Kursk region, November 15 - Neftegaz.RU. According to Rosatom, the installation of the device for catching the molten core material (core catcher) has been commenced at Kursk NPP-2 Unit 1.
The 1st element of the device - the core catcher vessel was installed in the design position. It is a vessel of over 110 tons, total weight of the device is over 800 tons. In addition to the vessel the basic elements of the core catcher are: block-assemblies filled with special non-metallic materials, maintenance platform, cantilever truss and bottom slab.
According to Mr. Alexey Deriy, ASE EC Vice President – Director for Kursk NPP-2 construction project, the core catcher vessel is the 1st large-size long lead equipment that is installed in the reactor compartment of the Kursk NPP-2 Unit 1 under construction.
«The core catcher is installed one month ahead of the scheduled time. The core catcher has been adjusted for the site conditions and meets all the current safety requirements, has the advanced seismic resistance, shock resistance and flood protection,» noted Alexey Deriy.
For the 1st time the core catcher was installed at Tianwan NPS in China. Now all power units of Novovoronezh NPP and Leningrad NPP-2 are equipped with the core catcher, as well as Kudankulam NPP in India.