Russia’s II Afrikantov Experimental Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering (OKBM Afrikantov, part of Rosatom’s Mechanical Engineering Division) has received permission to manufacture equipment components for the RITM-200 ship reactor using a domestic 3D printer.
The first product manufactured using additive technologies was an element of pumping equipment – a terminal box. The prototypes underwent a full range of tests in accordance with the programme and test methodology agreed with the leading materials science organisation.
Regulatory documentation has since been developed and approved, and the first Russian Maritime Register of Shipping certificate has been granted.
“The receipt of regulatory documentation for the first product for the RITM-200 reactor unit to be manufactured using additive technologies, allows us to replicate the 3D printing technology in the future to create various pieces of equipment for ship NPPs, as well as other equipment for the nuclear industry,” said Yuri Vytnov, Chief Technologist at OKBM Afrikantov.
“The use of additive technologies in the production of elements for RITM-200 demonstrates the high level of technological readiness of the Russian industry, noted Ilya Kavelashvili, Director of the Additive Technologies Business Unit at Rosatom’s Fuel Division. “The use of 3D printing opens up new opportunities for design and production. It is possible to create parts with optimised geometry and improved characteristics. This allows for increased efficiency and reliability of equipment, as well as reduced weight and cost.”
This is the first time reactor components have been produced using a 3D printer. Previously, this technology was used to create parts for bench equipment, tooling, and prototypes. The use of additive technologies in industry enables longer product life, increased economic efficiency, and reduced labour costs.
The pump equipment element for the RITM-200 was printed on a domestic 3D printer, the Ilist-L+, developed and manufactured by Rosatom in partnership with St Petersburg State Marine Technical University.
Production took place at Rosatom’s Nizhny Novgorod Additive Technologies Centre at OKBM Afrikantov. The centre was established in 2023 with the participation of the Additive Technologies business unit of Rosatom’s Fuel Division.
The RITM-200 reactor unit was developed based on more than 60 years of experience in operating nuclear-powered vessels, combined with the use of all modern achievements in 3D design, computational programmes, and a supercomputer.
RITM-200 reactor is used to power the Project 22220 icebreaker of and will be used in future floating power units and low-power nuclear power plants capable of providing electricity to remote areas in the country and abroad. A series of floating power units is being built to supply power to a large industrial customers in Chukotka. A project is also underway to build a ground-based low-power nuclear power plants using the RITM-200 in Yakutia and Uzbekistan.
