At Russia’s Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), specialists have successfully installed an upgraded generator stator in Unit 6 and are in the process of setting the turbine shaft line. The final assembly includes connecting cooling pipelines and installing sensors to monitor the stator’s temperature and vibration levels. Hydraulic and high-voltage tests will follow before the generator is connected to the turbine.
Currently, Leningrad NPP operates four units, with Units 3 and 4 housing Soviet-era RBMK-1000 reactors and Units 5 and 6 featuring modern VVER-1200 reactors. Units 5 and 6 replaced the RBMK reactors in 2018 and 2020, and future VVER-1200 units will replace the remaining RBMK units.
Specialists with expertise in large equipment handled the stator installation ahead of schedule. Next, Atomenergoremont will fine-tune the rotor and stator, conduct tests, and connect the generator to the turbine. These steps will be supervised by the manufacturer’s engineers.
Alexander Belyaev, Chief Engineer of Leningrad-II, noted that the stator upgrade strengthens the winding’s rigidity, improving vibration resistance and electrodynamic load tolerance, ensuring reliable operation.
During Unit 6’s scheduled outage, which began on February 8, maintenance and audits of reactor, turbine, and security systems will take place, with potential component replacements. Nuclear fuel and reactor integrity tests will also be performed. The work is expected to be completed by the end of March.
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