Rosatom has completed installation of the fourth tier of the internal containment (VZO) at unit 2 of the Kursk-II NPP. The builders assembled 10 armoured blocks 6.45 metres high and weighing about 50 tons each in 10 days. The installation of the tier raised the constructive of the unit to the level of 43.1 metres.
“The fourth tier is the beginning of the domed part of the inner protective shell. On this tier, the shell is narrowed for the subsequent installation of the dome,” Andrey Osharin, First Deputy Director for the Construction of New Units at the Kursk NPP, explained. “The peculiarity of the tier is that there are consoles in the armoured blocks, on which a rail track is installed for the operation of the polar crane.”
Completion of this stage opens up several important fronts of work at the unit, such as the installation of a polar crane and the installation of the dome of the VZO,” said Oleg Shperle, Vice President, Project Director for the construction of the Kursk NPP at JSC ASE. The dome part also includes the installation of the fifth and sixth tiers. Installation of the dome is planned to be completed by the end of 2022.
Kursk-II 1&2 are being built according to the VVER-TOI project (standard optimised informatised pressurised water power reactor), which is a development of the VVER-1200 reactor design with increased capacity and improved technical and economic indicators. Kursk II is being built near the village of Makarovka in the Kurchatov district of the Kursk region as a replacement station for the currently operating Kursk NPP, which comprises four RBMK reactors. The commissioning of unit 1 is scheduled for the end of 2025.
Image: Fourth tier of the internal containment has been installed at unit 2 of the Kursk-II NPP (courtesy of Rosatom)
