Creation of the nuclear icebreaker fleet in the USSR. Destiny to be first. icebreaker Yamal photo

Russia has the world's only nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet, designed to solve the problems of ensuring a national presence in the Arctic based on the use of advanced nuclear achievements. With its appearance, the real development of the Far North began. This is due to the fact that all the northern borders of the state are maritime and they pass through the waters of the Arctic Ocean, the seas of which are covered with ice almost all year round, with the exception of part of the Barents Sea.

For Russia at all times, the Northern Sea Route, which runs along the northern coast of the country, has been a strategic highway along which it is possible to transport goods, ferry ships and warships from the west to the east of the country and back. This is the shortest route from Europe to Japan and China.

Until the 1960s, navigation in the Arctic Ocean was three to three and a half months. The low power of power plants did not allow ships to force heavy ice early spring and late autumn. Therefore, it was decided to start building icebreakers with nuclear reactors that could carry out year-round ice assistance in the Arctic.

From 1971 to 1992, the second-generation nuclear-powered icebreakers Arktika, Sibir, Rossiya, Sovetsky Soyuz and Yamal were built at the Baltic Shipyard in Leningrad. From 1982 to 1988 at the Kerch shipbuilding plant "Zaliv" a lighter-container carrier "Sevmorput" was created. Nuclear icebreakers "Taimyr" and "Vaigach" were built by order of the USSR at the shipyard of the company "Wartsila" (Wartsila) in Finland from 1985 to 1989. In this case, Soviet equipment (power plant) and steel were used. The Taimyr was put into operation on June 30, 1989, and the Vaigach on July 25, 1990. Due to the reduced draft, they could serve ships following the Northern Sea Route with calls at the mouths of the Siberian rivers.

At present, the nuclear icebreaker fleet includes: two nuclear-powered icebreakers with a two-reactor nuclear power plant with a capacity of 75,000 horsepower (Yamal, 50 Let Pobedy), two icebreakers with a single-reactor plant with a capacity of about 50,000 horsepower (Taimyr, Vaygach), a nuclear lighter carrier - container ship "Sevmorput" and five service vessels.

The rest of the nuclear-powered ships have exhausted their technical life and have been decommissioned (Lenin in 1989, Sibir in 1992, Arktika in 2008, Rossiya). In 2017, it was decided to dispose of the Sovetsky Soyuz nuclear-powered ship, although earlier.

The operating Russian nuclear icebreakers underwent work to extend the life of their reactor plants. The operation of the nuclear-powered ship Vaigach is scheduled to be completed at the turn of 2023-2024, Taimyr - in 2025-2026, Yamal - 2027-2028. Completion of the operation of the nuclear icebreaker "50 Years of Victory" is attributed to 2035.

Instead of retired nuclear-powered icebreakers, the more advanced ones currently under construction, Project 22220 Arktika, Sibir and Ural, will be put into operation.

Icebreakers of project 22220 have, in addition to a nuclear installation, electric propulsion systems, which significantly reduces the cost of its operation and facilitates the work of the crew. Reactors work not only on steam turbines, which in turn rotate the propeller shafts, they act as power plants that supply current to all consumers of the vessel, including engines. And that's what they are. Icebreakers of project 22220 will be able to conduct caravans of ships in arctic conditions, breaking through ice up to three meters thick along the way. New ships carrying hydrocarbons from the fields of the Yamal and Gydan Peninsulas, the Kara Sea shelf to the markets of the Asia-Pacific region. The vessel's dual-draft design with adjustable diving depth allows it to be used both in Arctic waters and in the mouths of polar rivers.

"Arktika" and "Siberia" have already been launched, and "Ural" . Arktika is planned to be commissioned in the first half of 2019, Sibir and Ural -.

In addition, a project is being prepared for a new, even more powerful Russian nuclear icebreaker 10510 "Leader" with a capacity of 120 megawatts. The main tasks of the new nuclear-powered leaders should be to ensure year-round navigation along the Northern Sea Route and.

Without modern icebreakers, it is impossible to solve many socio-economic problems facing Russia in the Arctic. This includes the development of the Far North, the realization of the oil and gas potential of the Russian Arctic shelf, the conduct of geological exploration work to study the Arctic shelf areas, the development of fields and the entire service infrastructure, as well as the efficient operation and export of produced products.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Use of nuclear icebreakers

Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker "Yamal" with a shark's mouth painted on the nose

Icebreaker Siberia

According to the Accounts Chamber, “The icebreaker Sibir has been decommissioned since 1992 due to a large number of leaky sections of steam generators and the impossibility of operating reactor plant No. 2 without replacing internal steam generators. The cores were unloaded from reactors No. 1 and No. 2 in November 1995 and January 1996, respectively, while the operating time of reactors No. 1 and No. 2 at the time of decommissioning was below the standard. In 2009, the dismantling of the nuclear-powered icebreaker is planned.

Icebreaker Yamal

The Yamal icebreaker specializes in tourism in July-August, having already made more than fifty trips to the Pole, and was the first icebreaker to reach the Pole of Inaccessibility in 1996 voyages (07/29/1996 and 08/12/1996).

Icebreaker 50 Years of Victory

The last nuclear-powered icebreaker of the modified Arktika project is the nuclear-powered icebreaker 50 Years of Victory. It was founded in 1989 at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg under the name "Ural". The team includes 138 people. Due to financial problems, the icebreaker was launched from the stocks only in 2006 and was completed until spring. Its overall length (159 m) makes it the largest of the nuclear icebreakers. The icebreaker was commissioned in April.

Icebreakers of the Taimyr class

In 1989-1990, two icebreakers "Taimyr" and "Vaigach" were built in Finland. Unlike the Arktika, they are equipped with one reactor and have a smaller draft (this allows you to enter the mouths of large rivers). Their length is 151 m, width - 29 m.

Icebreakers in philately

Infrastructure

For the operation of nuclear icebreakers, support vessels are used:

1. Fuel vessels used for refueling:
   • "Lotta".
2. Fuel ship for the transport of nuclear fuel:
3. Auxiliary vessels:
   • "Volodarsky" - transportation of solid cargoes,
   • "Serebryanka" - tanker,
   • "Rosta-1" - monitoring and control of the background radiation.

