24.09.2020  The Kursk NPP Information and Public Relations Department

Building of the largest diameter pipeline among all Russian NPPs has been started at the Kursk NPP site

Installation of a circular pipeline for primary cooling water has been started in the turbine building of Kurskaya NPP-2. The pipeline will enable water circulation between the turbine condenser and the cooling tower used for cooling exhaust steam in the turbine.

Kursk NPP-2 will have the circular pipeline with the largest diameter of all Russian NPPs: 3128 mm. It’s thrice as large as any active Russian NPPs.

“Diameter increase of the circular pipeline is attributable to the fact that the technological scheme of project VVER-TOI provides for two circular pumps that enable water circulation between the cooling tower and the turbine condenser, and not four of them like at an NPP with VVER reactors. In order to ensure that water is supplied in a sufficient amount, the pipeline diameter was increased. Such an arrangement is due to optimization of economic and technological decisions made in the VVER-TOI project,” – the chief engineer of Kursk NPP Alexey Volnov explains.

The total length of the circular pipeline will amount to approximately 908 meters. The pipeline is to be installed in separate blocks connected together via welding. Altogether, 175 blocks should be installed, the mass of each of them will amount to 2 to 8 tons. All the blocks are produced in the workshop for reinforced metal blocks production, directly at the construction site of Kursk NPP-2.

The plan for this year is to install around 400 tons of the circular pipeline. It’s about 40 blocks. The professionals will have to make around 120 welds. The construction work is set to be finished by the end of November.

After its installation is complete, the circular pipeline will be connected to pipes running in the foundation slab of the turbine building of the first power unit.


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