Last time we visited the engine room of the Novovoronezh NPP. Walking between the complex interweaving of pipes, you can’t help but be surprised by the complexity of this huge mechanical organism of a nuclear power plant. But what is hidden behind this multi-colored jumble of mechanisms? And how is the station controlled?

1. This question will be answered in the next room.

2. After patiently waiting for the whole group, we find ourselves in the real MCC! Main control point or control room (control room). The brain of the 5th power unit of the Novovoronezh NPP. This is where all the information about each element of the station’s large organism flows.

3. The open space in front of the operators’ workplaces is reserved specifically for holding such introductory meetings. Without interfering with the work of the staff, we can calmly inspect the entire hall. Control panels spread out from the central panel with wings. One half is responsible for managing the operation of the nuclear reactor, the second for the operation of the turbines.

4. Looking at the control panel, it finally dawns on me what monster the man has tamed and holds tightly in his hands! The incredible number of buttons and lights densely covering the block shield is mesmerizing. There are no unnecessary details here - everything is consistently subordinated to the logical structure of the operation process of a nuclear power plant. Monitors of constantly buzzing computers stand in orderly rows. One's eyes run wide from the richness and fullness of the information received, understandable and meaningful only for highly qualified professionals - only such people find themselves in the chairs of leading engineers.

5. Although the control is fully automated, and operators carry out mainly visual control, in an emergency situation it is the person who makes this or that decision. Needless to say, what a huge responsibility lies on their shoulders.

6. A weighty magazine and a lot of phones. Everyone wants to sit in this place - in the chair of the shift supervisor of the 5th power unit. The bloggers could not resist, with the permission of the station employees, to try on the responsibility that comes with holding this position.

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8. On each side of the “wings” of the control unit hall there are long rooms in which relay protection cabinets stand in orderly rows. Being a logical continuation of the panels, they are responsible for the reactor and turbines.

9. This is a perfectionist’s dream behind a glass closet door.

11. This time we are led along secret paths to the reserve shield.

12. A smaller copy of the main control panel, it performs the same basic functions.

13. Of course, there is no full functionality here; it is designed, for example, to safely shut down all systems in the event of a failure of the main control unit.

14. ...And has never been used during its existence.

15. Since our blog tour to the Novovoronezh NPP was made with an emphasis on safety, it was impossible not to talk about the most interesting simulator. A full-fledged toy and an exact copy of the control panel.

16. A long path to the position of leading engineer-operator in a control room is not possible without full-fledged training at a training point (UTP). During the training and examination process, various possible emergency situations at nuclear power plants are simulated, and the adept must select a competent and safe solution in the shortest possible time
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17. The most detailed story about the work of the USP gradually came down to a topic of particular interest to all bloggers. The Big Red Button, which we noticed in the main control unit. The emergency protection button (AZ), sealed with a red ribbon of paper, looked intimidating.

18. Here, with bated breath, we were allowed to press it! Sirens wailed and lights flashed across the panels. This triggered the emergency protection, which gradually leads to a safe shutdown of the reactor.

19. Unlike the control room, in the simulator you can come up and take a closer look at everything. By the way, the control unit of the 5th power unit is unique, like any nuclear power plant. That is, an operator trained on this simulator can only work on this unit!

20. And learning never stops. Each operator is required to undergo 90 hours of scheduled training per year.

21. Constantly returning in our conversations with engineers to accidents at different nuclear power plants, we try to understand what their causes were and the existing possibilities for their occurrence. After all, this is where scenarios of extreme or extreme accidents are played out.

22. ... The sound of sirens and blackouts makes us stop talking. And pay attention to the control panels, dotted with winking lights. Beautiful... Well, how beautiful? It would be scary, of course, if it weren’t on our simulator. It was this error that was generated by the control unit in Fukushima during the 2011 accident.

23. To ensure that such accidents do not happen again, specialists of the highest level are constantly working. Continuous checks are carried out. Now the atom and the world are inseparable from each other. And someday the time will come for thermonuclear energy.

