The process of concreting the reactor building’s contour walls structural elements started at the nuclear island of the Kursk NPP-2 2nd power block. The team began working on this new stage of the VVER-TOI replacement station construction one month ahead of schedule.

‘We saved a lot of time thanks to the experience gained during the 1st power block construction. It was like a sample for us to make the right decision’, Alexey Volnov, the chief engineer at the Kursk NPP-2, explained the reasons for accelerated construction. ‘We have managed to optimized our processes and eliminate all possible bottlenecks. As a result, we managed to complete the foundation concreting two weeks earlier than expected. We are ahead of schedule on the contour walls, too’.

The contour walls are the backbone of the whole power block. When building those at the Kursk NPP-2, new design solutions were implemented to facilitate safe operation of the power blocks.

‘We use double walls that are designed to handle both internal and external impact’, Mr. Volnov stated. ‘The external wall is 1200 millimeters thick, while the internal wall is 400 and 600 millimeters thick. At the moment, we have already placed over 800 cubic meters of concrete’.

13 sections are used for placement of the self-consolidating concrete mixture. Over 1400 cubic meters of concrete will be placed into the structural elements of the contour walls. The team plans to complete the 2nd power block’s walls in October.