As a rule, icebreakers try to break through the ice where it is thinnest, so as not to fall into ice traps. In the 1970s and 80s, special aircraft were used to study the thickness of the ice. Today, satellite systems are used for this.

Exploitation

The indispensability of the nuclear fleet was especially clearly shown by navigation in 1983, when more than 50 ships fell into an ice trap in the eastern sector of the Arctic, including the latest diesel icebreakers Ermak, Admiral Makarov and even the Lenin nuclear-powered icebreaker. Not only ships were threatened, but also the life support of the Arctic settlements, which were waiting for seasonal delivery. The nuclear-powered ship Arktika, as the leader of the icebreaker, managed to free the caravans of ships from ice captivity. In the history of rescue operations at sea, this can rightfully be considered the largest successful one in the world. Icebreaker captain Anatoly Lamekhov was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, 29 crew members were awarded orders and medals.

Almost no complex expedition in the central Arctic is complete without the Russian nuclear fleet. In 1998, the a/l "Arktika" was the first to carry out a polar ice pilotage of the German research icebreaker "Polarstern" (German. "Polarstern"). In 2004, the Sovetsky Soyuz aircraft jointly with the Swedish diesel icebreaker Oden provided ice safety for drilling operations at the North Pole from the vessel Vidar Viking. In 2007, a/l Rossiya provided the possibility of carrying out deep-sea work on the Mir submersible from the R/V Akademik Fedorov at the North Pole. In the same 2007, the 50 Let Pobedy a/l provided ice escort for the Swedish icebreaker Oden on a Danish expedition to the central Arctic to explore the Lomonosov Ridge. Nuclear-powered icebreakers are used during landings in the central Arctic and evacuation of all Russian drifting stations "North Pole".

The reliability of Arktika-class nuclear-powered ships has been tested and proven by time; in the more than 30-year history of nuclear-powered ships of this class, there has not been a single accident associated with a nuclear power plant. In 1999, without entering the port of Murmansk, "Arktika" for exactly 1 year, from May 4, 1999 to May 4, 2000, worked in the seas of the Arctic Ocean, escorting ships on the routes of the Northern Sea Route (110 ships were carried out), passing 50 thousand miles, of which 32 thousand are in the ice without a single breakdown of the icebreaker's components and mechanisms. The nuclear-powered ship has become a kind of testing ground. In August 2005, the Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker Arktika set another record: it traveled a millionth mile since commissioning, which is almost five times the distance from the Earth to the Moon. Prior to this, no vessel of this class could reach such a milestone. For comparison: the world's first nuclear-powered ship "Lenin" left 654 thousand 400 miles astern.

richest practical experience work of the Arctic icebreaking nuclear fleet, which no other country in the world has, is used in the design of a new generation of nuclear-powered ships: universal nuclear two-draft icebreakers of the LK-60Ya and LK-110Ya types.

Arctic tourism

Since 1989, nuclear icebreakers have been used to tourist trips to the North Pole. A three-week cruise costs $25,000. The nuclear-powered icebreaker Sibir was first used for this purpose in 1989. Since 1991, the nuclear-powered icebreaker Sovetsky Soyuz has been used for this. For this, since 1993, the Yamal nuclear icebreaker has been used. It has a special section for tourists. The icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy, built in 2007, also has the same section.

Notes

Links

• The Arctic Job. English Russia (30.09.2009). Archived from the original on February 23, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2010.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

Let's now go through the interior of the icebreaker, with the exception of the wheelhouse.
The post turned out to be large, cumbersome and is more of a compilation of any information :-((

I understand that this is all a large-scale repetition of a huge number of photographs of people who visited the ship on excursions, especially since they drive to the same places. But it was interesting for me to figure it out myself.

This is our nuclear-powered guide:

It was about creating a ship that can sail for a very long time without calling at ports for fuel.
Scientists have calculated that a nuclear-powered icebreaker will consume 45 grams of nuclear fuel per day - as much as will fit in a matchbox. That is why the nuclear-powered ship, having a practically unlimited navigation area, will be able to visit both the Arctic and off the coast of Antarctica in one voyage. For a ship with a nuclear power plant, the distance is not an obstacle.

Initially, we were gathered in this hall for a brief introduction to the tour and divided into two groups.

The Admiralty had considerable experience in the repair and construction of icebreakers. Back in 1928, they overhauled the "grandfather of the icebreaker fleet" - the famous "Ermak".
The construction of icebreakers and icebreaking transport vessels at the plant was associated with a new stage in the development of Soviet shipbuilding - the use of electric welding instead of riveting. The plant staff was one of the initiators of this innovation. New method successfully tested on the construction of icebreakers of the Sedov type. Icebreakers "Okhotsk", "Murman", "Ocean", in the construction of which electric welding was widely used, showed excellent performance; their hull proved to be more durable than other vessels.

Before the Great Patriotic War, the plant built a large icebreaking transport vessel "Semyon Dezhnev", which immediately after sea trials headed for the Arctic to withdraw caravans that had wintered there. Following the "Semyon Dezhnev", the icebreaking transport vessel "Levanevsky" was launched. After the war, the plant built another icebreaker and several self-propelled icebreaker-type ferries.
A large scientific team headed by the outstanding Soviet physicist Academician A.P. Aleksandrov worked on the project. Under his leadership, such prominent specialists as I. I. Afrikantov, A. I. Brandaus, G. A. Gladkov, B. Ya. Gnesin, V. I. Neganov, N. S. Khlopkin, A. N. Stefanovich and Other.

We rise to the floor above

The dimensions of the nuclear-powered ship were chosen taking into account the requirements for the operation of icebreakers in the North and ensuring its best seaworthiness: the length of the icebreaker is 134 m, the width is 27.6 m, the shaft power is 44,000 liters. s., displacement 16,000 tons, speed 18 knots in clear water and 2 knots in ice more than 2 m thick.

Long corridors

The designed power of the turboelectric plant is unparalleled. The nuclear-powered icebreaker is twice as powerful as the American icebreaker "Gletcher", which was considered the largest in the world.
When designing the ship's hull, special attention was paid to the shape of the bow, on which the icebreaking qualities of the vessel largely depend. The contours chosen for the nuclear-powered ship, in comparison with existing icebreakers, allow increasing the pressure on the ice. The aft end is designed in such a way that it provides flotation in ice during reverse gear and reliable protection of propellers and rudder from ice impacts.