The use of a block layout of the main equipment led to the transition to new principles of control of power units. These principles consist in creating a unified centralized control system for unit units, all elements of which are located on the unit control panel (MCC).

The unit control system includes control, automation, alarm and remote control devices. The control room also communicates with workstations and the central control panel. In addition, control and information computing machines are located in the control room, if their installation is provided for by the project.

All elements of the control system are located on operational panels and control panels. The block board also houses the electrical panels of the generator-transformer unit, process protection panels, regulator panels, power panels, central alarm panels and a number of other non-operational panels. The control panels contain remote control keys for valves and electric motors, which allow starting, stopping and normal operation of the unit. The presence of a mnemonic diagram and alarm panels facilitates the work of operating personnel both in normal and emergency conditions. The generator is also switched on in parallel operation from the control room.

According to established practice, control of two units is located in one control room room. This allows you to expand the control area without reducing operational reliability (Fig. 1-3).

It should be noted that at present there is no unified layout of panels and consoles, even for equipment of the same type. This is explained by the search for the most convenient and rational arrangement of control and control elements of the unit. In Fig. 1-4 shows the control room plan for 200 MW units. Here, for consoles and operational panels, a closed layout option with a mirror arrangement of the panels of each block is adopted. Nine operational circuit panels are installed on one block: 01 - generator panels, 02 - auxiliary transformer panels, 03-06 - turbine panels, 07-09 - boiler panels. The remaining panels belong to the non-operational circuit.

The use of block control panels made it possible to concentrate all control of the unit in one place, which made the operation of the equipment more efficient, especially in emergency cases. This solution to the issue was ensured by a high level of automation of modern equipment, measuring equipment and remote control. With the introduction of centralized management methods, safe work conditions are improved due to the abolition of permanent workplaces near operating* equipment. Soundproofing of the control room, good lighting conditions and air conditioning create favorable sanitary conditions for operating personnel.

Some disadvantage of a centralized control system is that the operating personnel are deprived of the opportunity to visually monitor operating equipment, since periodic walk-throughs by duty inspectors cannot replace systematic observation. This problem can be solved by the widespread use of television installations, the cameras of which are located in the most critical places of the block. Having one television screen, the operator can use a special switch to receive an image of any nodes and objects of interest to him. This system is widely used in the USA. Note that in order to ensure a certain visual overview of the equipment, the main control room of 300 MW units has one

A glass wall overlooking the machine room.

The use of central control panels does not exclude the use of local control panels installed in the most critical places (feed pumps, deaerators, etc.). All the necessary monitoring and control equipment for one or another element of the unit is installed on these boards.

Local control panels are used during unit startups, as well as to monitor the operation of equipment during walk-throughs.

The control panel (CR) is a technical means of displaying information about the technological process of operation of power units at power plants and containing the necessary technical means for controlling the operation of an electrical installation (instruments, devices and control keys, signaling and control devices). The control panel (control panel) serves to control the operation of all equipment of the units and coordinated operation management. Senior operators and unit operators located in the control room premises ensure the normal operation of the station units.

The control room is used to start turbines, start a generator, bring it to power, synchronize generators, remote control of safety systems, and also turn on auxiliary systems.

The control panel is located in the main building of the power plant. Switchboards used to be equipped with vertical panels and inclined panels on which control and monitoring devices were located. These consoles and panels are arranged in an arc for better visibility. To the right and left of the consoles there could be non-operational circuit panels with protection devices for the boiler, turbine, and generator.

The control panel of a nuclear power plant has its own characteristics. Since operating personnel at a nuclear power plant cannot familiarize themselves with the state of the radioactive circuit equipment on site, the volume of technological information at nuclear power plants is more extensive than at thermal power plants.

The control panel of a nuclear power plant consists of operational and non-operational parts. In the operational part there are consoles, panels with controls, remote control and regulation. In the non-operational part there are panels for periodic control, electronic regulation, logical control, and technological protection.

