Pumps in a new configuration are made for power unit No. 1 of Kursk AES-2

2024: Completion of tests of four main circulation pump units

Specialists of the Central Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering (TsKBM, an enterprise of the Rosatom Engineering Division) completed acceptance tests of all four main circulation pumping units (RCPS) of a new design, which are part of the set of equipment intended for the first power unit of the Kurskaya AES-2 (general designer and general contractor - Engineering Division of Rosatom State Corporation). Rosatom announced this on July 22, 2024.

source = Rosatom

This equipment differs from the previous generation in that it does not use oil but water to lubricate and cool the pump and motor assemblies. Elimination of the oil system makes it possible to increase the fire safety of the NPP, and the single-shaft arrangement leads to a decrease in the number of bearings in the unit, which increases its reliability. The latest generation RCPS have design features. In particular, the connection of the shafts of the extraction part and the electric motor with the flexible coupling is replaced with a rigid connection.

The solution made it possible to abandon the use of separate radial support bearings (ROP) for the engine and the extraction part and switch to a structure with a single ROP located in the electric motor. This approach will reduce the repair time of pumping equipment. For example, at the CKBM assembly sites, the disassembly and revision of the electric motor is now carried out in three shifts, - said Rodion Kazantsev, chief designer for pumping equipment at the CKBM.