The first of 10 key milestones related to the Kursk NPP-2 construction has been performed ahead of schedule in the current year - the installation of the first tier of the reactor building outer containment was completed at power unit No. 1.
“Work for Kursk NPP-2 power unit construction are underway according to the schedule and even ahead of schedule,” said Nikolai Mitrofanov, the First Deputy Director for the Construction of New Power Units. The construction of the containment was carried out in stages. 15 armored units were installed, which closed in a circle of 50.8 meter diameter”.
It was possible to save time owing to the efficient interface of all the structures involved in this operation, as well as due to the implementation of the RPS project maximizing the enlargement of unit structures in the workshop. “This technology,” said Alexei Smirnov, director of the of Trest RosSEM LLC branch, “made it possible to minimize elevated works at the construction site and the associated loss of time for organizing elevated workplaces.”
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The outer containment is one of the important power unit localizing safety systems. It is intended both for taking of loads from operational impacts, such as ionizing and thermal radiation, as well as external extreme climatic influences, i.e. hurricanes, tornadoes, seismic impacts of the SSE level (safe shutdown event), as well as the effects of a shock wave and a plane crash. The height of the protective shell is 65.4 meters, the shell thickness ranges from 0.5 to 1.5 meters. The design provides for a five-tier structure, its installation is to be finished in in 2023. The the first tier of the outer containment was installed at the level of -0.050 meters and the structure was finally built up to the level of +8.950 meters. Installation of additional fittings is currently underway, the next stage will be concreting of the second section of the outer containment first tier (while the first one has been already concreted) and the adjacent structures. The next tier is scheduled to be installed in the end of May.