Dining room:
And the caboose? This is a fully electrified plant with its own bakery, hot food is served by an electric elevator from the kitchen to the dining rooms.

In practice, it was observed that icebreakers sometimes got stuck in the ice not only with their bow or stern, but also with their sides. To avoid this, it was decided to arrange special systems of ballast tanks on the nuclear-powered ship. If water is pumped from the tank of one side to the tank of the other side, then the ship, swaying from side to side, will break and push the ice apart with its sides. The same system of tanks is installed in the bow and stern. And if the icebreaker does not break the ice on the move and its nose gets stuck? Then you can pump water from the stern trim tank to the bow. The pressure on the ice will increase, it will break, and the icebreaker will come out of the ice captivity.
In order to ensure the unsinkability of such a large vessel, if the skin is damaged, it was decided to subdivide the hull into compartments by eleven main transverse watertight bulkheads. When calculating the nuclear icebreaker, the designers ensured the unsinkability of the vessel when the two largest compartments were flooded.

The team of builders of the polar giant was headed by a talented engineer V. I. Chervyakov.

In July 1956, the first section of the nuclear icebreaker's hull was laid down.
To lay out the theoretical drawing of the building on the plaza, a huge area was required - about 2500 square meters. Instead, the breakdown was made on a special shield using a special tool. This allowed to reduce the area for marking. Then template drawings were made, which were photographed on photographic plates. The projection apparatus, in which the negative was placed, reproduced the light contour of the part on the metal. The photo-optical method of marking made it possible to reduce the labor intensity of plaza and marking work by 40%.

Getting into the engine room

The nuclear-powered icebreaker, as the most powerful vessel in the entire icebreaking fleet, is designed to deal with ice in the most difficult conditions; therefore, its body must be especially strong. It was decided to ensure the high strength of the hull using steel new brand. This steel has high impact strength. It welds well and has great resistance to crack propagation at low temperatures.

The design of the hull of the nuclear-powered ship, the system of its set also differed from other icebreakers. The bottom, sides, inner decks, platforms and the upper deck at the extremities were recruited according to the transverse framing system, and the upper deck in the middle part of the icebreaker - along the longitudinal system.
The building, as high as a good five-story house, consisted of sections weighing up to 75 tons. There were about two hundred such large sections.

The assembly and welding of such sections was carried out by the pre-assembly section of the hull shop.

It is interesting to note that the nuclear-powered ship has two power plants capable of providing energy to a city with a population of 300,000. The ship does not need any machinists or stokers: all the work of power plants is automated.
It should be said about the latest propeller motors. These are unique machines made in the USSR for the first time, especially for the nuclear-powered ship. The numbers speak for themselves: the weight of an average engine is 185 tons, the power is almost 20,000 hp. from. The engine had to be delivered to the icebreaker disassembled, in parts. Loading the engine onto the ship presented great difficulties.

They also love cleanliness.

From the pre-assembly section, the finished sections were delivered directly to the slipway. Assemblers and checkers installed them without delay.
During the manufacture of units for the first experimental standard sections, it turned out that the steel sheets from which they should be made weigh 7 tons, and the cranes available at the procurement site had a lifting capacity of only up to 6 tons.
The presses were also underpowered.

One more instructive example of the close community of workers, engineers and scientists should be mentioned.
According to the approved technology, stainless steel structures were welded manually. More than 200 experiments have been carried out; finally, the welding modes were worked out. Five automatic welders replaced 20 manual welders who were transferred to work in other areas.

There was, for example, such a case. Due to the very large dimensions, it was impossible to deliver by railway to the plant fore and sternpost - the main structures of the bow and stern of the vessel. Massive, heavy, weighing 30 and 80 g, they did not fit on any railway platforms. Engineers and workers decided to make the stems directly at the factory by welding their individual parts.

To imagine the complexity of assembling and welding the mounting joints of these stems, suffice it to say that the minimum thickness of the welded parts reached 150 mm. Welding of the stem continued for 15 days in 3 shifts.

While the building was being erected on the slipway, parts, pipelines, and devices were manufactured and assembled in various workshops of the plant. Many of them came from other companies. The main turbogenerators were built at the Kharkov Electromechanical Plant, propeller motors - at the Leningrad Electrosila Plant named after S. M. Kirov. Such electric motors were created in the USSR for the first time.
Steam turbines were assembled in the workshops of the Kirov Plant.

The use of new materials required a change in many of the established technological processes. Pipelines were mounted on the nuclear-powered ship, which were previously connected by soldering.
In collaboration with the specialists of the welding bureau of the plant, the workers of the assembly shop developed and introduced electric arc welding of pipes.

The nuclear-powered ship required several thousand pipes of various lengths and diameters. Experts have calculated that if the pipes are pulled out in one line, their length will be 75 kilometers.

Finally, the time arrived for the completion of the slipway work.
Before the descent, one difficulty arose, then another.
So, it was not easy to install a heavy rudder blade. Putting it in place in the usual way did not allow the complex design of the aft end of the nuclear-powered ship. In addition, by the time the huge part was installed, the upper deck had already been closed. Under these conditions, it was impossible to take risks. We decided to hold a "general rehearsal" - first we put not a real baller, but its "double" - a wooden model of the same dimensions. The "rehearsal" was a success, the calculations were confirmed. Soon, the multi-ton part was quickly brought into place.

The descent of the icebreaker into the water was just around the corner. The large launch weight of the vessel (11,000 tons) made it difficult to design a launching device, although specialists have been engaged in this device almost from the moment the first sections were laid on the slipway.

According to the calculations of the design organization, in order to launch the Lenin icebreaker into the water, it was necessary to lengthen the underwater part of the launch tracks and deepen the bottom behind the slipway pit.
A group of employees of the design bureau of the plant and the hull shop developed a more advanced trigger device compared to the original project.

For the first time in the practice of domestic shipbuilding, a spherical wooden rotary device and a number of other new design solutions were used.
To reduce the launch weight, ensure greater stability when launching and braking a vessel that has descended from the slipway into the water, special pontoons were brought under the stern and bow.
The icebreaker's hull was freed from scaffolding. Surrounded by portal cranes, sparkling with fresh paint, he was ready to set off on his first short journey - to the water surface of the Neva.

