Russian nuclear-powered icebreakers. The largest and most powerful icebreaker in the world. Fleet of nuclear ships

Nuclear icebreakers can stay on the Northern Sea Route routes for a long time without needing to refuel. At present, the operating fleet includes the nuclear-powered ships "Russia", "Sovetsky Soyuz", "Yamal", "50 Let Pobedy", "Taimyr" and "Vaigach", as well as the nuclear-powered lighter-carrier container ship "Sevmorput". They are operated and maintained by Rosatomflot, located in Murmansk.

1. Nuclear icebreaker - a nuclear powered ship built specifically for use in ice-covered waters year-round. Nuclear icebreakers are much more powerful than diesel ones. In the USSR, they were developed to ensure navigation in the cold waters of the Arctic.

2. For the period 1959-1991. in the Soviet Union, 8 nuclear icebreakers and 1 nuclear lighter carrier - container ship were built.
In Russia, from 1991 to the present, two more nuclear-powered icebreakers have been built: Yamal (1993) and 50 Let Pobedy (2007). Now construction is underway for three more nuclear icebreakers with a displacement of more than 33 thousand tons, the icebreaking capacity is almost three meters. The first one will be ready by 2017.

3. In total, more than 1,100 people work on Russian nuclear icebreakers, as well as ships located at the base of the Atomflot nuclear fleet.

"Soviet Union" (nuclear-powered icebreaker of the "Arctic" class)

4. Icebreakers of the Arctic class are the backbone of the Russian nuclear icebreaker fleet: 6 out of 10 nuclear icebreakers belong to this class. The vessels have a double hull, they can break the ice, moving both forward and backward. These ships are designed to operate in cold Arctic waters, making it difficult to operate a nuclear facility in warm seas. This is partly why crossing the tropics to work off the coast of Antarctica is not among their tasks.

The displacement of the icebreaker is 21,120 tons, the draft is 11.0 m, the maximum speed in clear water is 20.8 knots.

5. The design feature of the Sovetsky Soyuz icebreaker is that it can be retrofitted into a battle cruiser at any time. The vessel was originally used for Arctic tourism. Making a transpolar cruise, from its board it was possible to install meteorological ice stations operating in automatic mode, as well as an American meteorological buoy.

6. Department of the GTG (main turbine generators). A nuclear reactor heats water, which turns into steam, which spins turbines, which drive generators, which generate electricity that goes to electric motors that turn propellers.

7. CPU (Central control post).

8. Icebreaker control is concentrated in two main command posts: the wheelhouse and the central control post of the power plant (CPC). From the wheelhouse, general management of the icebreaker is carried out, and from the central control room - the control of the operation of the power plant, mechanisms and systems and control over their work.

9. The reliability of nuclear-powered ships of the "Arktika" class has been tested and proven by time - for more than 30 years of nuclear-powered ships of this class there has not been a single accident associated with a nuclear power plant.

10. Wardroom for catering for the command staff. The private dining room is located on the deck below. The diet consists of a full four meals a day.

11. "Sovetsky Soyuz" was put into operation in 1989, with an established service life of 25 years. In 2008 Baltiyskiy Zavod supplied the equipment for the icebreaker to extend the life of the vessel. Currently, the icebreaker is planned to be restored, but only after a specific customer is identified or until transit along the Northern Sea Route is increased and new work areas appear.

Nuclear icebreaker "Arktika"

12. Launched in 1975 and was considered the largest of all existing at that time: its width was 30 meters, length - 148 meters, and the depth of the side - more than 17 meters. All conditions were created on the ship, allowing the flight crew and the helicopter to be based. "Arctic" was capable of breaking through ice, the thickness of which was five meters, and also move at a speed of 18 knots. The unusual color of the ship (bright red), which personified a new maritime era, was also considered a clear difference.

13. The nuclear-powered icebreaker "Arktika" became famous for being the first ship that managed to reach the North Pole. It is currently decommissioned and a decision on its disposal is pending.

"Vaygach"

14. Shallow draft nuclear icebreaker of the Taimyr project. A distinctive feature of this icebreaker project is a reduced draft, which makes it possible to service ships following the Northern Sea Route, calling at the mouths of Siberian rivers.

15. Captain's bridge. Remote controls for three propeller motors, also on the console are control devices for the towing device, a control panel for a tug surveillance camera, log indicators, echo sounders, a gyrocompass repeater, VHF radio stations, a control panel for windshield wipers and other joystick for controlling a 6 kW xenon projector.

16. Machine telegraphs.

17. The main application of the Vaygach is escorting ships with metal from Norilsk and ships with timber and ore from Igarka to Dikson.

18. The main power plant of the icebreaker consists of two turbine generators, which will provide the maximum continuous power on the shafts of about 50,000 hp. with., which will allow forcing ice up to two meters thick. With an ice thickness of 1.77 meters, the icebreaker's speed is 2 knots.

19. Room of the middle propeller shaft.

20. The direction of movement of the icebreaker is controlled by an electro-hydraulic steering gear.

21. Former cinema. Now on the icebreaker in each cabin there is a TV set with wiring for broadcasting the ship's video channel and satellite TV. And the cinema hall is used for general meetings and cultural events.

22. Study of the block cabin of the second chief officer. The duration of the stay of nuclear-powered ships at sea depends on the number of planned works, on average it is 2-3 months. The crew of the Vaygach icebreaker consists of 100 people.

Nuclear icebreaker "Taimyr"

24. The icebreaker is identical to the Vaygach. It was built in the late 1980s in Finland at the Wärtsilä shipyard in Helsinki by order of the Soviet Union. However, the equipment (power plant, etc.) on the ship was installed Soviet, used Soviet-made steel. The installation of nuclear equipment was carried out in Leningrad, where the hull of the icebreaker was towed in 1988.

25. "Taimyr" in the dock of the shipyard.

26. "Taimyr" breaks the ice in a classic way: a powerful hull falls on an obstacle from frozen water, destroying it with its own weight. A channel is formed behind the icebreaker through which ordinary sea vessels can move.

27. To improve ice-breaking capacity, the Taimyr is equipped with a pneumatic flushing system, which prevents the hull from sticking with broken ice and snow. If the laying of the channel is inhibited due to thick ice, the trim and heel systems, which consist of tanks and pumps, come into play. Thanks to these systems, the icebreaker can roll on one side, then on the other, raise the bow or stern higher. From such movements of the hull, the ice field surrounding the icebreaker is crushed, allowing you to move on.

28. For painting external structures, decks and bulkheads, imported two-component acrylic-based enamels with increased resistance to weathering, abrasion and shock loads are used. The paint is applied in three layers: one layer of primer and two layers of enamel.

