02.08.2019  INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT OF LENINGRAD NPP

The last piece of large-size equipment for the reactor building of the 2nd power block under construction has been installed at the Leningrad NPP-2 construction site

A major assignment on the installation of the equipment airlock has been completed at the construction site of the 2nd Leningrad NPP-2 power block. The large-tonnage package units were installed at the +26.000 mark for the first time using a Liebherr 1350 crawler crane. This is the last piece of heavy equipment that physically completes the reactor building.

‘This is an important milestone for us, and it was a long journey to prepare ourselves for it, including the work on elaborating the applicable documents, a special work schedule on the installation of the equipment airlock in-situ’, Sergey Kondratyuk, the chief engineer at the PJSC SUS, told about the details of the activity. ‘What’s special about this installation is that the piece of equipment had to be move between the structural units of the transportation utility bridge crane very precisely, and our specialists managed to complete it successfully. In total, the installation of the equipment airlock took four hours’.

It is important to note that the equipment airlock is a part of the containment area, and it is the last thing to be installed because the process opening where it’s placed is used to transport the main equipment of the reactor hall. Now, when the major transportation and lifting milestone is achieved, the team can start the installation of this equipment, which will be the final stage of the reactor building construction.

During the power block operation, the equipment airlock will be used to transport nuclear fuel to the reactor and to replace the equipment as a part of the maintenance.

Reference:

Compared to the traditional VVER-1000 power blocks, the project for the 3+ generation Leningrad NPP power block has a number of advantages that considerably increase its economic parameters and safety standards. The capacity of the nuclear facility has been increased by 20%, from 1000 to 1200 megawatt; the designed life span of the core equipment has doubled and is now 60 years. In addition to that, this power block complies with the top international standards with regard to nuclear security. The Leningrad NPP-2 project serves as a reference for several international projects by the Rosatom State Corporation, such as the Belarusian NPP, the Paksh-2 NPP, the El Dabaa NPP, the Hanhikivi-1 NPP, etc.

The Leningrad NPP is the country’s first plant with RBMK-1000 reactors (uranium-graphite circuit-type reactor running on thermal neutrons). The decision that marked its construction was taken in September 1966 by a resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR and the Council of Ministers No. 800-252. According to that document, the Leningrad NPP was supposed to become a core in a network of nuclear power plants with RBMK-1000 reactors that were supposed to produce a substantial share of electric power. The construction of the Leningrad NPP was going well, and by 1973 the first power block was fully erected. On December 23, 1973, following stable 72-hours’ operation at the capacity of 150 megawatt, the State Commission signed the acceptance certificate stating that the first power block of the Leningrad nuclear power plant is commissioned for pilot production. 


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