A meeting of the Scientific and Technical Council of “Energoatom” was held at “Turboatom”

On July 11-12, 2019, the management of SE NNEGC “Energoatom” and representatives of all Ukrainian nuclear power plants gathered at JSC “Turboatom” in Kharkiv to discuss the modernization of existing NPP units and the development of nuclear energy in Ukraine.

Scientists from leading design and scientific institutes of Kharkiv were also invited to the Scientific and Technical Council (STC). The event was chaired by Olexander Shavlakov, First Vice President - Technical Director of “Energoatom”.

At the beginning of the STC meeting, the chairperson thanked the management and the team of “Turboatom” for the opportunity to hold a meeting of the Scientific and Technical Council at the plant. “Our enterprises for many years are inextricably linked. “Turboatom” at any time and in any situation is ready to support. The work of “Turboatom” for “Energoatom” can not be overestimated. We are pleased with the offer of the plant to modernize our NPP turbines – “high-speed” and “low-speed”, thank you for participating in the project to create a centralized storage of spent nuclear fuel. I would also like to note the fact that for the successful work on replacing condensers with more modern ones, a group of workers from our enterprises was awarded the title of laureates of the State Prize in the field of science and technology. I want to congratulate all those involved in this well-deserved recognition,” said Olexander Shavlakov.

General Director of “Turboatom” Viktor Subotin congratulated the participants of the STC meeting and assured that the plant team is ready to work and creates the new projects. “We will do everything possible to make our cooperation effective. And since it depends on your assessment, we will therefore try to surprise you every time with our work and achievements,” said Viktor Subotin. He acquainted the participants of the event with the production capabilities of the enterprise. Delegates were shown the production of equipment for nuclear power plants. The guests visited the main production workshops and the plant history museum.

General Designer of “Turboatom” Yevgen Levchenko noted that this meeting of the STC was not accidental. “Such an event is happening at “Turboatom” for the first time. We carefully prepared for it. And I want to assure that “Turboatom” will continue to do its job efficiently, with initiative and confidence, for which no one will be ashamed,” he stressed.

The main topic of the STC meeting was the presentation of the events and proposals of “Turboatom” to modernize the wetted parts of turbine cylinders, which the audience was acquainted with by the Chief Designer of Steam Turbines Viktor Shvetsov. “Modernization provides for the replacement of working blades on existing rotors and diaphragms,” he explained during his speech. “This will increase the turbine power, its efficiency and solve other technical problems.” Victor Shvetsov believes that one of the goals of modernization is to reject the use of patch bands by riveted studs, which are an element of insecurity and can cause a malfunction of the equipment during its operation.

In his comment to journalists, Olexander Shavlakov expressed his gratitude to the plant’s staff and noted the importance of such meetings. “I am not the first time at “Turboatom” and I am always amazed at the progress I see at this enterprise. During the Scientific and Technical Council, we discussed the possibilities of “Turboatom” to modernize turbine wetted parts of different manufacturers and the experience of Kharkiv citizens in this direction.” Olexander Shavlakov also said that he was inspired by the results of the negotiations and by what was presented during the STC. “I, as a technical leader of “Energoatom”, would like to immediately implement all the proposals, but we understand that they require certain economic conditions. In particular, we need to think about how to build an optimal program of our cooperation in terms of efficient use of limited resources of “Energoatom” on the proposals voiced by “Turboatom” during a meeting of the Scientific and Technical Council,” added Olexander Shavlakov.

STC accepted the technical proposals of “Turboatom” for the modernization of turbines and decided to update the program of the plant’s participation in the modernization of the equipment of NPP units for a 5-year period - from 2020 to 2024.

According to the results of a separate meeting, a Protocol was also signed concerning the interaction between “Energoatom” and “Turboatom”, which, among other things, reflects the issues of operating new condensers at nuclear power plants.