29. The speed of such an icebreaker is 18.5 knots (33.3 km / h).

30. Repair of the propeller-rudder complex.

31. Installation of the blade.

32. Blade to propeller hub bolts, each of the four blades is secured by nine bolts.

33. Almost all ships of the Russian icebreaker fleet are equipped with propellers manufactured at the Zvezdochka plant.

Nuclear icebreaker "Lenin"

34. This icebreaker, launched on December 5, 1957, became the world's first ship equipped with a nuclear power plant. Its most important differences are the high level of autonomy and power. During the first six years of operation, the nuclear icebreaker covered more than 82,000 nautical miles, navigating over 400 ships. Later, "Lenin" will be the first of all ships to be north of Severnaya Zemlya.

35. The icebreaker "Lenin" worked for 31 years and in 1990 was taken out of service and put to eternal mooring in Murmansk. Now there is a museum on the icebreaker, work is underway to expand the exposition.

36. The compartment in which there were two nuclear installations. Two dosimetrists entered, measuring the level of radiation and monitoring the operation of the reactor.

There is an opinion that it was thanks to "Lenin" that the expression "peaceful atom" was entrenched. The icebreaker was built in the midst of the Cold War, but had absolutely peaceful goals - the development of the Northern Sea Route and the escort of civilian ships.

37. The wheelhouse.

38. Front staircase.

39. One of the captains of the AL "Lenin", Pavel Akimovich Ponomarev, was previously the captain of the "Ermak" (1928-1932) - the world's first icebreaker of the Arctic class.

As a bonus, a couple of photos of Murmansk ...

40. Murmansk is the largest city in the world, located beyond the Arctic Circle. It is located on the rocky eastern coast of the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea.

41. The backbone of the city's economy is the Murmansk seaport, one of the largest ice-free ports in Russia. The Murmansk port is the home port of the Sedov barque, the largest sailing ship in the world.

Andrey Akatov
Yuri Koryakovsky
FSBEI HPE "St. Petersburg State Technological Institute (Technical University)", Department of Engineering Radioecology and Radiochemical Technology

annotation

The development of the Northern Sea Route is unthinkable without the development of a nuclear icebreaker fleet. The leadership in the creation of a surface vessel with an atomic engine also belongs to our country. The article provides interesting facts related to the creation and operation of nuclear-powered ships, their structure and principles of operation. The new requirements for the icebreaker fleet in modern conditions and the prospects for its development are considered. The description of new projects of nuclear icebreakers and floating power units is given.

The Arctic obeys only people with a strong will, who are capable, regardless of the circumstances, to go towards the intended goal. Their ships should be the same: powerful, autonomous, capable of long exhausting transitions in difficult ice conditions. We will talk about just such ships that are the pride of Russia - nuclear icebreakers.

Nuclear icebreakers provide escort of tankers and other ships along the Northern Sea Route, evacuation of polar stations from drifting ice floes that have become unsuitable for work and dangerous for the life of polar explorers, and also carry out the rescue of ships stuck in the ice and conduct scientific research.

Nuclear icebreakers differ from conventional (diesel-electric) icebreakers, which cannot sail for a long time without entering ports. Their fuel supply is up to a third of the ship's mass, but it only lasts for about a month. There were cases when caravans of ships got stuck in the ice just because the icebreakers ran out of fuel ahead of time.

A nuclear-powered icebreaker is much more powerful and has greater autonomy, that is, it is capable of performing ice missions for a longer time without entering ports. This multifunctional vessel is an engineering marvel that Russians can be proud of. Moreover, the Russian nuclear icebreaker fleet is the only one in the world, and no one else has such ships. And the primacy in the creation of a surface ship with an atomic engine also belongs to our country. It happened in the 50s. last century.

Ice "Lenin"

The successes of scientists and engineers in mastering atomic energy led to the idea of ​​using an atomic reactor as a ship's engine. New ship installations promised unprecedented advantages in terms of power and autonomy of ships, but the path to obtaining the coveted technical characteristics was thorny. No one else in the world has developed such projects. It was necessary to create not just an atomic reactor, but a powerful, compact and at the same time quite lightweight nuclear power plant, which would be conveniently located in the body.

The developers also remembered that their brainchild would experience rolling, shock loads and vibrations. They did not forget about the safety of personnel: protection from radiation on a ship is much more difficult than at a nuclear power plant, because bulky and heavy protective equipment cannot be used here.

The first designed nuclear icebreaker had a high power and was twice as powerful as the world's largest American icebreaker "Glacier", which made special demands on the strength of the hull, the shape of the bow and stern ends, as well as the survivability of the ship. Designers, engineers and builders faced a fundamentally new technical challenge, and they solved it in the shortest possible time!

While the country was launching the world's first nuclear power plant (1954), launching the first Soviet nuclear submarine (1957), the world's first nuclear-powered surface ship was being created and built in Leningrad. In 1953-1956. the collective TsKB-15 (now "Iceberg") under the leadership of the chief designer V. I. Neganov developed a project, the implementation of which began in 1956 at the Leningrad shipyard named after V.I. Andre Marty. The design of the nuclear plant was carried out under the leadership of II Afrikantov, and the hull steel was specially developed at the Prometheus Institute. The Leningrad factories supplied the icebreaker with turbines (Kirovsky Zavod) and propeller motors (Electrosila). Not a single foreign part! 75 km of pipelines of various diameters. The length of the welded seams is the same as the distance from Murmansk to Vladivostok! The most difficult technical problem was solved in the shortest possible time.

Launching took place on December 5, 1957, and on September 12, 1959, the nuclear icebreaker "Lenin" under the command of P. A. Ponomarev from the shipyard of the Admiralty plant (renamed A. Marty shipyard) went for sea trials. It became the world's first nuclear-powered surface ship, since the first foreign-made nuclear-powered ship (nuclear-powered missile cruiser Long Beach, USA) was commissioned much later, on September 9, 1961, and the first merchant ship with a nuclear power plant "Savannah" (also American) set sail only on August 22, 1962. The journey from Leningrad to Murmansk was memorable.

Icebreaker "Arctic"

While the ship sailed around Scandinavia, it was accompanied by NATO planes and ships. The boats took water samples from the side to ensure the icebreaker's radiation safety. All their fears were in vain - after all, even in the cabins adjacent to the reactor compartment, the radiation background was normal.

The operation of the atomic icebreaker "Lenin" made it possible to extend the navigation period. During its operation, the nuclear-powered ship traveled 1.2 million km and navigated 3741 ships through the ice. Many interesting facts can be cited about the first nuclear-powered ship. For example, he consumed only 45 grams of nuclear fuel (less than a matchbox) per day.