Main, central and block control panels are installed in special rooms, which must meet the requirements for convenient placement and maintenance. Block control panels, which contain control and monitoring devices not only for electrical but also technological equipment, are usually located in the main building of the station. To ensure normal working conditions for the personnel on duty, air conditioning installations are provided in the control room.

Main, central and block control panels usually occupy a special room, which must satisfy diverse requirements both in terms of providing the on-duty personnel with comfortable working conditions and in terms of rational arrangement of panels.

Light signals for equipment status are displayed on the control panel (MCR). The appearance of light signals is accompanied by an audible process alarm.

The control panel rooms are soundproof and provided with a supply of conditioned air.

The block control panels also provide an emergency process alarm, notifying the person on duty.

At power plants such as combined heat and power plants, control of auxiliary electric motors is carried out from local (unit, workshop) panels: in the boiler department - from the boiler panel, in the turbine department - from the turbine panel, etc. The main elements of the main circuit are generators, transformers, HV lines, auxiliary power supply elements are controlled from the main control panel of the main control room.

At block power plants, IES are provided with block control panels (MCC) and a central control panel (CCC). The control room controls the electrical installations of one or two adjacent power units, including their own needs, as well as control and monitoring of the operating mode of boiler units and turbines.

The central switchboard controls high-voltage circuit breakers, backup auxiliary transformers, backup mains, and also coordinates the operation of power plant power units.

Control at hydroelectric power stations is carried out mainly from the control room. Many hydroelectric power plants are controlled by a power system dispatcher using telemechanics.

At substations with simplified schemes (without HV switches), special control panels are not provided. Switching at such substations is partially or completely carried out from control centers using telemechanics. Complex operations are carried out by an operational field team (OTB).

At powerful substations of 110 kV and above, according to schemes with HV switches, general substation control points (SCU) are built, from the central panel of which transformers, lines of 35 kV and above, the battery are controlled and the operation of the main elements of the substation is controlled. Control of 6-10 kV lines is carried out from the 6-10 kV switchgear. Local control panels are installed near the controlled object. For them, closed-type panels or 0.5 kV switchgear are used.

The main and central control panels at modern power plants are located in a special room in the main building on the side of the permanent end or in a special building adjacent to the main switchgear (at a thermal power plant), or near open switchgears (at a power plant).

The location of consoles and panels, lighting, painting, temperature of the switchboard room, location and shape of instruments, control keys are selected based on creating the best working conditions for operating personnel.

NPPs are equipped with block control rooms (main control room), backup control rooms (control control rooms) and central control panels (central control rooms).

Each reactor unit requires a control room designed for centralized control of the main process units and. main process equipment during start-up, normal operation, planned shutdown and emergency situations. The control room controls the switches of generators and transformers. n., backup power inputs with. n. 6 and 0.4 kV, switches for electric motors. power units, generator excitation systems, diesel generator sets and other emergency sources, fire extinguishing devices for cable rooms and power unit transformers.

The control room of each nuclear power plant unit is located in a separate room (the main building or a separate building).

For each reactor unit of a nuclear power plant, a reserve control panel (RCR) is provided, from which it is possible to emergency stop the reactor installation and emergency cool it down while ensuring nuclear and radiation safety, if for some reason this cannot be done with the control room. The control room must be isolated from the main control room so that both panels are not affected for the same reason. The control panel controls diesel generator sets and other emergency sources, as well as sectional switches in the 6 kV switchgear for auxiliary needs.

For elements of the security system, duplicated independent remote control is provided from the main control room and control room.

The NPP control room controls switches of high-voltage lines, communication autotransformers, generator-transformer units, as well as switches of backup transformers. n., including sectional switches for backup lines. The fire extinguishing devices of the plant's cable rooms and transformers controlled from the central control room are controlled from the central control room.

Initially, the control room was located in the main building of the first unit of the nuclear power plant. Currently, the control room is located in a separate building, separate from the main buildings of the power units.

At a nuclear power plant, the control room consists of operational and non-operational parts. In the operational part there are consoles, panels with controls, remote control and regulation. In the non-operational part there are panels for periodic control, electronic regulation, and logical control of technological protections.

