Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant

Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant

Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant Museum
Location of Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant in Russia
Country Russia
Coordinates 55°05′03″N 36°34′11″E / 55.08417°N 36.56972°E / 55.08417; 36.56972Coordinates: 55°05′03″N 36°34′11″E / 55.08417°N 36.56972°E / 55.08417; 36.56972
Status Decommissioned
Construction began January 1, 1951
Commission date June 26, 1954
Decommission date April 29, 2002
Owner(s) Rosatom State corporation
Operator(s) Energoatom
Power generation
Units decommissioned 1 x 5 MW

Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, (Russian: Обнинская АЭС, Obninskaja AES [ pronunciation ]), was built in the "Science City" of Obninsk,[1] Kaluga Oblast, about 110 km southwest of Moscow. It was the first grid-connected nuclear power plant in the world,[2] i.e. the first nuclear reactor that produced commercial electricity,[3] albeit at small scale.[4] It was located at the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering.[5] The plant is also known as APS-1 Obninsk (Atomic Power Station 1 Obninsk). It remained in operation between 1954 and 2002,[1] although its production of electricity for the grid ceased in 1959; thereafter it functioned as a research and isotope production plant only.[6]

According to Lev Kotchetkov, who was there at the time: "Although utilisation of generated heat was going on, and production of isotopes was even enhanced, the main task was to carry out experimental studies on 17 test loops installed in the reactor."[1] The technology perfected in the Obninsk pilot plant[7] was later employed on a much larger scale in the RBMK reactors.[3]

Design

The single reactor unit at the plant, AM-1 ("Атом Мирный", Russian for Atom Mirny, or "peaceful atom"), had a total electrical capacity of 6 MW and a net capacity of around 5 MWe. Thermal output was 30 MW. It was a prototype design using a graphite moderator and water coolant. This reactor was a forerunner of the RBMK reactors.

The Obninsk reactor used 5% enriched Uranium; this percentage would be lowered for subsequent reactors.[8]

History

Construction started on 1 January 1951. First Criticality was achieved on 6 May 1954, and the first grid connection was made on 27 June 1954.[9][10] For around 4 years, until the opening of the Siberian Nuclear Power Station, Obninsk remained the only nuclear power reactor in the Soviet Union; the power plant remained active until April 29, 2002 when it was finally shut down. According to Kotchetkov, in its 48 years of operation there were no significant incidents resulting in personnel overdose or mortality, or radioactive release to the environment exceeding permissible limits.[1]

The next Soviet nuclear power plant to be connected to their grid was Beloyarsk Unit 1 in 1964 with a capacity of 100 MWe.[11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Nuclear Engineering International: Obninsk - number one, by Lev Kotchetkov, who was there at the time. Source for most of the information in this article.
  2. ↑ Paul R. Josephson (2005). Red Atom: Russia's Nuclear Power Program from Stalin to Today. University of Pittsburgh Pre. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-8229-7847-3.
  3. 1 2 Ronald Allen Knief (1992). Nuclear engineering: theory and technology of commercial nuclear power (2nd ed.). Hemisphere Pub. Corp. p. 303. ISBN 978-1-56032-088-3.
  4. ↑ Steven B Krivit; Jay H Lehr; Thomas B Kingery, eds. (2011). Nuclear Energy Encyclopedia: Science, Technology, and Applications. Wiley. pp. 26 and 138. ISBN 978-1-118-04347-9.
  5. ↑ "Nuclear Power in Russia". World Nuclear Association. Retrieved June 27, 2006.
  6. ↑ Committee on End Points for Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste in Russia and the United States. Board on Radioactive Waste Management, Division on Earth and Life Studies and Office for Central Europe and Eurasia Development, Security, and Cooperation Policy and Global Affairs; National Research Council of the National Academies (2003). End Points for Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste in Russia and the United States. National Academies Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-309-08724-7. Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)
  7. ↑ International Atomic Energy Agency (1968). Nuclear Power Economics Vol II. Bibliographical Series no. 30. International Atomic Energy Agency. p. 95. OCLC 24577447. first atomic power station Obninsk - pilot plant for the development of graphite-moderated steam-cooled ...
  8. ↑ S. E. Hunt (1980). Fission, Fusion and The Energy Crisis (2nd ed.). Pergamon Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-1-4831-4861-8.
  9. ↑ "APS-1 OBNINSK (Atomic Power Station 1 Obninsk)". Power Reactor Information System. IAEA. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "Nuclear Power Plants in Russia". Gallery. Power Plants Around The World. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  11. ↑ Steven B Krivit; Jay H Lehr; Thomas B Kingery, eds. (2011). Nuclear Energy Encyclopedia: Science, Technology, and Applications. Wiley. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-118-04347-9.

Further reading

External links

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