Icebreaker "Siberia"

She could be converted into an Arctic military cruiser. Among other things, the icebreaker performed the functions of camouflage for Soviet nuclear submarines: the ship was sailing on a given course, withdrawing nuclear submarines, which were sliding deep under its hull, to a given high-latitude region.

Having worked with dignity for 30 years, in 1989 the nuclear-powered icebreaker "Lenin" was decommissioned and is now at the site of its eternal rest in Murmansk. A museum has been set up on board the ship, and an information center for the nuclear industry operates. But even today, the date of December 3 (the day of raising the national flag on the world's first nuclear-powered ship) is celebrated as the birthday of the Russian nuclear icebreaker fleet.

From "Arctic" to the present day

The nuclear-powered icebreaker "Arktika" (1975) is the first ship in the world to reach the North Pole by surface navigation. Prior to this historic voyage, not a single icebreaker dared to go to the pole. The top of the world was conquered on foot, by plane, by submarine. But not on the icebreaker.
The experimental scientific and practical voyage departed from Murmansk in an arc through the Barents and Kara Seas to the Laptev Sea and then turned north to the Pole, meeting on its way with multi-year ice several meters thick. On August 17, 1977, having overcome the thick ice cover of the Central Polar Basin, the nuclear-powered ship reached the North Pole, thereby opening a new era in the study of the Arctic. And on May 25, 1987, another nuclear-powered ship of the Arctic class, Siberia (1977), visited the "top of the planet". To date, both vessels have been taken out of service.

Currently, the nuclear icebreaker fleet operates four vessels.

Two icebreakers of the Taimyr class - Taimyr (1989) and Vaigach (1990) - are shallow draft, which allows them to enter the mouths of large rivers and break ice up to 1.8 m thick. - due to their large draft, they are not able to enter the shallow northern bays and rivers, as well as diesel-electric icebreakers (the latter - due to their low power and dependence on fuel supply). The problem was solved within the framework of a joint Soviet-Finnish project: specialists from the USSR designed a nuclear power plant, and the Finns - the icebreaker as a whole.


Icebreaker "Taimyr"

The other two of the remaining nuclear-powered icebreakers are of the Arctic class; they are capable of breaking ice up to 2.8 m at a steady speed:

  • “Yamal” (1993) - a smiling shark mouth is painted on the nose of the nuclear-powered ship, which appeared in 1994, when it took children from different countries of the world to the North Pole within the framework of one of the humanitarian programs; since then, shark mouth has become his brand;
  • "50 Years of Victory" (2007) - the world's largest icebreaker; the ship has an ecological compartment equipped with the latest equipment for the collection and disposal of all waste products of the ship.

As already mentioned, nuclear-powered icebreakers are capable of sailing for a long time without entering ports. The same "Arktika" clearly demonstrated this advantage, having worked without a single breakdown and without calling at the home port (Murmansk) for exactly one year - from May 4, 1999 to May 4, 2000. The reliability of nuclear-powered ships was also proved by Arktika: August 24, 2005 the ship has passed the millionth mile, which has never been possible for any other ship of this class. Is it a lot or a little? A million nautical miles on the scales we know is 46 revolutions around the equator, or 5 trips to the Moon. Here's a 30-year arctic odyssey!

In addition to escorting Arctic caravans in the northern seas, since 1990, nuclear-powered icebreakers (Sovetsky Soyuz, Yamal, 50 Let Pobedy) are also used to organize tourist trips to the North Pole. The cruise departs from Murmansk and, bypassing the islands of Franz Josef Land, the New Siberian Islands, the North Pole, returns to the mainland. Tourists disembark from the board on the islands and ice floes by helicopter; all icebreakers of the Arctic class are equipped with two helipads. The ships themselves are painted red, which is clearly visible from the air.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the "Sevmorput". This unique transport vessel (lighter carrier) with a nuclear power plant and an icebreaker bow is also assigned to the port of Murmansk. It is called a lighter carrier because the "Sevmorput" can carry the so-called lighters - non-self-propelled sea vessels designed for the carriage of goods and ensuring their handling. If there are no berths on the shore or the harbor has insufficient depth, the lighters are unloaded from the vessel and towed to the shore, which is very convenient, especially in the conditions of the northern coast. With the help of special grips, the lifting device rigidly fixes the lighters and quickly lowers them into the water through the stern of the vessel. Unloading containers can also be done on the move, which was used in special cases.


Icebreakers "Sevmorput" and "Sovetsky Soyuz" at the berth of FSUE "Atomflot" in Murmansk

It should be noted that until recently the future of a one-of-a-kind nuclear-powered lighter carrier was presented in a very black color: for many years the ship stood idle, and in August 2012, the Sevmorput was completely excluded from the register book of ships and was awaiting the start of work on the withdrawal from exploitation. However, in 2013, it was decided that a ship of this class would still be useful to the fleet: an order was signed to restore the nuclear-powered ship. The service life of the nuclear facility will be extended, and the ship is expected to return to service in the coming years.

So, we got acquainted with representatives of the nuclear icebreaker family. Now it's time to figure out their structure.

How does a nuclear icebreaker work and work?

In principle, all nuclear-powered icebreakers are structured almost the same, so let's take as an example the newest of Russia's nuclear-powered icebreakers - "50 Years of Victory". The very first thing that can be said about it is the largest icebreaker in the world.

Inside the nuclear icebreaker there are two nuclear reactors enclosed in robust hulls. Why two at once? Of course, in order to ensure its uninterrupted operation, because the atomic-powered ship undergoes the most difficult tests, which sometimes its diesel counterparts cannot cope with. Even if one of the reactors runs out of service or stops for another reason, the ship can go on the other. During normal navigation, the reactors work together. Reserve diesel engines are also provided (in the most extreme case).

During the operation of a nuclear reactor, a chain reaction of fission of uranium nuclei (or rather, its isotope uranium-235) takes place in it. As a result, the nuclear fuel heats up. This heat is transferred to the primary circuit water through the shell of the fuel element, which acts as a protective coating. The containment is necessary so that the radionuclides contained in the fuel do not get into the coolant.

The primary circuit water heats up above 300 ° C, but does not boil, since it is under high pressure. Then it enters the steam generators (each reactor has four of them), pierced with tubes through which the secondary water circulates, turning into steam. Steam is directed to a turbine unit (two turbines are installed on the ship), and the slightly cooled primary coolant is pumped back into the reactor by circulation pumps. To prevent pipeline rupture during pressure surges, a special module is provided in the primary circuit, which is called a pressure compensator. The reactor itself is located in a shell filled with clean water (third circuit). No leakage of radioactive water from the primary circuit occurs - it circulates in a closed circuit.