Move on

We're going down

. . . PJ. To an uninitiated person, these three letters do not say anything. PEV - post of energy and survivability - the brain of icebreaker control. From here, with the help of automatic devices, operating engineers - people of a new profession in the fleet - can remotely control the operation of the steam generator unit. From here, the necessary mode of operation of the "heart" of the nuclear-powered ship - the reactors - is maintained.

Experienced sailors, who have been sailing on ships of various types for many years, are surprised: PEJ specialists wear snow-white bathrobes over the usual marine uniform.

The post of energy and survivability, as well as the wheelhouse and crew cabins are located in the central superstructure.

And now on to the story:

December 5, 1957 In the morning it was continuously drizzling, with occasional sleet falling. A sharp, gusty wind blew from the bay. But people did not seem to notice the gloomy Leningrad weather. Long before the icebreaker was launched, the platforms around the slipway were filled with people. Many boarded a tanker under construction next door.

Exactly at noon, the nuclear-powered icebreaker "Lenin" anchored in the very place where, on the memorable night of October 25, 1917, the "Aurora" - the legendary ship of the October Revolution - stood.

The construction of the nuclear-powered ship entered a new period - its completion afloat began.

Atomic power plant- the most important section of the icebreaker. The most prominent scientists worked on the design of the reactor. Each of the three reactors is almost 3.5 times more powerful than the reactor of the first in the world nuclear power plant Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

OK-150 "Lenin" (until 1966)
Rated power of the reactor, VMT 3х90
Rated steam capacity, t/h 3х120
Power on propellers, l/s 44,000

The layout of all installations - block. Each unit includes a pressurized water reactor (i.e. water is both a coolant and a neutron moderator), four circulation pumps and four steam generators, volume compensators, an ion exchange filter with a cooler, and other equipment.

The reactor, pumps and steam generators have separate casings and are connected to each other by short pipes of the "pipe in pipe" type. All equipment is located vertically in the caissons of the iron-water protection tank and is closed with small-sized protection blocks, which ensures easy accessibility when repair work Oh.

A nuclear reactor is a technical installation in which a controlled chain reaction of nuclear fission of heavy elements is carried out with the release of nuclear energy. The reactor consists of an active zone and a reflector. Water-to-water reactor - water in it is both a fast neutron moderator and a cooling and heat exchange medium. The core contains nuclear fuel in a protective coating (fuel elements - fuel elements) and a moderator. The fuel rods, which look like thin rods, are assembled into bundles and enclosed in covers. Such structures are called fuel assemblies of fuel assemblies.

The fuel rods, which look like thin rods, are assembled into bundles and enclosed in covers. Such structures are called fuel assemblies (FA). The reactor core is a set of active parts of fresh fuel assemblies (SFA), which in turn consist of fuel elements (TVEL). 241 STVs are placed in the reactor. The resource of the modern core (2.1-2.3 million MWh) provides the energy needs of the ship with nuclear power plants for 5-6 years. After the energy resource of the core is exhausted, the reactor is recharged.

The reactor vessel with an elliptical bottom is made of low-alloy heat-resistant steel with anti-corrosion hardfacing on the inner surfaces.

The principle of operation of APPU
The thermal scheme of the PPU of a nuclear vessel consists of 4 circuits.

The coolant of the first circuit (highly purified water) is pumped through the reactor core. Water is heated to 317 degrees, but does not turn into steam, because it is under pressure. From the reactor, the coolant of the 1st circuit enters the steam generator, washing the pipes, inside which the water of the 2nd circuit flows, turning into superheated steam. Further, the coolant of the first circuit is again fed into the reactor by the circulation pump.

From the steam generator, superheated steam (coolant of the second circuit) enters the main turbines. Steam parameters before the turbine: pressure - 30 kgf/cm2 (2.9 MPa), temperature - 300 °C. Then the steam condenses, the water passes through the ion-exchange purification system and enters the steam generator again.

Circuit III is intended for cooling the APPU equipment, high-purity water (distillate) is used as a heat carrier. The coolant of the III circuit has a slight radioactivity.

IV circuit is used to cool water in system III circuit, sea water is used as a heat carrier. Also, the IV circuit is used to cool the steam of the II circuit during distributing and cooling down the installation.

APPU is made and placed on the ship in such a way as to ensure protection of the crew and the public from exposure, and environment- from contamination with radioactive substances within the permissible safe limits both during normal operation and in case of accidents of the installation and the ship at the expense of. To this end, four protective barriers between nuclear fuel and the environment have been created on possible routes for the release of radioactive substances:

the first - shells of the fuel elements of the reactor core;

the second - strong walls of the equipment and pipelines of the primary circuit;

the third is the containment of the reactor plant;

the fourth is a protective fence, the boundaries of which are the longitudinal and transverse bulkheads, the second bottom and the upper deck flooring in the area of ​​the reactor compartment.

Everyone wanted to feel like a little hero :-)))

In 1966, two OK-900s were installed instead of three OK-150s.

OK-900 “Lenin”
Rated power of the reactor, VMT 2x159
Rated steam capacity, t/h 2x220
Power on propellers, l/s 44000

Room in front of the reactor compartment

Windows in the reactor compartment

In February 1965, an accident occurred during scheduled repairs at reactor No. 2 of the Lenin nuclear icebreaker. As a result of operator error, the core was left without water for some time, which caused partial damage to approximately 60% of the fuel assemblies.

With channel-by-channel reloading, only 94 of them were unloaded from the core, the remaining 125 turned out to be unrecoverable. This part was unloaded along with the screen assembly and placed in a special container, which was filled with a hardening mixture based on futurol and then stored onshore for about 2 years.

In August 1967, the reactor compartment with the OK-150 nuclear power plant and its own sealed bulkheads was flooded directly from the Lenin icebreaker through the bottom in the shallow Tsivolki Bay in the northern part of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago at a depth of 40-50 m.

Before the flooding, nuclear fuel was unloaded from the reactors, and their first circuits were washed, drained and sealed. According to the Iceberg Central Design Bureau, the reactors were filled with a hardening mixture based on futurol before being flooded.

A container with 125 spent fuel assemblies filled with Futurol was moved from the shore, placed inside a special pontoon and flooded. By the time of the accident, the ship's nuclear power plant had operated for about 25,000 hours.

