In the reactor building of the 1st power unit of the Kursk NPP-2, a pressure compensator was installed in its proper position – one of the elements of the main equipment of the reactor unit. The device is designed to create and maintain pressure in the primary circuit in the normal mode of operation of the power unit, as well as to stabilize the parameters in transient operating modes.

“We have entered a new stage in the construction of Kursk NPP-2 power units – this is the transition from the installation of large-sized and heavy equipment using the open-top method to installation using design lifting equipment of the reactor compartment – a polar crane and a transport portal,” the Acting Director of the Kursk NPP Andrey Osharin noted the significance of the event.

The installation was preceded by a lot of preparatory work. A special transport portal was installed in front of the reactor building, necessary for the delivery of heavy equipment to the containment area of the reactor compartment. The polar crane was put into operation, which performed the installation of the pressure compensator in the design position already inside the reactor building.

“The pressure compensator is the first equipment of the reactor plant, which is delivered to the containment area through a transport lock, as the reactor building is already covered with a dome. First, the equipment was delivered to the transport portal with the help of the Liebherr crane and loaded onto a special transport trolley, on which it was moved inside the reactor compartment. Then the compensator was installed in the design position at around 14 meters with the help of a polar crane,” Alexei Buldygin, head of the capital construction department of Kursk NPP-2, commented on the installation features.

According to a similar scheme, four steam generators and reactor vessels will be installed in the reactor building of power unit No. 1 in the near future.