Control panel lighting requirements

The control panel (CR) monitors and controls the operation of the power plant (substation). The work of the duty personnel in the control room is to monitor the readings of devices and signals, carry out operations for switching and commissioning units, maintaining permanent records, etc. The readings of almost all devices must differ over a significant distance. While on duty, control room personnel must be constantly prepared to respond to emergencies.

Lighting must be uniform throughout the room; There should be no glare or shadows on devices. High-brightness luminous surfaces, glare, and sharp contrasts in the brightness of different surfaces should not come into the field of view of the duty personnel. The surrounding background and architectural design of the room should be measured, not distracting the attention of the staff on duty. The brightness of the luminous surfaces of lighting devices should be low. In the control room room, it is necessary to ensure the illumination required by the standards on the horizontal, especially on the working vertical surfaces of the switchboard panels.

Depending on the plan of the designer and lighting engineer, the control room can be illuminated by luminous surfaces (light ceiling, strip, etc.), reflected light, or a system combining these devices.

When lighting with luminous surfaces or a reflected light device, appropriate structures must be provided for the hidden placement of lighting fixtures and lighting wiring. It is very important to ensure comfortable and safe maintenance of the lighting device, because in the control room rooms, which are often quite high, there are a huge number of switchboard panels, critical devices and apparatus.

The most suitable conditions for operation are created when servicing lighting devices from the walk-through technical floor. But the implementation of lighting installations with large luminous surfaces, serviced from a walk-through technical floor, is associated with more complex structures, increased costs and increased energy consumption for lighting. For these reasons, at substations and small power plants, the lighting of the control room room is carried out with hanging, ceiling or fluorescent lamps built into the ceiling with screening meshes or diffusers. Such a lighting system for the control panel is also adopted in those cases where it is structurally impossible to install complex lighting devices in the room.

As mentioned above, in order to create normal working conditions in the control panel room, it is necessary to eliminate the possibility of reflected glare on the glass and the appearance of shadows on switchboard devices, as well as reflections and reflections on objects and parts of the control panel equipment. To create better conditions for observing different device readings and not tire your eyes, you should not create a sharp difference between the brightness of different elements of the room.

Let's take a closer look at the power unit control panel - the main switchboard from which the power unit is controlled.

The structure of the control room has undergone noticeable changes during the development of nuclear energy. By now it looks like this.

The control room equipment consists of one or more information panels, a control panel and operator workstations or consoles. The panels display general information: a mnemonic diagram of the unit, technological parameters, alarms. Some information and main controls are located on the control panel.

The control room room is usually divided into two zones (two circuits): operational zone, which houses information tools and equipment for controlling the main equipment in normal and emergency operating modes, as well as equipment for monitoring security systems, and non-operational zone, in which all controls and means of providing information are concentrated, allowing non-operational personnel who are not operator-technologists to carry out all the necessary actions for the maintenance of software and hardware of the automated control system, without interfering with the operator-technologist managing the unit. In new projects, it is planned to create a third zone - a supervisory circuit, which will make it possible to provide non-operational, “supporting” personnel with information about the operation of the unit and the structure of technical control objects, without interfering with the main operators. An earlier version of the general view and plan of the control room is shown in Fig. 12, perspective in Fig. 13.

Below are the general structures of switchboards and control posts for a power unit with a VVER-1000 reactor.

Rice. 12. General view of the block control panel and layout of technical equipment:

1-8 – control and monitoring panels of the reactor compartment, 9-16 – monitoring and control panels of the turbine compartment, 17 – collective use board, 18-19 – safety monitoring and control monitors, 20 – keyboard, 21 – automated workplace SIUR, 22 – controls remote individual control, 23 – security panels, 24 – control monitors, 25 – workstation of the deputy shift manager of the station, 26 – workstation of the SIUT, 27 – workstation of a crisis situation specialist.

The structure of the operational control loops of the main control room is as follows.