The steam generated from the water in the secondary circuit rotates the turbine shaft. The latter, in turn, turns the rotor of an electric generator, in which an electric current is generated. The current is supplied to three powerful electric motors that rotate three heavy-duty propellers (propeller mass - 50 tons). Electric motors provide a very fast change in the direction of rotation of the propellers and speed when the reactor is operating at constant power. Indeed, the icebreaker sometimes has to abruptly change the direction of movement (for example, sometimes it chops the ice, retreating, accelerating and hitting the ice floe). The reactor is not adapted for such work (its task is to produce electricity), and the electric motor can easily be switched to reverse.

The steam of the second loop, having worked on the turbine, enters the condenser. There it is cooled by seawater (fourth circuit) and condensed, that is, it turns back into water. This water is pumped through a demineralization plant to remove corrosive salts, and then through a deaerator, in which corrosive gases (carbon dioxide and oxygen) are removed from the water. Then, from the deaerator tank, the feed water of the second circuit is pumped into the steam generator by a pump - the cycle is closed.

Separately, it should be said about the design of the reactor, which is called "water-moderated", since the water in it performs two functions - a neutron moderator and a coolant. Such a design proved itself well on nuclear submarines and was later brought to land: ground-based VVER reactors, which are already operating and will be installed in new Russian nuclear power units, are the heirs of submarine reactors. Icebreaking nuclear power plants also received excellent certification: not a single accident with the release of radioactive substances into the environment in the entire fifty-year history.

The reactor poses no harm to the crew and the environment, as its robust body is surrounded by a biological shield made of concrete, steel and water. In any emergency, with a complete power outage and even with overkill (turning the vessel upside down), the reactor will be shut down - this is how the active protection system is designed.

The main work of the icebreaker is the destruction of the ice cover. For these purposes, the icebreaker is given a special barrel-shaped shape, and the bow end has relatively sharp (wedge-shaped) formations and an inclination (cut) in the underwater part at an angle to the waterline. The icebreaker "50 Let Pobedy" has a spoon-shaped bow (this is how it differs from its predecessors), which makes it possible to break ice more efficiently. The aft end is designed for reversing in ice and protects the propellers and rudder. Of course, the hull of the icebreaker is much stronger than the hulls of conventional ships: it is double, and the outer hull is 2–3 cm thick, and in the area of ​​the so-called ice belt (ie, in places where ice breaks), the hull sheets are thickened up to 5 cm.

When it meets the ice field, the icebreaker with its bow crawls onto it, as it were, and breaks through the ice due to the vertical force. Then the cracked ice is pushed apart and melted by the sides, and a free channel is formed behind the icebreaker. In this case, the ship moves continuously at a constant speed. If the ice floe has special strength, then the icebreaker moves back and runs into it at high speed, that is, it chops the ice with blows. In rare cases, an icebreaker can get stuck - for example, crawl onto a solid ice floe and not break it - or be crushed by ice. To get out of this difficult situation, water tanks are provided between the outer and inner hulls - in the bow, in the stern, on the port and starboard sides. By pumping water from tank to tank, the crew can rock the icebreaker and pull it out of the ice captivity. You can simply empty the containers - then the vessel will float a little.

To prevent the bow from being covered with ice, the icebreaker is equipped with a turbocharged de-icing device. It works as follows. Compressed air is fed overboard through pipelines. The floating air bubbles prevent ice pieces from freezing to the hull and also reduce friction on the ice. At the same time, the icebreaker goes faster and shakes it less.

The icebreaker can be followed by one or several ships (caravan). If the ice situation is difficult or the transport vessel is wider than the icebreaker, then two or more icebreakers can be used for escort. In especially difficult ice, the icebreaker takes the escorted vessel in tow: the stern of the nuclear-powered ship has a V-shaped notch, where the bow of the transport vessel is tightly pulled by a winch.

Among the interesting features of the nuclear icebreaker "50 Let Pobedy" is the presence of an ecological compartment, which contains the latest equipment that allows you to collect and dispose of all waste generated during the operation of the ship. In other words, nothing is dumped into the ocean! Other nuclear-powered icebreakers also have installations for incineration of household waste and wastewater treatment.

All nuclear-powered icebreakers and lighter carrier Sevmorput were transferred to the management of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, FSUE Atomflot, which provides not only their operation, but also technical support. The coastal infrastructure, floating technical bases, a special tanker for liquid radioactive waste, a radiation monitoring vessel - all this ensures the continuous operation of the Russian nuclear icebreaker fleet. But in ten years most of the nuclear-powered icebreakers will be decommissioned, and practice has shown that without them we have nothing to do in the Arctic. How will nuclear icebreaker development develop?


Development prospects

Until relatively recently, the prospects for the Russian nuclear icebreaker fleet were very gloomy. Newspapers wrote that the country could lose its unique fleet, and with it the Northern Sea Route (NSR). This would mean not only the loss of leadership and technology, but also a slowdown in the economic development of the Far North and the Arctic regions of Siberia. After all, the transport highway, including the land one, which could serve as an alternative to the NSR, simply does not exist.

There are also questions about the existing nuclear icebreakers. The tonnage of ships sailing along the NSR is gradually growing - and their dimensions are also growing. A wide ice channel and increased power are needed to provide the required drive speed. Therefore, the size of the icebreaker itself should also be increased. But at the same time, the nuclear icebreaker, which does not need a supply of fuel, begins to float, the draft becomes smaller and the icebreaking capacity decreases. In order to increase the draft, to protect the propellers from ice, it is necessary to build a system of tanks filled with water and giving additional weight into the hull of the vessel.

Thus, even the existing nuclear-powered ships do not meet the latest requirements. Therefore, the modernization and development of the nuclear icebreaker fleet have become a truly state task and are under the close scrutiny of the Government of the Russian Federation.

The project of new type icebreakers - LK-60Ya - is already being implemented. One of them, the Arctic, has been under construction since 2013, the second, Siberia, was laid down quite recently, in May 2015 (while the icebreakers under construction inherited the names of the first two ships of the Arctic series). In total, there are three new vessels in the near future, including the ones mentioned.


