At the construction site of unit No. 3 of the El Dabaa NPP, installation of the core catcher started. Installation of the first large-sized equipment of the safety system for power unit 3 of the future nuclear power plant in Egypt is being performed by the specialists of TITAN-2.
The core catcher is one of the key components of the passive safety system of a nuclear reactor. In all NPP operation scenarios, the core catcher holds core fragments and prevents them from escaping the reactor building containment. The installation of the core catcher gave a start to the installation of high-tech equipment with its housing being a steel component weighing 158 t, with a height of 6.1 m and a diameter of 6.12 m. The installation was carried out by specialists of the Egyptian branch of TITAN-2 using a modern ZOOMLION ZCC32000 crane.
Grigory Naginskiy, General Director of JSC CONCERN TITAN-2, commented on the start of the important installation operation and noted: "TITAN-2's production capacities allow it to successfully perform the full cycle of construction and mechanical works at power unit 3 of the El Dabaa NPP. The result of months of well-coordinated work by experienced specialists was the successful installation of high-tech equipment — the core catcher housing of unit No. 3 — in its design position. At the power unit 3 construction site, this is the key construction event of the year, which opens up a new scope of work for us — the assembly and installation of tiers of the reactor building inner containment".
The Head of TITAN-2 Holding also told that today the company participates in the construction of all four units of the El Dabaa NPP: "From the very start of the project in Egypt, TITAN-2's fleet of hoisting equipment has been operating at all construction sites of Egypt's first nuclear power plant and fulfilling key construction tasks. With our direct participation, core catchers at units 1 and 2 of the El Dabaa NPP, the first tier of the inner containment (IC) of power unit No. 1 were installed. Last week, the installation of the inner containment of unit No. 2 started, where all lifting operations are performed by specialists from the branch of JSC CONCERN TITAN-2 in Egypt. Today was our third successful installation of the core catcher housing in its design position".
At the operation phase, the core catcher is filled with special materials that, when in contact with the nuclear fuel, first reduce its temperature and then instantaneously stop the chain reaction and ensure cooling of the fuel. The core catcher has the highest safety standards, including increased resistance to seismic and hydrodynamic loads.
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The TITAN-2 Holding is a Russian group of companies that builds nuclear facilities. Organisations of the Holding perform the whole cycle of works, from development of basic design documentation to facility commissioning.
The TITAN-2 Holding is the general contractor for construction of the new power units of the Leningrad NPP. At the construction site, the organisations of the Holding perform all civil construction, installation, and electric installation works.
The Holding participates in the construction of Akkuyu NPP in Turkey, Paks II NPP in Hungary and El-Dabaa NPP in Egypt.