3C Telemetry LLC, Centennial, Colorado
Under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW), including their associated transportation.
The DOE is developing a specialized railcar, named the Atlas, for future large-scale DOE transportation of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from nuclear power plants. The Atlas railcar is designed to carry 17 different SNF casks weighing between 82 and 210 tons.
3C Telemetry developed the onboard monitoring system for the railcar required by the Association of American Railroads (AAR). The AAR establishes rules and standards for the North American railroads. The AAR has a performance specification for trains used to carry high-level radioactive material, known as S-2043.
The railcar is starting the multi-car testing phase in the process to be approved by the AAR for use on the rail system. The testing is being conducted by TTCI in Pueblo, Colorado at their facility, the Transportation Technology Center.
The 3C Telemetry S-2043 system monitors the railcars performance including the railcar accelerations, rocking, truck hunting, impacts, and bearing temperatures. All performance parameters are wirelessly sent to the train crew to ensure the safe movement of the railcar. GPS data as well as all other sensor data is recorded to a memory module every second, much like a flight recorder, in case of an emergency. Historical maintenance data can be reviewed on a cloud-based website to ensure the railcar continues to be safe well into the future.
3C Telemetry has over 60 years of combined experience designing, developing, manufacturing, and implementing custom monitoring solutions for companies. 3C Telemetry has developed many custom wireless sensors, including pressure, temperature, and humidity. 3C Telemetry designs its own printed circuit boards and develops the firmware to create robust custom solutions. 3C Telemetry customers have access to a web data portal to analyze the data to streamline their business practices.
For more information, contact 3C Telemetry at 720-475-1018.