Characteristics of nuclear-powered icebreakers and the vessel "Sevmorput" (according to FSUE Atomflot, 2010)

What will be the new look of the atomic icebreaker? Of course, it will combine the successful experience of building and operating existing nuclear-powered ships and innovative approaches. But the main thing is that the new icebreaker will be two-draft (universal), which will allow it to successfully carry out operations not only at sea, but also in river mouths. Now we have to use two icebreakers, one of which (of the "Arctic" class) goes through deep-water places, and the second (with shallow draft, for example, the "Taimyr" class) passes through the rapids and enters the river mouths. The new project provides for the possibility of changing the draft by an atomic icebreaker from 10.5 to 8.5 m due to the drying / filling of built-in tanks with seawater, that is, one nuclear-powered icebreaker will be able to replace two old ones at once!

But double-draft nuclear-powered ships are not the limit of design thought. While icebreakers of the LK-60Ya type are being built, engineers are already working on the next project, which will bring nuclear icebreaking to a new stage of development. We are talking about a ship of the LK-110Ya type (also known as "Leader") - a large ship with a power of 110 MW propellers. In terms of performance, the LK-110Ya will by far surpass the icebreakers of the "Arktika" class: the "Leader" will be able to chop ice up to at least 3.7 m thick (two human heights!). This will ensure year-round navigation throughout the NSR (and not only along its western part, as it is now). At the same time, the increased width of the LK-110Ya will allow carrying large-tonnage vessels. Currently, the project is at the stage of development of design documentation (expected completion date of the "paper" part - 2016).

There is one more direction in nuclear engineering that needs to be mentioned. Icebreaking power plants KLT-40 have proven themselves so well that it was decided to include them in the floating nuclear power plant (FNPP) project. It is indispensable in the underdeveloped regions of the country, including the Arctic coast, since it practically does not need fuel supplies. There is no need to cut down the forest, build roads, bring building materials for it: they brought it, put it at a special berth - and you can use it. The resource ran out - they attached it to a tug and took it away for disposal.

FNPPs can also be used in the development of deposits on the shelf of the Arctic seas to provide electricity to oil and gas platforms.

The first floating power unit, Akademik Lomonosov, was launched on June 30, 2010 at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg. At the moment, the power equipment of the station has been completely manufactured; Reactor plants and turbine generators have already been assembled, outfitting work is underway.

Concluding this brief review, the following must be said: the development of the Arctic is a necessary condition for the development of Russia as a great maritime and Arctic power, and the safe use of atomic energy determines the economic and technological growth of our state. Therefore, there is confidence: the nuclear icebreaker fleet has an outstanding future and new achievements!

Now let's walk through the interior of the icebreaker, with the exception of the cabin.
The post turned out to be large, cumbersome and is more a compilation of any information: - ((



I understand that this is all a large-scale repetition of a huge number of photographs of people who visited the ship on excursions, especially since they drive to the same places, but it was interesting for me to figure it out myself.

This is our guide to the atomic boat:

It was about creating such a vessel that can sail for a very long time without calling in ports for fuel.
Scientists have calculated that an atomic icebreaker will consume 45 grams of nuclear fuel per day - as much as will fit in a matchbox. That is why the nuclear-powered ship, having practically an unlimited navigation area, will be able to visit in one voyage both in the Arctic and off the coast of Antarctica. For a ship with a nuclear power plant, the range is not an obstacle.

Initially, we were gathered in this room for a brief introduction to the tour and divided into two groups.

The admiralteys had considerable experience in the repair and construction of icebreakers. Back in 1928, they overhauled the "grandfather of the icebreaker fleet" - the famous "Ermak".
The construction of icebreakers and icebreaking transport vessels at the plant was associated with a new stage in the development of Soviet shipbuilding - the use of electric welding instead of riveting. The plant staff was one of the initiators of this innovation. The new method was successfully tested in the construction of Sedov-type icebreakers. Icebreakers "Okhotsk", "Murman", "Ocean", during the construction of which electric welding was widely used, showed excellent performance; their hull was found to be more durable than other ships.

Before the Great Patriotic War, the shipyard built a large icebreaking transport ship "Semyon Dezhnev", which immediately after sea trials headed to the Arctic to withdraw the caravans that had been wintering there. Following the Semyon Dezhnev, the Levanevsky icebreaking transport ship was launched. After the war, the plant built another icebreaker and several self-propelled icebreaker-type ferries.
A large research team headed by the outstanding Soviet physicist Academician A.P. Aleksandrov worked on the project. Under his leadership such prominent specialists as I.I. Afrikantov, A.I.Brandaus, G.A.Gladkov, B. Ya. Other.

We go up to the floor above

The dimensions of the nuclear-powered ship were chosen taking into account the requirements of operating icebreakers in the North and ensuring its best seaworthiness: the length of the icebreaker is 134 m, the width is 27.6 m, the shaft power is 44,000 liters. with., a displacement of 16,000 tons, a speed of 18 knots in clear water and 2 knots in ice more than 2 m thick.

Long corridors

The projected power of a turbo-electric installation is unmatched. The nuclear icebreaker is twice as powerful as the American icebreaker Glacier, which was considered the largest in the world.
When designing the ship's hull, special attention was paid to the shape of the bow end, on which the icebreaking qualities of the ship largely depend. The hulls chosen for the nuclear-powered ship, in comparison with the existing icebreakers, make it possible to increase the pressure on the ice. The aft end is designed in such a way that it provides passability in ice when reversing and reliable protection of the propellers and rudder from ice hits.

Canteen:
And the galley? It is a fully electrified plant with its own bakery, hot food is served by an electric lift from the kitchen to the canteens.

In practice, it was observed that icebreakers sometimes got stuck in the ice not only bow or stern, but also on the sides. To avoid this, it was decided to arrange special systems of ballast tanks on the nuclear-powered ship. If water is pumped from the cistern of one side to the cistern of the other side, the vessel, swinging from side to side, will break and push the ice with its sides. The same tank system is installed in the bow and stern. What if the icebreaker doesn't break the ice on the move and its nose gets stuck? Then you can pump water from the aft trim tank to the bow. The pressure on the ice will increase, it will break, and the icebreaker will emerge from the ice captivity.
To ensure the unsinkability of such a large ship, in the event that the skin is damaged, it was decided to subdivide the hull into compartments with eleven main transverse watertight bulkheads. When calculating the nuclear icebreaker, the designers ensured the unsinkability of the vessel when the two largest compartments were flooded.

The team of builders of the polar giant was headed by the talented engineer V. I. Chervyakov.

In July 1956, the first section of the atomic icebreaker's hull was laid.
To break down the theoretical drawing of the hull on the plaza, a huge area was required - about 2500 square meters. Instead, the breakdown was done on a special shield using a special tool. This made it possible to reduce the area for marking. Then the drawings-templates were made, which were photographed on photographic plates. The projection apparatus, in which the negative was placed, reproduced the light contour of the part on the metal. The photo-optical method of marking has made it possible to reduce the labor intensity of plazovy and marking works by 40%.