The automated SIUR workstation is located in front of the monitoring and control panels that serve the subsystems of automatic control systems, control systems and mimic diagrams with the most important thermal measurements. Directly on the workstation there are remote control controls for the CPS, four color monitors and one safety monitor, alarm acknowledgment buttons for the mnemonic diagram and a collective display, and emergency communication equipment.

The automated workplace of the CIUT has control and remote selective control keyboards, four color monitors and one security monitor, alarm acknowledgment buttons, mnemonic diagrams and public display boards, and emergency communication equipment.

The ZNSS workstation is equipped with information displays and a safety display, and keyboards for displaying information.

It is difficult for modern people to imagine life without electricity. We prepare food, use lighting, and use electrical appliances in everyday life: refrigerators, washing machines, microwave ovens, vacuum cleaners and computers; listening to music, talking on the phone - these are just a few things that are very difficult to do without. All these devices have one thing in common - they use electricity as their “power”. 7 million people live in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region (*according to Rosstat as of January 1, 2016), this number is comparable to the population of the states of Serbia, Bulgaria or Jordan. 7 million people use electricity every day, where does it come from?

Leningrad NPP is the largest electricity producer in the North-West; the share of electricity supply for the period from January to October 2016 was 56.63%. During this period, the power plant produced 20 billion 530.74 kW ∙ hours of electricity into the energy system of our region.

LNPP is a sensitive facility and it is not possible for a “random” person to get to it. Having completed the necessary documents, we visited the main premises of the power plant:

1. Block control panel

2. Reactor room of the power unit

3. Machine room.

Sanitation checkpoint

Having gone through a two-level identity control system, we found ourselves at the sanitary checkpoint.

We are equipped with: safety shoes, a white coat, trousers and a shirt, white socks and a helmet. Passing through the sanitary checkpoint is strictly regulated. Safety is a key corporate value of Rosatom.

An individual dosimeter is required. It is of a cumulative type, leaving the LNPP building we find out what dose of radiation we received during our stay at the power plant. The natural radioactive background that surrounds us ranges from 0.11 to 0.16 μSv/hour.

Filming in the corridors of the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant is strictly prohibited; only specialists know how to get from room A to room B. Let's move to the first point of the tour.

Block Control Panel

Each power unit is controlled from the block control panel (MCC). The Block Control Panel is a control room in which information about the measured parameters of the power plant operation is collected and processed.

Denis Stukanev, shift supervisor at power unit No. 2 of the Leningrad NPP, talks about the work of the Nuclear Power Plant, the installed equipment, and the “life” of the power plant.

There are 5 unique workplaces in the room: 3 operators, a supervisor and a deputy. shift supervisor. The control room equipment can be divided into 3 blocks responsible for: control of the reactor, turbines and pumps.

If the main parameters deviate beyond the established limits, a sound and light alarm is issued indicating the deviation parameter.

The collection and processing of incoming information is carried out in the SKALA information and measurement system.

Power unit reactor.

Leningrad NPP contains 4 power units. The electric power of each is 1000 MW, the thermal power is 3200 MW. The design output is 28 billion kWh per year.

LNPP is the first station in the country with RBMK-1000 reactors (high power channel reactor). The development of the RBMK was a significant step in the development of nuclear power in the USSR, since such reactors make it possible to create large, high-power nuclear power plants.

Energy conversion in a nuclear power plant unit with RBMK occurs according to a single-circuit scheme. Boiling water from the reactor is passed through separator drums. Then saturated steam (temperature 284 °C) under a pressure of 65 atmospheres is supplied to two turbogenerators with an electric power of 500 MW each. The exhaust steam is condensed, after which circulation pumps supply water to the reactor inlet.

Equipment for routine maintenance of RBMK-100 type reactors. It was used to restore the resource characteristics of the reactor.

One of the advantages of the RBMK reactor is the ability to reload nuclear fuel while the reactor is running without reducing power. A loading and unloading machine is used for reloading. Controlled by the operator remotely. During overload, the radiation situation in the hall does not change significantly. The installation of the machine over the corresponding reactor channel is carried out according to coordinates, and precise guidance is carried out using an optical-television system.