After that, ok-150 and were replaced by ok-900
Once again about the principles of work:
How does an icebreaker's nuclear power plant work?
In the reactor, uranium rods are placed in a special order. The system of uranium rods is penetrated by a swarm of neutrons, a kind of "fuse", causing the decay of uranium atoms with the release of a huge amount of thermal energy. The rapid motion of neutrons is tamed by the moderator. Myriads of controlled atomic explosions, caused by a stream of neutrons, occur in the thickness of uranium rods. As a result, a so-called chain reaction is formed.
bw photos are not mine

A feature of the icebreaker's nuclear reactors is that not graphite was used as a neutron moderator, as at the first Soviet nuclear power plant, but distilled water. The uranium rods placed in the reactor are surrounded by the purest water (twice distilled). If you fill a bottle with it to the neck, then it will be absolutely impossible to notice whether water is poured into the bottle or not: the water is so transparent!
In the reactor, water is heated above the melting point of lead - more than 300 degrees. Water at this temperature does not boil because it is under a pressure of 100 atmospheres.

The water in the reactor is radioactive. With the help of pumps, it is driven through a special apparatus-steam generator, where it turns non-radioactive water into steam with its heat. The steam enters a turbine that drives a DC generator. The generator supplies current to the propulsion motors. The exhaust steam is sent to the condenser, where it turns back into water, which is again pumped into the steam generator by a pump. Thus, in a system of complex mechanisms, a kind of water cycle occurs.
B&W photos taken by me from the Internet

The reactors are installed in special metal drums welded into a stainless steel tank. From above, the reactors are closed with lids, under which there are various devices for automatically lifting and moving uranium rods. The entire operation of the reactor is controlled by instruments, and if necessary, "mechanical arms"-manipulators come into action, which can be controlled from afar, being outside the compartment.

The reactor can be viewed on TV at any time.
Everything that poses a danger with its radioactivity is carefully isolated and located in a special compartment.
The drainage system diverts dangerous liquids to a special tank. There is also a system for trapping air with traces of radioactivity. The air flow from the central compartment is thrown through the main mast to a height of 20 m.
In all corners of the ship, you can see special dosimeters, ready at any time to notify of increased radioactivity. In addition, each crew member is equipped with an individual pocket-type dosimeter. Safe operation icebreaker is fully provided.
The designers of the nuclear-powered ship provided for all sorts of accidents. If one reactor fails, another one will replace it. The same work on the ship can be performed by several groups of identical mechanisms.
This is the basic principle of operation of the entire system of a nuclear power plant.
In the compartment where the reactors are placed, there is a huge number of pipes of complex configurations and large sizes. The pipes had to be connected not as usual, with the help of flanges, but butt-welded with an accuracy of one millimeter.

Simultaneously with the installation of nuclear reactors, the main mechanisms were installed at a rapid pace. engine room. Steam turbines were mounted here, rotating generators,
on an icebreaker; there are more than five hundred electric motors of different power on the nuclear-powered ship alone!

Corridor in front of the medical center

While the installation of power systems was underway, engineers worked on how to better and faster mount and put into operation the ship's machinery control system.
All management of the complex economy of the icebreaker is carried out automatically, directly from the wheelhouse. From here, the captain can change the operating mode of the propeller engines.

Actually first-aid post: Medical offices - therapeutic, dental X-ray, physiotherapy, operating room? procedures: Yuya as well as a laboratory and a pharmacy are equipped with the latest medical and preventive equipment.

Work related to the assembly and installation of the superstructure of the ship, It was not an easy task: to assemble a huge superstructure weighing about 750 tons. A boat with a water jet, main and foremasts were also built for the icebreaker in the workshop.
The four blocks of the superstructure assembled in the shop were delivered to the icebreaker and installed here by a floating crane.

The icebreaker had to perform a huge amount of insulation work. The area of ​​isolation was about 30,000 m2. New materials were used to isolate the premises. Monthly presented for acceptance of 100-120 rooms.

Mooring trials are the third (after the slipway period and completion afloat) stage of the construction of each vessel.

Prior to the launch of the steam generator plant of the icebreaker, steam had to be supplied from the shore. The device of the steam pipeline was complicated by the lack of special flexible hoses of large cross section. It was not possible to use a steam pipeline from ordinary metal pipes, tightly fixed. Then, at the suggestion of a group of innovators, a special hinged device was used, which ensured a reliable supply of steam through the steam line to the nuclear-powered ship.

The electric fire pumps were launched and tested first, and then the entire fire system. Then, tests of the auxiliary boiler plant began.
The engine started up. The instrument needles flickered. One minute, five, ten. . . The engine works great! And after a while, the installers began to adjust the devices that control the temperature of water and oil.

When testing auxiliary turbogenerators and diesel generators, special devices were needed to allow loading two parallel turbogenerators.
How was the test of turbogenerators?
The main difficulty was that during the work the voltage regulators had to be replaced with new, more advanced ones, which provide automatic voltage maintenance even under conditions of high overload.
Mooring tests continued. In January 1959, turbogenerators with all the mechanisms and automatic machines serving them were adjusted and tested. Simultaneously with the testing of auxiliary turbogenerators, electric pumps, ventilation systems and other equipment were tested.
While the mechanisms were being tested, other work was carried out at full speed.

Successfully fulfilling their obligations, the Admiralty in April completed the testing of all the main turbogenerators and propulsion motors. The test results were excellent. All calculated data made by scientists, designers, designers were confirmed. The first stage of testing the nuclear-powered ship was completed. And finished successfully!

April 1959
The installers of the hold department entered the case.

The Lenin icebreaker, the firstborn of the Soviet nuclear fleet, is a ship perfectly equipped with all means of modern radio communication, location installations, and the latest navigation equipment. The icebreaker is equipped with two radars - near and long range. The first is designed to solve operational navigation problems, the second - to monitor the environment and the helicopter. In addition, it must duplicate the short-range locator in conditions of snowfall or rain.

The equipment located in the bow and stern radio rooms will ensure reliable communication with the shore, with other ships and aircraft. Internal communication is carried out by an automatic telephone exchange with 100 numbers, separate telephones in various rooms, as well as a powerful general ship radio broadcasting network.
Works on the installation and adjustment of communication facilities were carried out special brigades installers.
Responsible work was carried out by electricians to put into operation electrical and radio equipment and various devices in the wheelhouse.