We fall into the engine compartment

The nuclear icebreaker, as the most powerful vessel in the entire icebreaker fleet, is designed to combat ice in the most difficult conditions; therefore, its body must be particularly robust. It was decided to ensure the high strength of the case by using a new grade of steel. This steel has increased toughness. It welds well and is highly resistant to crack propagation at low temperatures.

The design of the ship's hull, the system for its recruitment also differed from other icebreakers. The bottom, sides, inner decks, platforms and the upper deck at the extremities were recruited according to the transverse set system, and the upper deck in the middle of the icebreaker - along the longitudinal system.
The building, the height of a good five-story building, consisted of sections weighing up to 75 tons. There were about two hundred such large sections.

The assembly and welding of such sections was carried out by the preliminary assembly section of the hull shop.

It is interesting to note that the nuclear-powered ship has two power plants capable of supplying energy to a city with a population of 300 thousand. The ship does not need either machinists or stokers: all the work of power plants is automated.
It should be said about the latest electric propeller motors. These are unique machines made in the USSR for the first time, especially for a nuclear-powered ship. The numbers speak for themselves: the weight of the average engine is 185 tons, the power is almost 20,000 hp. with. The engine had to be delivered to the icebreaker disassembled, in parts. Loading the engine onto the ship presented great difficulties.

They love cleanliness here too

From the pre-assembly area, the finished sections were delivered directly to the slipway. Assemblers and inspectors immediately put them in place.
During the manufacture of units for the first experimental-standard sections, it turned out that the steel sheets from which they were to be made weigh 7 tons, and the cranes on the blank section had a lifting capacity of only up to 6 tons.
The presses were also underpowered.

Another instructive example of the close community of workers, engineers and scientists should be told.
According to the approved technology, stainless steel structures were welded by hand. More than 200 experiments have been carried out; finally, the welding modes were worked out. Five automatic welders replaced 20 hand-held welders, who were transferred to work in other areas.

For example, there was such a case. Due to its very large dimensions, it was impossible to deliver by rail to the plant the fore and stern post - the main structures of the bow and stern of the ship. Massive, heavy, weighing 30 and 80 g, they did not fit on any railway platforms. The engineers and workers decided to make the stems directly in the factory by welding their individual parts.

To imagine the complexity of assembling and welding the assembly joints of these pins, suffice it to say that the minimum thickness of the parts to be welded reached 150 mm. The stem welding lasted 15 days in 3 shifts.

While the building was being erected on the slipway, parts, pipelines, and devices were manufactured and assembled in various workshops of the plant. Many of them came from other enterprises. The main turbine generators were built at the Kharkov Electromechanical Plant, rowing electric motors at the Leningrad plant "Electrosila" named after S. M. Kirov. Such electric motors were created for the first time in the USSR.
Steam turbines were assembled in the shops of the Kirov plant.

The use of new materials required changes in many established technological processes. On the nuclear-powered ship, pipelines were mounted, which were previously connected by soldering.
In collaboration with the specialists of the welding bureau of the plant, the workers of the assembly department have developed and implemented electric arc welding of pipes.

The nuclear-powered ship required several thousand pipes of various lengths and diameters. Experts have calculated that if the pipes are pulled in one line, their length will be 75 kilometers.

Finally, the time has come for the completion of the slipway works.
Before the descent, one difficulty arose, then another.
So, the installation of a heavy rudder feather was not an easy task. Putting it in place in the usual way was not allowed by the complex design of the aft end of the nuclear-powered ship. In addition, by the time the huge part was installed, the upper deck had already been closed. In these conditions, it was impossible to take risks. We decided to hold a "dress rehearsal" - at first they put not a real baller, but its "double" - a wooden model of the same size. The "rehearsal" was a success, the calculations were confirmed. Soon the multi-ton part was quickly put into place.

The launch of the icebreaker was just around the corner. The large launching weight of the vessel (11 thousand tons) made it difficult to design the launching device, although specialists were engaged in this device almost from the moment the first sections were laid on the slipway.

According to the calculations of the design organization, in order to launch the icebreaker "Lenin" into the water, it was necessary to lengthen the underwater part of the descent paths and deepen the bottom behind the slipway pit.
A group of workers from the design bureau of the plant and the hull shop have developed an improved trigger device compared to the original project.

For the first time in the practice of domestic shipbuilding, a spherical wooden rotary device and a number of other new design solutions were used.
To reduce the launch weight, ensure greater stability when launching and braking the vessel, descending from the slipway into the water, special pontoons were brought under the stern and bow.
The icebreaker's hull was freed from scaffolding. Surrounded by portal cranes, sparkling with fresh paint, he was ready to set off on his first short journey - to the water surface of the Neva.

Move on

We go down

... ... ... PER. To an uninitiated person, these three letters do not say anything. PEZH - post of energy and vitality - the brain of the icebreaker control. From here, with the help of automatic devices, operating engineers - people of a new profession in the Navy - can remotely control the operation of a steam generator installation. From here, the necessary operating mode of the "heart" of the nuclear-powered ship - the reactors - is maintained.

Experienced sailors, who have been sailing on ships of various types for many years, are amazed: the PES specialists wear snow-white robes over their usual marine uniforms.

The power and survivability post, as well as the wheelhouse and crew cabins, are located in the central superstructure.

And now further down the history:

December 5, 1957 In the morning it was raining continuously, and sometimes sleet fell. A sharp, gusty wind blew from the bay. But people did not seem to notice the gloomy Leningrad weather. Long before the icebreaker was launched, the areas around the slipway were filled with people. Many climbed aboard a nearby tanker.

Exactly at noon, the Lenin nuclear-powered ship anchored in the very place where the Aurora, the legendary ship of the October Revolution, anchored on the memorable night of October 25, 1917.

The construction of the nuclear-powered ship entered a new period - its completion afloat began.

The nuclear power plant is the most important part of the icebreaker. The most prominent scientists worked on the design of the reactor. Each of the three reactors is almost 3.5 times more powerful than the reactor of the world's first nuclear power plant of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

OK-150 "Lenin" (until 1966)
Rated power of the reactor, VMt 3x90
Rated steam capacity, t / h 3x120
Power on screws, l / s 44 000

The layout of all installations is block. Each unit includes a water-moderated reactor (i.e. water is both a coolant and a neutron moderator), four circulation pumps and four steam generators, volume compensators, an ion-exchange filter with a refrigerator, and other equipment.

