Path planning and space occupation for remote maintenance operations of transportation in DEMO.

• Estimation of the area and volume required to perform ex-vessel operations of transportation. • Comparison between the space required for nominal and rescue operations of transportation. • Preliminary estimation of the time duration for ex-vessel operations of transportation. The ex-vessel Remote Maintenance Systems are responsible for the replacement and transportation of the plasma facing components. The space required to perform the ex-vessel operations of transportation, as well as the respective time duration, has a great impact in the economics of a fusion power plant. This paper provides a preliminary assessment of the volume required to perform the operations of transportation along optimized trajectories in all levels of DEMO's reactor building. The overhead systems and ground systems are considered as the possible transportation technologies. In particular to the upper level, a cask concept is compared with a hot cell concept. Computed results of occupied volumes and time duration are presented taking into account the nominal, i.e., the expected and planned operations, and the possible rescue operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]