2024-09-09 17:14:30
Preparations for re-soldering of the reactor core have started at the Armenian NPP. The employees of the Armenian NPP, together with the Russian specialists, will assemble the reactor’s sintering facility, perform its comprehensive inspection, as well as the necessary calculations and material science studies of the reactor body.
The drilling works are carried out within the framework of the agreement signed with “Rusatom Service” JSC aimed at upgrading and increasing the level of safety of the Armenian NPP. The reactor will start burning in 2021 during planned preventive maintenance work at the plant. These works are planned to be carried out in May-October. Due to reactor firing works, PNV-2021 will last longer than usual, about 140 days.
Reactor smelting is considered to be the most effective method of metal recovery. the body of the reactor is heated up to 475 degrees with the help of a sintering plant, kept at that temperature for 150 hours, after which slow cooling takes place. This operation will allow the reactor metal operating characteristics to return 80 to 85 percent to baseline, thus extending its useful life.
The spraying works will be carried out with the participation of “Atomenergoremont” JSC specialists. “Atomenergoremont” is Russia’s largest company in the field of technical maintenance, equipment repair and modernization of nuclear power plants. The company has a lot of experience in regenerative burning and post-burning of reactor cores of the ВВЕР type.
Reactor sputtering technology was used for the first time at the Novovoronezh NPP (Russia). Reactor decommissioning is carried out in all nuclear power plants, where the life of the plant is extended. Spraying works were carried out on ВВЕР-440 type reactors at Kolskaya (Russia), Rovenskaya (Ukraine), Kozloduy (Bulgaria) and Lovisa (Finland) NPPs.