The reactor, pumps and steam generators have separate bodies and are connected to each other by short pipe-in-pipe pipes. All equipment is located vertically in the caissons of the iron-water protection tank and closed with small-sized protection blocks, which ensures easy accessibility during repair work.

A nuclear reactor is a technical installation in which a controlled chain reaction of nuclear fission of heavy elements is carried out with the release of nuclear energy. The reactor consists of a core and a reflector. A pressurized water reactor - water in it is both a moderator of fast neutrons and a cooling and heat exchange medium. The core contains nuclear fuel in a protective coating (fuel elements - fuel rods) and a moderator. Fuel rods, which look like thin rods, are assembled into bundles and enclosed in covers. Such designs are called fuel assemblies.

Fuel rods, which look like thin rods, are assembled into bundles and enclosed in covers. Such designs are called fuel assemblies (FA). The reactor core is a set of active parts of fresh fuel assemblies (FFA), which, in turn, consist of fuel elements (FA). The reactor accommodates 241 STVS. The resource of the modern core (2.1-2.3 million MWh) provides the energy needs of a ship with a nuclear power plant for 5-6 years. After the energy resource of the core is exhausted, the reactor is recharged.

The reactor vessel with an elliptical bottom is made of low-alloy heat-resistant steel with anti-corrosion surfacing on the inner surfaces.

The principle of operation of the APPU
The thermal diagram of the PPU of a nuclear vessel consists of 4 circuits.

The primary circuit coolant (highly purified water) is pumped through the reactor core. The water heats up to 317 degrees, but does not turn into steam, because it is under pressure. From the reactor, the coolant of the primary circuit enters the steam generator, washing the pipes, inside which the water of the secondary circuit flows, which turns into superheated steam. Then the coolant of the primary circuit is fed back to the reactor by the circulation pump.

From the steam generator, superheated steam (coolant of the secondary circuit) is fed to the main turbines. Steam parameters in front of the turbine: pressure - 30 kgf / cm2 (2.9 MPa), temperature - 300 ° C. Then the steam is condensed, the water goes through the ion-exchange cleaning system and again enters the steam generator.

The third circuit is designed for cooling the equipment of the automatic control system; high-purity water (distillate) is used as a heat carrier. The coolant of the third circuit has insignificant radioactivity.

The IV circuit is used to cool water in the system of the III circuit, seawater is used as a heat carrier. Also, the IV circuit is used for cooling the steam of the II circuit when wiring and cooling down the unit.

The APPU is made and placed on the ship in such a way as to ensure the protection of the crew and the population from radiation, and the environment from contamination with radioactive substances within the permissible safe standards both during normal operation and in case of accidents of the installation and the ship at the expense of. For this purpose, four protective barriers between nuclear fuel and the environment have been created on the possible pathways for the release of radioactive substances:

the first is the cladding of the fuel elements of the reactor core;

the second - strong walls of equipment and pipelines of the primary circuit;

the third is the containment shell of the reactor facility;

the fourth is a protective enclosure, the boundaries of which are longitudinal and transverse bulkheads, the second bottom and the upper deck flooring in the area of ​​the reactor compartment.

Everyone wanted to feel like a little hero :-)))

In 1966, two OK-900 were installed instead of three OK-150

OK-900 "Lenin"
Rated power of the reactor, VMt 2x159
Rated steam capacity, t / h 2x220
Power on screws, l / s 44000

The room in front of the reactor compartment

Windows to the reactor compartment

In February 1965, an accident occurred during scheduled repairs at reactor No. 2 of the Lenin nuclear icebreaker. As a result of operator error, the core was left without water for some time, which caused partial damage to about 60% of the fuel assemblies.

During channel-by-channel reloading, only 94 of them were unloaded from the core, the remaining 125 were unrecoverable. This part was unloaded together with the shield assembly and placed in a special container, which was filled with a hardening mixture based on futurol and then stored onshore for about 2 years.

In August 1967, the reactor compartment with the OK-150 nuclear power plant and its own sealed bulkheads was flooded directly from the Lenin icebreaker through the bottom in the shallow Tsivolki Bay in the northern part of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago at a depth of 40-50 m.

Before flooding, nuclear fuel was unloaded from the reactors, and their first circuits were washed, drained and sealed. According to the Iceberg Central Design Bureau, the reactors were filled with a hardening mixture based on futurol before flooding.

A container with 125 spent fuel assemblies, filled with futurol, was moved from the shore, placed inside a special pontoon and flooded. At the time of the accident, the ship's nuclear power plant had been in operation for about 25,000 hours.

After that ok-150 and were replaced by ok-900
Once again about the principles of work:
How does an icebreaker's nuclear power plant work?
Uranium rods are placed in the reactor in a special order. The system of uranium rods is pierced by a swarm of neutrons, a kind of "fuses" that cause the decay of uranium atoms with the release of a huge amount of thermal energy. The swift movement of neutrons is tamed by the moderator. A myriad of controlled atomic explosions, caused by a flux of neutrons, occur in the thickness of the uranium rods. The result is a so-called chain reaction.
Bw photos are not mine

The peculiarity of the icebreaker's nuclear reactors is that not graphite is used as a neutron moderator, as at the first Soviet nuclear power plant, but distilled water. Uranium rods, placed in the reactor, are surrounded by the purest water (twice distilled). If you fill a bottle with it to the neck, then it will absolutely be impossible to notice whether water is poured into the bottle or not: the water is so transparent!
In the reactor, water is heated above the melting point of lead - more than 300 degrees. Water at this temperature does not boil because it is under a pressure of 100 atmospheres.

The water in the reactor is radioactive. With the help of pumps, it is driven through a special apparatus-steam generator, where with its heat it converts already non-radioactive water into steam. Steam enters a turbine that rotates a DC generator. The generator supplies current to the propulsion motors. The exhaust steam is sent to the condenser, where it turns into water again, which is again pumped into the steam generator by the pump. Thus, a kind of water cycle takes place in the system of the most complex mechanisms.
B & W photos are taken by me from the Internet

The reactors are installed in special metal drums welded into a stainless steel tank. The top of the reactors are closed with lids, under which are located various devices for automatic lifting and movement of uranium rods. The entire operation of the reactor is controlled by devices, and if necessary, "mechanical hands" - manipulators, which can be controlled from a distance, from outside the compartment, come into operation.

