Russian nuclear experts solve turbine blade issue for new plants, official says
MOSCOW, Sept 19 (Reuters) -Russia has "completely resolved" a problem with turbine blades at a type of nuclear power plant it is building in Hungary and Turkey, a senior official said.
State nuclear power corporation Rosenergoatom said last November that the previously unencountered fault had caused turbine blades to break, forcing the shutdown of a unit at the Leningrad nuclear power plant, west of St Petersburg.
Rosenergoatom boss Alexander Shutikov told the TASS news agency that the unit had worked flawlessly from Jan. 19, when it was restarted after repairs, until it was closed for scheduled maintenance in July.
"This problem has been completely resolved. We have thoroughly studied its causes and have done a lot of work in terms of correct 'blading' of the turbine, that is, installing the blades on the turbine rotor," Shutikov said.
"I am confident that if the procedure for installing the blades on the turbines is followed correctly, emergency situations will not recur and the turbines will operate without failure."
The next-generation VVER 1200 pressurised water reactor is important for Russia's domestic nuclear industry and for its export programme.
The plant near St Petersburg - one of Russia's largest - has two VVER-1200 units, and a further two are planned there to replace aging RBMK-1000 units. A plant in the southern Voronezh region has two more.
Units of the same type are being built by Russia at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey and are planned for the Paks-2 plant in Hungary. Russia has already supplied them to Belarus.
There was no immediate comment from Power Machines, the company that produces the turbines.
Reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova; Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Conor Humphries
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