Rosatom’s Fuel Company TVEL said on 15 June that the day after construction began of the BREST-OD-300 fast breeder reactor at the Siberian Chemical Combine (SCC) in Seversk, 900 cubic metres of concrete had been laid in the base of the reactor foundation slab. Continuous control of concrete surface quality, its density, volume and temperature is being carried out by SCC specialists and technologists of the general construction contractor, Titan-2.
Every four hours, the temperature parameters are monitored in the peripheral zone of the block and in the core zone. Construction began on 8 June at the site of a pilot demonstration power complex (ODEK) being built at SCC as part of the Proryv (Breakthrough) when concrete was poured into the second block of the foundation slab of the reactor building. The remaining blocks of the foundation slab will be poured in sequence. In total, nine reinforced concrete blocks will be made at the base of the reactor, the volume of concrete in the foundation slab will be about 18,952 cubic metres. According to the roadmap, the concreting of the base of the BREST-OD-300 reactor should be completed by mid-October.
Aleksey Sokolov, Deputy Chief Engineer for Construction at SCC’s Directorate for the Construction of a Pilot Demonstration Power Complex (ODEK), explained that the concreting process is organised in such a way that weather conditions do not affect the process. The builders have installed a tent that completely covers block No 2, where the concrete is being poured. Earlier, in the preparatory period, Titan-2 developed a special pit for the foundation of the reactor and turbine hall buildings, the dimensions of which along the upper border are 250 by 119 metres, involving the removal of about 240,000 cubic metres of soil.
