OKBM Africantov (part of Rosatom’s mechanical engineering division) has manufactured and delivered the reloading machine to unit 2 of Russia’s Kursk-II NPP from its facility in Nizhny Novgorod. The reloading machine for unit 1 was installed in November 2023.
It is designed to perform transport and technological operations related to the reloading of nuclear fuel in the core of the VVER-TOI reactor as well as absorber rods of the control and protection system and hermetic canisters. The machine will also monitor the tightness of the fuel cladding during reloading and auxiliary operations to ensure safety of the process.
The equipment of the reloading machine is one of the most complex systems in the reactor island complex. It combines mechanical, lifting, electrical devices, a control system and must have high accuracy. Requirements for error of the reloading machine reaching a given coordinate are no more than 2 mm. It can move fuel assemblies weighing more than 700 kg.
Kursk II will replace the currently operating Kursk NPP, which comprises four ageing RBMK reactors (one of which is already closed). Units 1&2, currently under construction, will have VVER-TOI reactors – a development of the VVER-1200 reactor design. The VVER-TOI has increased power and improved technical and economic indicators, as well as increased resistance to extreme external influences.