Spent nuclear fuel is loaded into sealed tanks filled with water. The holding time of spent fuel assemblies in pools is 3 years. At the end of this period, the assemblies are disposed of - sending them to spent nuclear fuel storage facilities.

The photographs show the Cherenkov-Vavilov effect, in which a glow occurs caused in a transparent medium by a charged particle that moves at a speed exceeding the phase speed of light in this medium.

This radiation was discovered in 1934 by P.A. Cherenkov and explained in 1937 by I.E. Tamm and I.M. Frank. All three were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1958 for this discovery.

Engine room

One RBMK-1000 reactor supplies steam to two turbines with a capacity of 500 MW each. The turbo unit consists of one low-pressure cylinder and four high-pressure cylinders. The turbine is the most complex unit after the reactor in a nuclear power plant.

The principle of operation of any turbine is similar to the principle of operation of a windmill. In windmills, the air flow rotates the blades and does work. In a turbine, steam rotates blades arranged in a circle on a rotor. The turbine rotor is rigidly connected to the generator rotor, which, when rotated, produces current.

The LNPP turbogenerator consists of a saturated steam turbine type K-500-65 and a synchronous three-phase current generator TVV-500-2 with a speed of 3000 per minute.

In 1979, for the creation of the unique K-500-65/3000 turbine for the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant, a team of Kharkov turbine builders was awarded the State Prize of Ukraine in the field of science and technology.

Leaving LNPP...

The main premises of the Leningrad NPP have been examined, we are again at the sanitary checkpoint. We check ourselves for the presence of radiation sources, everything is clean, we are healthy and happy. While at the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant, my accumulated radiation dose was 13 μSv, which is comparable to an airplane flight over a distance of 3000 km.

Second life of LNPP

The problem of decommissioning power units is a very pressing topic, due to the fact that in 2018 the operating life of power unit No. 1 of the Leningrad NPP expires.

Ruslan Kotykov, Deputy Head of the Department for Decommissioning of LNPP Units: “The most acceptable, safest and most financially profitable option for immediate liquidation has been chosen. It implies the absence of deferred decisions and delays in observations after the unit is stopped. The experience of decommissioning RBMK reactors will be replicated at other nuclear power plants.”

A few kilometers from the operating Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant, the “construction site of the century” is taking place. Russia is implementing a large-scale program for the development of nuclear energy, which involves increasing the share of nuclear energy from 16% to 25-30% by 2020. To replace the capacity of the Leningrad NPP being decommissioned, a new generation nuclear power plant with a VVER-1200 type reactor (water-water power reactor) of the AES-2006 project is being created. “AES-2006” is a standard design of a Russian nuclear power plant of the new generation “3+” with improved technical and economic indicators. The goal of the project is to achieve modern safety and reliability indicators with optimized capital investments for the construction of the station.

Nikolai Kashin, head of the information and public relations department of power units under construction, spoke about the LNPP-2 project being created. This project meets modern international safety requirements.

The electrical capacity of each power unit is 1198.8 MW, heating capacity is 250 Gcal/h.

The estimated service life of LNPP-2 is 50 years, the main equipment is 60 years.

The main feature of the project being implemented is the use of additional passive safety systems in combination with active traditional systems. Provides protection against earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and plane crashes. Examples of improvements include the double containment of the reactor hall; a “trap” for the core melt, located under the reactor vessel; passive residual heat removal system.

I remember the words of Vladimir Pereguda, director of Leningrad NPP: “The design of power units with VVER-1200 reactors has unprecedented multi-level safety systems, including passive ones (which do not require personnel intervention and power supply), as well as protection from external influences.”

At the construction site of the new power units of the Leningrad NPP, the installation of equipment for the pumping station of turbine building consumers continues; three housings of circulation pump units have been installed and concreted. Pumping units are the main technological equipment of the facility and consist of two parts - pumps and electric motors.

The power supply to the power system from power unit No. 1 of LNPP-2 will be carried out through a complete gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) at 330 kV, from power unit No. 2 of LNPP-2 it is expected for voltages of 330 and 750 kV.