The nuclear-powered ship will be able to sail for a long time without calling at ports. So it is very important where and how the crew will live. That is why, when creating the icebreaker project, special attention was paid to the living conditions of the team.

More living rooms

. .. Long bright corridors. Along them are sailor cabins, mostly single, less often for two people. During the day, one of the beds is removed into a niche, the other turns into a sofa. In the cabin, opposite the sofa, there is a desk and a swivel chair. Above the table is a clock and a shelf for books. Nearby are wardrobes for clothes and personal belongings.
In a small entrance vestibule there is another closet - especially for outerwear. A mirror is fixed above a small faience washbasin. Hot and cold water in the taps - around the clock. In short, a cozy modern small-sized apartment.

All rooms have fluorescent lighting. The electrical wiring is hidden under the lining, it is not visible. Milky glass screens cover fluorescent lamps from harsh direct rays. Each bed has a small lamp that gives a soft pink light. After labor day, having come to his cozy cabin, the sailor will be able to have a great rest, read, listen to the radio, music ...

There are also household workshops on the icebreaker - a shoemaker's and a tailor's workshop; there is a hairdressing salon, a mechanical laundry, baths, showers.
We return to the central staircase

We go up to the captain's cabin

More than one and a half thousand cabinets, armchairs, sofas, shelves took their places in the cabins and service rooms. True, all this was made not only by the woodworkers of the Admiralty plant, but also by the workers of the furniture factory No. 3, the plant named after A. Zhdanov, and the Intourist factory. The Admiralty also made 60 separate sets of furniture, as well as various wardrobes, beds, tables, hanging cabinets and bedside tables - beautiful solid furniture.

A few years ago, the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg was experiencing serious difficulties and was on the verge of shutting down, and this summer the hull of the newest nuclear icebreaker Arktika, the namesake of the deceased famous Soviet ship. This is the newest ship with a two-reactor nuclear installation It is designed as a two-draft vessel, that is, it will be able to escort transport vessels both in deep-water and shallow-water sections of the Northern Sea Route. However, in addition to atomic leviathans like the "Arktika" and its upcoming sisterships "Siberia" and "Ural", not so popular in our high latitudes powerful ships more modest sizes. These icebreakers also have their own tasks.

The icebreaker is cramped

The phrase “modest size” is the last thing that comes to mind in the workshop of the Vyborg Shipyard, where the blocks of the future icebreaker are being assembled. Huge ocher-colored structures, as high as a three-four-story building, go up to the very ceiling of a dim factory building. From time to time, here and there, a bluish welding flame flares up. The new products of VZZ do not really fit into the old dimensions of the enterprise. “We had to redesign the entire logistics chain of production,” says Valery Shorin, Honored Worker of the enterprise, senior specialist in business projects at VZZ. “In the past, ship hulls were assembled on a slipway, and then they entered the docking chamber, which was filled with water. The water descended, leaving the ship in a special channel through which an exit to the sea was opened. Now it's impossible. The camera is capable of accepting vessels no wider than 18 m.

The construction of a multifunctional icebreaking support vessel for escorting oil tankers in the Gulf of Ob is underway.

Now the VZZ is completing the construction of the Novorossiysk diesel-electric icebreaker, belonging to the 21900 M series. Two sisterships - Vladivostok and Murmansk - have already been transferred to the customer, which is Rosmorport. These, of course, are not superpowers of the Arktika type (60 MW), but the power-to-weight ratio of Project 21900 M ships is also impressive - 18 MW. The icebreaker is 119.4 meters long and 27.5 meters wide. The docking camera is still in place. Its gray concrete walls, in the seams of which small vegetation has settled, are now hospitably accepting a factory tug and other not too large vessels for repairs. The icebreaker will no longer fit there. Instead of building a second, wider chamber, the factory found a different solution. In ten months, the Atlant barge was built, an impressive structure 135 meters long and 35 meters wide. The barge is a floating platform, at the corners of which white technological towers rise - markings are applied to them. Now finished blocks are delivered to the barge from the workshop on heavy-duty trailers (the largest of them is capable of transporting parts weighing up to 300 tons). On the Atlanta, the hull is being assembled, and as soon as it is ready for launching, the barge is towed to a deep place in the sea and its ballast chambers are filled with water. The site goes under water, and the depth of its immersion is tracked just by the marks on the technological towers. The future ship is afloat. He is taken to the pier, after which the work continues. The barge is released for a new ship.

The Novorossiysk icebreaker, already launched, is the last of three Project 21900 M icebreakers ordered by Rosmorport.

Raid against the ice

What makes an icebreaker an icebreaker? In principle, any vessel can break the ice, even a rowboat. The only question is how thick this ice is. In the Maritime Register there is a classification of ships that have special properties for breaking ice. The “weakest” category is Ice 1-3 (Non-Arctic ships), followed by Arc 6-9 (Arctic ships). But only ships that fall under the Icebreaker category can rightly be considered icebreakers. There are four classes in the category. The highest class - the ninth - belongs to nuclear-powered icebreakers, which are capable of continuously moving through a field of even ice up to 2.5 m thick. And if the ice is thicker? This may well be in the permanently frozen Arctic seas, where the ice does not melt in the spring, but grows over the years. Complicate the passage and hummocks. In this case, breaking ice in a continuous course has to be abandoned. If the icebreaker does not have enough power to overcome the ice, the “raids” technique is used. The ship moves away from the obstacle a few hulls back, and then rushes forward again and jumps onto the ice floe “with a run”. There is also a method of breaking ice with the stern, where ballast water is pumped from other parts of the hull to increase the mass acting on the ice. The opposite option is also possible, when water is pumped into the bow of the vessel. Or in a tank on one of the sides. This is the work of the heel and trim systems that help the icebreaker break the ice and not get stuck in the channel. The fourth method is available only to the world's first asymmetric icebreaker Baltika, unique of its kind, which, due to the non-standard hull shape, can move sideways, breaking the ice and forming a channel of such a width that is not available to other icebreakers.

Two icebreakers - "Moskva" and "St. Petersburg", built at the Baltiysky Zavod (St. Petersburg) within the framework of project 21900, belonged to the Icebreaker 6 class. 7. When moving in continuous motion, they are able to break ice 1.5-1.6 m thick, and when using the stern, they conquer a thickness of 1.3 m. This means that the Novorossiysk being completed now will be able to work not only in the Baltic, where ice almost never exceeds 90 cm, but in the Arctic seas - however, mainly in the spring and summer.

