6 Jun (NucNet): The reactor pressure vessel (RPV) for the Leningrad 2 nuclear power station’s unit 1 (Leningrad 2-1) has been installed, state nuclear corporation Rosatom has said.
The RPV was lifted using a heavy crawler crane with maximum load capacity of 1,300 metric tonnes and installed through the roof of the containment building.
Rosatom said this was the first time an RPV had been lifted and installed while in a vertical position and that it had to be manoeuvred around the already installed polar crane.
“It is possible to considerably to simplify the installation of the reactor vessel and reduce risks by reducing the number of operations from eight to three,” said Yuri Galanchuk, director of the Leningrad 2 station.
This so-called “open method” of RPV installation has been tested at China’s Haiyang and Sanmen nuclear power plants.
Construction of Leningrad 2-1 began in 2008 and of Leningrad 2-2 in 2010. Both units are of the AES-2006 VVER pressurised water reactor (PWR) design.
