The team of the Leningrad NPP’s 1st power block under construction has started the ablution of the turbine bearings’ oil supply system. This operation is undertaken to verify if the pipelines are permeable and to purify the equipment’s and the pipelines’ internal surfaces from possible alloys and corrosion products.

“The first stage of the project pre-supposes that the turbine unit’s bearing bridges are installed for major pipelines’ ablution. The oil container has been filled in with 50 tons of fire-resistant fluids, with vibration resistance verified and the system checked for absence of excessive bearing heating, followed by the ablution of the oil supply system. The first filling has demonstrated that the system is solid, which means that the installation company has done a proper job and has reconfirmed its quality level”, Andrey Timakov, the deputy head of the Leningrad NPP’s turbine workshop, said.


The system is being ablated 24/7. At first, the fire-resistant fluid is heated up to 60? and purified from coarse particles at the nets installed in the oil container and the microfilters, with the latter capturing the smallest particles. Once it is confirmed that the water does not have any mechanical impurities, the bridges are dismantled from the system. The oil supply chain will be assembled for the fire-resistant fluid to circulate through the turbine bearings.

Anatoly Gnevashev, the head of the turbine workshop at the Leningrad NPP under construction, noted: “The works are being constantly supervised by the turbine workshop’s team and the representatives of the fitting company. The installation team is responsible for purifying the nets and the filters. The chemical workshop monitors the quality of the system ablution on a regular basis. The experts involved work around the clock in a very intense environment, and their commitment guarantees that the oil supply system is accepted for commissioning within the schedule. This, in turn, will facilitate the next key step, which is fitting the turbine generator onto the rotating machine”.

The oil supply system is a set of equipment and pipelines designed to transfer lubricating fire-resistant fluid to the turbine bearings, maintain its temperature within the designed range, and purify the fluid from mechanical alloys, water, and air. The oil supply system is an integral part of the turbine unit determining its reliable and failure-free operation.

The Leningrad NPP is an affiliate company for Rosenergoatom Concern OJSC. The plant is based in the city of Sosnovy Bor, 40 km to the west from Saint Petersburg at the Gulf of Finland shore. The Leningrad NPP is the first Russian nuclear power plant having RBMK-1000 reactors (uranium-graphite channel-type thermal neutron reactors). The NPP exploits 4 power blocks with the electric capacity of 1000 megawatt each. Also, pursuant to the NPP-2006 project, 1,2 VVER-1200 power blocks included into The State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM long-term plan are being constructed. Rosenergoatom Concern OJSC is the owner and developer of the project. Holding TITAN-2 is the primary contractor. ATOMPROEKT is the general designer.

Leningrad  NPP Information and PublicRelations Administration.