Russia installs key components of largest neutron reactor for nuclear research
The new reactor is expected to replace the existing BOR-60 research facility.
A Moscow-based company has started the installation operation for Russia’s largest multipurpose fast research reactor of the fourth generation.
Rosatom has begun to assemble the mechanical equipment of the primary heat removal circuit and fuel handling systems for the 150 MW research reactor Multipurpose Fast Neutron Research Reactor (MBIR).
This is an important milestone in the construction of MBIR, which is part of the comprehensive program to advance nuclear science, engineering, and technology in Russia.
Fresh fuel drum is designed to preheat fuel assemblies
The company has revealed that two intermediate heat exchangers, each weighing 38 tons and measuring 29-ft (9 meters) in height and 8-ft (2.5 meters) in diameter, were installed in accordance with the design specifications.
The equipment was secured on support rings with a maximum deviation of 1 millimeter per meter from the horizontal. Additionally, drums for fresh and spent fuel, weighing 16 tons each, were positioned in their designated locations, according to Rosatom.
Sergey Kiverov, Deputy Director for Facilities under Construction at Research Institute of Nuclear Reactors (RIAR), stated that the fresh fuel drum is designed to preheat fuel assemblies in an inert gas atmosphere prior to loading them into a reactor core.