“Using the experience of assembling an inclined column of the cooling tower at the first power unit, we are optimizing the process and timing of similar work at the cooling tower of power unit No. 2. We cut the installation time for one column by almost half: on average, specialists assemble 2 columns per 11-hour shift. We plan to assemble all 100 columns along the circumference of the ring foundation by the end of August,” said Aleksey Buldygin, head of the Kursk NPP-2 Capital Construction Management. 

Due to the complexity of the work performed, installation is carried out only during the day shift. The installation of each column, 13.6 meters tall and weighing 20 tons, is accompanied by geodetic surveying, during which the height and angle of the column inclination are regulated with pinpoint precision. 

The shell column of the cooling tower has two main functions: it takes up the load from the stack shell and transfers it to the foundation, and also provides full air access to effectively cool the circulating water.

 At the time of the column installation on the cooling tower of power unit No. 2, the ring footing of the storage basin is being concreted.