The employees of Atomenergoproekt JSC (a part of the Engineering Division, designing all NPPs with VVER reactors) have elaborated an up-to-date engineering regulatory and know-how database for design, manufacturing and installation of unified thin-walled range of pipelines of safety class 2, 3 and 4, which substantiates the 60-year service life of pipelines for NPPs with VVER reactors instead of 30 years stipulated by the previous regulatory framework.
In order to develop new documentation, the specialists of Atomenergoproekt JSC have performed research and development (R&D) works since 2018. The procedure was established and parts of pipelines and their weld joints were tested in the initial state and after artificial ageing being an equivalent of 60-year operation. The results obtained allowed not only substantiating the operation of parts of the unified pipe range within 60 years without replacement, but also developing 5 state standards (GOST) which are currently under review by the Technical Committee for Standardization – 322 Nuclear Power and in 2023 can already be included in the catalog of GOST RF standards.
The project used domestically-produced items and materials. Substantiation of new materials use also allowed reducing by quarter in a number of systems the weight and dimensional characteristics of pipelines for NPPs with VVER, optimizing support and hanger systems, reducing costs of NPP operation and bringing Russian standards in compliance with international ones. Besides, a new base of regulatory and technical documentation was established for parts of the unified thin-walled range of pipelines, which is already used in the designer’s work.
“It is the first time for the last 40 years when the regulatory framework was upd ated; before, we had used the Soviet standards. The difficulty was to model the ageing after 60 years of operation correctly and to elaborate an adequate procedure for testing. The employees of Atomenergoproekt’s Innovations Division and Design and Process Bureau of Integrated Design have solved all the tasks se t successfully”, noted Sergey Egorov, Atomenergoproekt JSC Director for Science and Innovations. “This is an example of how the R&D results find practical application in the industry and help reduce the cost and optimize the construction process for NPPs and other infrastructural power facilities”.
The pipeline parts manufactured under new technical standards have already been delivered to the construction site of Kursk NPP-2 and to overseas NPPs with VVER reactors. The new range of pipelines is also used by the leading RF manufacturers – TMK PJSC and Titan-2 Holding JSC.
There is a goal for the Russian industry to ensure the technological sovereignty and transfer to new technologies within the shortest time possible. The state and large domestic companies commit resources to the accelerated development of internal research, infrastructural, science and technology base. By introducing innovations and new high-tech equipment, Rosatom and its enterprises are capable of bridging the gap on the market, increasing the competitiveness of the nuclear industry and the entire Russian industry as a whole.