Icebreaker hulls are assembled from such huge blocks on the Atlant barge at the Vyborg Shipyard, which is part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation. As soon as the hull is ready, it is launched, and the completion of the vessel continues.

Clear water pitching

Despite the fact that the icebreakers of the 21900 M project do not have the capabilities that the Icebreaker 9 class ships have, structurally they have a lot in common, since the classic design of the icebreaker has long been invented and worked out. “The hull of the icebreaker is shaped like an egg. - says Boris Kondrashov, captain of the tugboat VSZ, deputy captain of the plant. There are almost no protruding parts on the bottom of it. This form allows you to effectively push the ice broken by the reinforced stem, to take the fragments of the ice floes down, under the ice framing the channel. But one feature of icebreakers is associated with this shape: in clear water, the vessel experiences powerful pitching even from a small wave. At the same time, when passing through ice fields, the ship's hull occupies a stable position. The ice field along which the icebreaker moves does not stand still. Under the influence of a current or wind, it can set in motion and push against the side of the icebreaker. It is extremely difficult to resist the pressure of a huge mass, it is impossible to stop it. There are cases when ice literally crawled onto the deck of an icebreaker. But the shape of the hull and the reinforced ice belt passing in the waterline area do not allow the ice to crush the ship, although large dents up to half a meter deep often remain on the sides.

1. In normal mode, the icebreaker breaks the ice, moving in a continuous course. The ship cuts through the ice with a reinforced stem and pushes the ice floes apart with a special rounded bow. 2. If the icebreaker encounters ice for which the ship does not have enough power to break it, the raid method is used. The icebreaker moves back, then with a run jumps onto the ice floe and crushes it with its weight. 3. Another option for dealing with thick ice is to move astern.

The changes made to the modified version of the icebreaker 21900 affected, in particular, the ice belt. It is reinforced with an additional 5 mm layer of stainless steel. Other nodes have also been improved. Unlike classic ships with propellers, Project 21900 M icebreakers are equipped with two rudder propellers. These are not newfangled azipods, each of which houses an electric motor in the gondola, but their functional counterpart. The columns can be rotated 180 degrees in any direction, which provides the vessel with the highest maneuverability. In addition to the columns located at the stern, the bow of the ship has a thruster in the form of a propeller in a ring fairing. What is especially interesting is that the propellers not only act as a propeller, but also have sufficient strength to take part in the fight against ice. When working astern, the propellers of the rudder propellers crush the ice, and the thruster is also capable of milling the ice. By the way, it also has one more function - to pump out water from under the ice, which the ship is storming. Deprived for a moment of support in the form of a water column, the ice breaks more easily under the weight of the nose.

New products for the Gulf of Ob

And what will happen if an icebreaker of the 21900 M type hits an iceberg, similar to the one that destroyed the Titanic? “The ship will be damaged, but will remain afloat,” says Valery Shorin. “However, this situation is unlikely these days. Even the Titanic disaster was a manifestation of negligence - it was known about the presence of icebergs in the disaster area, but the captain did not slow down. Now the surface of the ocean is constantly monitored from space, and this data is available in real time. In addition, there is a helipad in the bow of the 21900 M icebreakers. Taking off from it, the ship's helicopter can regularly conduct ice reconnaissance and determine the optimal route of movement.” But maybe it's time to replace the heavy and expensive helicopter with lighter drones? “We do not rule out the use of drones aboard the icebreaker in the future,” explains Valery Shorin, “but we do not intend to abandon the helicopter yet. After all, in a critical situation, it can act as a life-saving tool.

Multifunctionality is the slogan of our time. The icebreakers produced at the VSZ are capable of not only laying channels in the ice, ensuring the passage of transport ships, but also participating in emergency rescue operations, performing different kind work in places of offshore hydrocarbon production, lay pipes, put out fires. Such versatility is now especially in demand in areas of active economic development in the Arctic. While Novorossiysk, the last icebreaker of the 21900 M series, is being completed at the berth, the Atlant barge is assembling the hull of a multifunctional icebreaking support vessel for operation in the Novoportovskoye area. oil field in the west of the Gulf of Ob. There will be two such ships, both of which are superior in power to the 21900 M project (22 MW versus 16) and belong to the Icebreaker 8 class, that is, they will be able to break ice up to 2 m thick in continuous motion and lead oil tankers. Icebreakers are designed to operate at temperatures down to -50°C, which means they can withstand the harshest Arctic conditions. The ships will be able to perform many functions up to placing a medical hospital on board.

In the same place, on the Gulf of Ob, a large international project for the production of liquefied natural gas— Yamal LNG. Tankers with "blue fuel" will be intended mainly for European consumers. These ice-class tankers are being built at the shipyards of Japan and South Korea, but Russian-made icebreaking ships will have to navigate them in the ice. The contract for the construction of two icebreakers for Yamal LNG has already been signed by the Vyborg Shipyard.

To complete the picture of modern Russian icebreaking, it is worth mentioning another novelty expected soon - the most powerful non-nuclear icebreaker in the world. The vessel "Viktor Chernomyrdin", which is being built at the Baltic Shipyard by order of Rosmorport, will have a capacity of 25 MW and will be able to break ice up to two meters thick while moving backward or forward.

The type of icebreaker is nuclear-powered with a turbo-electric plant, four decks, two platforms, a five-tier middle superstructure and two masts.

MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ICEBREAKER

• The length of the greatest-150 m
• Width - 30 m
• Hull height, m-17, 2
• Draft, m-11.0
• Displacement full-23000 t
• Hull thickness - from 32mm to 48mm along the ice belt
• Speed ​​in ice, -2.25m - at a speed of 2 knots
• Speed ​​in clean water, knots-20.8
• Speed ​​in ice - from 2 to 20.8 knots
• The power of the main installation is 75,000 hp.

The icebreaker has good handling and maneuverability, has a smooth roll.

The icebreaker's unsinkability meets the requirements of the Register Rules when any two compartments are flooded. The hull of the icebreaker is divided by 8 bulkheads into 9 watertight compartments. Longitudinal waterproof bulkheads are installed along the entire length of the premises of the power plant (PP), forming the second side. Individual most important premises icebreaker are separated into independent watertight circuits.

