposits would allow vital data to be gathered more quickly, accurately and thoroughly.