Installation of the structure made it possible to fully form the internal containment volume of the reactor compartment. Hoisting of the dome was one of the most difficult installation operations at this stage of construction. About seven hours elapsed between the start of hoisting and the final installation of the structure. About specialists involved 40 slinging, balancing, guiding and securing structure took part in the effort.
The inner containment dome is a hemispherical structure of 15 mounting sections made of special-purpose structural steel. A special-purpose cross-arm designed taking into account the geometry and weight of the structure was used for installation. The total mass of the hoisted load, together with the maintenance platforms for the bus ducts and the sprinkler system, was over 250 tons.
Before the dome was installed, a large set of preparatory work had been done: manufacture of metal structures, their delivery by sea and road, pre-assembly, welding, quality control and preparation of load lifting equipment. Engineers, installers, welders, slingers, crane operators and specialists from other construction departments were involved at this stage.
The next stage will be welding of the dome with the cylindrical part of the inner containment. Upon completion of these works, the builders will proceed with reinforcing and concreting of the enclosure.
Dmitry Nikulin, Director for Construction of Main Facilities, T2IC:
“Installation of the inner containment dome is the moment when the sealed enclosure of the reactor compartment actually gets a completed structural shape. For builders, this means the transition to the next stage of work related to opening of the main equipment, test assembly of the reactor, installation of process systems and main equipment inside, preparation and start of commissioning operations on the power unit. Such an operation requires a high degree of organization when coordinating the activities of contractors at all stages: from the manufacture and pre-assembly of metal structures to their lifting and installation in the design position.”
Information note from TITAN-2 Holding
TITAN-2 Holding (part of ROSATOM State Corporation) is one of the key participants in large-scale nuclear industry projects in Russia and abroad.
The Holding companies perform a full cycle of work: design, construction organization, construction, electric installation, commissioning of facilities.
Today, TITAN-2 is the general contractor of the construction of new power units of the Leningrad, Kola and Smolensk NPPs, participates in implementation of the PDEC “Breakthrough” project in Seversk, as well as in the largest international nuclear projects – Akkuyu NPP in Türkiye, Paks II NPP in Hungary and El-Dabaa NPP in Egypt.
New power units of the Leningrad NPP and the Kursk NPP-2, the Core Shared Research Facility Siberian Circular Photon Source (SKIF) in Novosibirsk, as well as the facilities of Innopolis in Tatarstan are among the projects completed by the Holding. The competencies of TITAN-2 are also in demand in construction of large industrial, research, social and infrastructural facilities.