OREANDA-NEWS. June 04, 2012. JSC "NPO "VNIIPTMASH" which is a subsidiary of Uralmashplant concluded a contract for delivery of refueling machine MPS-1200 for the second unit of Novovoronezhskaya NPP-2 being under construction. Additional working rod and TV camera holding rod will also be fabricated as standby items for two units of the NPP.  The equipment will be manufactured at Uralmashplant.

At present, manufacture of refueling machine for the first unit of the Novovoronezhsky NPP under construction is on a full scale at Uralmashplant. The contract for its delivery was concluded in 2009.  Metal is completely procured for this machine and blank nesting is underway, part of blanks was handed over for machining.

During the last years JSC "NPO "VNIIPTMASH" supplied two refueling machines to Kudankulam NPP (India). Machines for the Russian NPP differ from the Indian project in a number of engineering changes aimed at increase of safety and reliability of operation.

The refueling machine MPS-1200 is a robotic system for handling nuclear fuel to the NPP. All operations are carried out with the help of a working telescopic rod fitted with a TV camera for visual control of fuel handling. High precision of positioning the working rod in reactor (within ±2 mm horizontally and within ±3 mm vertically) is provided at this process. Such conditions call for strict rectilinearity of rail tracks of the bridge and trolley, high rigidity of their welded structures, increased accuracy of machining and high surface finish of the guide keys in sections of the working rod and TV camera rod. Antibacklash gears and kinematic racks are used to control horizontal and vertical motions of the telescopic rod. Two special planetary-cylindrical reduction gears are installed in the working rod drive unit to achieve the required speed range for grippers movements and steady operation of motors at low speed.

Leading Russian research institutes were drawn in development of the refueling machine, for example the engineering design was elaborated by OAO "VNIIAM" and control systems were developed by NII MVS YuFU.

After manufacture and assembling the refueling machine including its control system shall be subjected to acceptance tests on Uralmashplant rigs.

It shall be noted here that the Novovoronezhskaya NPP-2 is being built according to a new project "NPP-2006" which is an evolutionary generation III+ providing for the use of VVER-1200 reactors. At present two power generating units of 2400 MW total power are in the process of building, later on it is planned to build two more power generating units. Erection of the Novovoronezhskaya NPP is regarded as the onset of a planned series of new-generation nuclear power plants to be built in Russia. In total the Federal target program for development of the nuclear power industrial complex provides for building of 26 new power generating units by 2025.

The joint-stock company "Uralmashplant" is one of the leaders on the Russian market of equipment for metallurgy, mining industry, oil and gas industry, building materials industry and power engineering industry. The strategy of the company's development aims at creation of a world-class machine-building company, capable to completely fulfill all equipment requirements a customer may have.

With support of the principal shareholder - Gazsprombank - "Uralmashplant" has developed and is implementing an investment program providing for fundamental reconstruction of all production sectors, namely metallurgical, forging, welding and machine-assembly sectors.