The hull of the icebreaker is made of special alloyed steels; to protect the hull from corrosion, the outer surface of the underwater part is covered with a special paint "Inerta-160".

The fire protection of the icebreaker is made in accordance with the Register Rules and is ensured by constructive measures to divide the icebreaker into four vertical zones, as well as the use of non-combustible and slow-burning materials, the installation of an automatic fire alarm, equipment for a complex of fire-fighting systems - water, chemical, foam extinguishing and the necessary fire-fighting equipment.

Icebreaker premises classified as explosive (fuel storage facilities, hangar, fuel dispensing post, accumulator rooms, charging converters, electric and gas welding works rooms) are equipped with explosion-proof electric fittings, fire alarm system, fire extinguishing equipment and ventilation.

To meet the requirements for environmental protection, the icebreaker is equipped with

• ship waste incinerator SP-50 with a capacity of 50 kg/h for garbage and 50 kg/h for oil waste;
• five automated cleaning and disinfection units Wastewater type EOS-5 with a capacity of 5 cubic meters per day and six automated installations of the type EOS-15 with a capacity of 15 cubic meters per day in the wastewater system;
• two automated sump separators and two bilge water separators with upstream mechanical filters in the drainage system.

The icebreaker uses two closed plastic rescue motor boats and inflatable life rafts PSN-10MK as rescue equipment, there is also a working tugboat "Orlan". There is a complex of systems and devices, including a hangar that ensures the operation of the helicopter.

To accommodate the regular crew of the icebreaker, 155 cabins are provided, including: 11 block cabins for senior officers, 123 single cabins, 17 double cabins and 4 six-person cabins, for a total of 189 people. In addition, a canteen for 84 people, a wardroom for 88-90 people, a club for 108 people are provided for meals, rest and leisure of the crew. and three lounges.

Crew habitation is provided by air conditioning, fresh and sea water, ventilation, wastewater, refrigeration systems.

The icebreaker is equipped with the latest means of radio communication and electric radio navigation: satellite radiotelegraph and radiotelegraph and telephone installations of medium, short, intermediate and ultrashort waves, the collective television reception station "Ekran-M1", the complex of television broadcasting equipment "Globus-4", radar, automatic radar plotting, gyrocompass , radio direction finder, echo sounder, electric log, portable boat radio stations and other communication devices.

Nuclear power plant

The nuclear power plant (NPP) of a nuclear ship consists of one or two autonomous nuclear steam-producing plants (APPU), steam turbine (STP) and propulsion electrical plants (PPU), two ship power plants, auxiliary mechanisms, service systems, ship devices and equipment.

Types of ASPU

Since 1959, 5 types of nuclear steam generating plants have been operated on nuclear ships: OK-150, OK-900, OK-900A, KLT-40 and KLT-40M.

Types of APPU operated on nuclear ships

APPU type, vessel name		OK-150 "Lenin" (until 1966)		OK-900 "Lenin"		OK-900A "Arctic", "Siberia", "Russia", "Sov.Soyuz", Yamal, 50th Anniversary of Victory		KLT-40 "Sevmorput"		KLT-40M "Taimyr" "Vaigach"
Rated power reactor, TDC
Rated steam capacity, t/h
Propeller power, l/s

Device

The layout of all installations - block. Each unit includes a pressurized water reactor (i.e. water is both a coolant and a neutron moderator), four circulation pumps and four steam generators, volume compensators, an ion exchange filter with a cooler, and other equipment. The reactor, pumps and steam generators have separate casings and are connected to each other by short pipes of the "pipe in pipe" type. All equipment is located vertically in the caissons of the iron-water protection tank and is closed with small-sized protection blocks, which ensures easy accessibility during repair work.

Reactor

A nuclear reactor is a technical installation in which a controlled chain reaction of nuclear fission of heavy elements is carried out with the release of nuclear energy. The reactor consists of an active zone and a reflector. The core contains nuclear fuel in a protective coating (fuel elements - fuel rods) and a moderator. The fuel rods, which look like thin rods, are assembled into bundles and enclosed in covers. Such structures are called fuel assemblies (FA). The reactor core consists of 241 fuel assemblies.

The reactor vessel with an elliptical bottom is made of low-alloy heat-resistant steel with anti-corrosion hardfacing on the inner surfaces.

The principle of operation of APPU

The thermal scheme of the PPU of a nuclear vessel consists of 4 circuits.

The coolant of the first circuit (highly purified water) is pumped through the reactor core. Water is heated to 317 degrees, but does not turn into steam, because it is under pressure. From the reactor, the coolant of the 1st circuit enters the steam generator, washing the pipes, inside which the water of the 2nd circuit flows, turning into superheated steam. Further, the coolant of the first circuit is again fed into the reactor by the circulation pump.

From the steam generator, superheated steam (coolant of the second circuit) enters the main turbines. Steam parameters before the turbine: pressure - 30 kgf/cm2 (2.9 MPa), temperature - 300 °C. Then the steam condenses, the water passes through the ion-exchange purification system and enters the steam generator again.

Circuit III is intended for cooling the APPU equipment, high-purity water (distillate) is used as a heat carrier. The coolant of the III circuit has a slight radioactivity.

The IV circuit serves to cool the water in the III circuit system, sea water is used as a heat carrier. Also, the IV circuit is used to cool the steam of the II circuit during distributing and cooling down the installation.

Security

The APPU is designed and placed on the ship in such a way as to ensure the protection of the crew and the public from exposure, and the environment - from contamination with radioactive substances within the permissible safe limits both during normal operation and in case of accidents of the installation and the ship at the expense. To this end, four protective barriers between nuclear fuel and the environment have been created on possible routes for the release of radioactive substances:

the first - shells of the fuel elements of the reactor core;

the second - strong walls of the equipment and pipelines of the primary circuit;

the third is the containment of the reactor plant;

the fourth is a protective fence, the boundaries of which are the longitudinal and transverse bulkheads, the second bottom and the upper deck flooring in the area of ​​the reactor compartment.

The safety of the APPU is provided by devices and systems for normal operation and safety systems designed to reliably shut down the reactor, remove heat from the core and limit the consequences of possible accidents.