A circular electric overhead travelling crane (polar crane) of 390t design load capacity has been put into operation in the reactor building of Kursk NPP-2 Unit 1 (with the Rosatom engineering division being its general designer and general contractor). This is one of the key machines of the reactor compartment belonging to the first (highest possible) safety class of a NPP equipment.
The design of the polar crane allows for transport operations to be performed at any point in the central hall of the reactor building, i.e. the trolley travels along the bridge (its span being 41.5 meters) while the crane itself moves along a circular rail track mounted at the top of the cylindrical part of the building. The total weight of all crane elements is about 440 tons. As part of preparation for the certification, static tests of the main lifting machine were carried out with a simulated load of 432 tons.
The installation of the crane and the related pre-commissioning works were performed by the staff of Energospetsmontazh JSC MSU-5 Branch (part of the Rosatom engineering division).
“The launch of the polar crane is a landmark in getting prepared for the key construction event of the year for the NPP, namely installing the power unit reactor vessel in the design position,” Oleg Shperle, Vice-President, Director of the Kurks NPP-2 construction project, pointed out.
After the power unit is put into operation, the polar crane will be operated to perform a wide range of tasks at all stages of the NPP life cycle, in particular, it will be used to handle transport and technological operations related to the power unit operation and the reactor plant equipment, for example, nuclear fuel loading and unloading.
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