At any time, the reactor can be viewed using a TV set.
Everything that poses a danger with its radioactivity is carefully isolated and located in a special compartment.
The drainage system drains hazardous liquids into a special tank. There is also a system for trapping air with traces of radioactivity. The air flow from the central compartment is thrown out through the mainmast to a height of 20 m.
In all corners of the ship you can see special dosimeters that are ready to notify you of increased radioactivity at any time. In addition, each crew member is equipped with an individual pocket-type dosimeter. Safe operation of the icebreaker is fully ensured.
The designers of the nuclear-powered ship have foreseen all kinds of accidents. If one reactor fails, another will replace it. The same work on a ship can be performed by several groups of identical mechanisms.
This is the basic principle of operation of the entire system of a nuclear power plant.
In the compartment where the reactors are located, there is a huge number of pipes of complex configurations and large sizes. The pipes had to be connected not as usual, using flanges, but butt-welded with an accuracy of one millimeter.

Simultaneously with the installation of nuclear reactors, the main mechanisms of the engine room were quickly installed. Steam turbines were installed here, rotating generators,
on an icebreaker; there are more than five hundred electric motors of various capacities on the nuclear-powered ship alone!

Corridor in front of the infirmary

While the power systems were being installed, engineers were working on how to better and faster install and put into operation the ship's machinery control system.
All complex management of the icebreaker is carried out automatically, directly from the wheelhouse. From here, the captain can change the operating mode of the propeller motors.

The actual first-aid post: Medical offices - therapeutic, dental X-ray, physiotherapy, operating room? procedures: yuya as well as a laboratory and a pharmacy - equipped with the latest medical and preventive equipment.

The work related to the assembly and installation of the ship's superstructure was faced with a difficult task: to assemble a huge superstructure weighing about 750 tons. The workshop also built a boat with a water-jet propeller, main and foremast masts for the icebreaker.
The four superstructure blocks assembled in the workshop were delivered to the icebreaker and installed here by a floating crane.

The icebreaker had to perform a huge amount of insulation work. The insulation area was about 30,000 m2. New materials were used to isolate the premises. Each month, 100-120 premises were presented for acceptance.

Mooring trials are the third (after the slipway period and completion afloat) stage of the construction of each vessel.

Before the launch of the steam generator installation of the icebreaker, steam had to be supplied from the shore. The construction of the steam line was complicated by the lack of special flexible hoses with a large cross section. It was not possible to use a steam line made of ordinary metal pipes, firmly fixed. Then, at the suggestion of a group of innovators, a special hinge device was used, which ensured a reliable supply of steam through the steam wire to the board of the nuclear-powered ship.

Electric fire pumps were launched and tested first, and then the entire fire system. Then, tests of the auxiliary boiler plant began.
The engine started running. Instrument arrows trembled. Minute, five, ten. ... ... The engine is working fine! And after a while, the installers began to adjust the devices that control the temperature of water and oil.

When testing auxiliary turbine generators and diesel generators, special devices were needed to load two parallel turbine generators.
How was the test of the turbine generators going?
The main difficulty was that voltage regulators had to be replaced during operation with new, more advanced ones, which ensure automatic voltage maintenance even under conditions of high overload.
Mooring trials continued. In January 1959, the turbine generators with all the mechanisms and automatic machines serving them were adjusted and tested. Simultaneously with the testing of auxiliary turbine generators, electric pumps, ventilation systems and other equipment were tested.
While the mechanisms were being tested, other work was in full swing.

Successfully fulfilling their obligations, the Admiralty in April completed tests of all main turbine generators and propulsion electric motors. The test results were excellent. All the calculated data made by scientists, designers, designers have been confirmed. The first stage of testing the nuclear-powered ship was completed. And finished Successfully!

In April 1959 g.
The fitters of the bilge compartment took over.

The first-born of the Soviet nuclear fleet, the icebreaker "Lenin" is a vessel perfectly equipped with all modern radio communications, radar installations, and the latest navigation equipment. The icebreaker is equipped with two radars - short-range and long-range. The first is designed to solve operational navigation tasks, the second - to monitor the environment and the helicopter. In addition, it should back up the short-range locator in snow or rain conditions.

The equipment, located in the bow and stern radio rooms, will provide reliable communication with the shore, with other ships and aircraft. On-board communication is carried out by an automatic telephone exchange for 100 numbers, separate telephones in various rooms, as well as a powerful general ship radio broadcasting network.
Special teams of assemblers carried out works on installation and adjustment of communication facilities.
Responsible work was carried out by electricians on the commissioning of electrical and radio equipment and various devices in the wheelhouse.

The nuclear-powered ship will be able to sail for a long time without entering ports. It means that it is very important where and how the crew will live. That is why, when creating the icebreaker project, special attention was paid to the living conditions of the team.

Further living rooms

... .. Long light corridors. Along them there are sailor cabins, mostly single, less often for two. During the day, one of the sleeping places is removed into a niche, the other turns into a sofa. In the cabin, opposite the sofa, is a desk and a swivel chair. Above the table there is a clock and a shelf for books. Nearby are wardrobes for clothes and personal belongings.
There is another closet in the small entrance vestibule - especially for outerwear. A mirror is fixed above a small faience washbasin. Hot and cold tap water is available around the clock. In a word, a cozy modern small apartment.

All rooms have fluorescent lighting. The electrical wiring is hidden under the patchwork, you can't see it. Milky glass screens protect fluorescent lights from harsh direct light. Each bed has a small lamp giving a soft pink light. After a hard day, having come to his cozy cabin, the sailor will be able to relax, read, listen to the radio, music ...

There are also household workshops on the icebreaker - a shoe shop and a tailor shop; there is a hairdresser, mechanical laundry, baths, showers.
We return to the central staircase.

We go up to the captain's cabin

More than one and a half thousand wardrobes, armchairs, sofas, shelves have taken their places in the cabins and service rooms. True, all this was made not only by the woodworkers of the Admiralty plant, but also by the workers of the furniture factory No. 3, the A. Zhdanov plant, and the Intourist factory. The admiralty made 60 separate furniture sets, as well as various wardrobes, bunks, tables, hanging cabinets and bedside tables - beautiful solid furniture.

The Soviet Union was breaking the ice with nuclear icebreakers and had no equal. Nowhere in the world were there ships of this type - the USSR had absolute dominance in the ice. 7 Soviet nuclear icebreakers.

"Siberia"

This ship became a direct continuation of the Arktika-type nuclear installations. At the time of commissioning (1977) "Siberia" had the largest width (29.9 m) and length (147.9 m). The vessel operated a satellite communications system responsible for fax, telephone communications and navigation. Also present were a sauna, a swimming pool, a workout room, a relaxation salon, a library and a huge dining room.
The nuclear icebreaker "Siberia" went down in history as the first ship that carried out year-round navigation in the direction of Murmansk-Dudinka. It also became the second unit to reach the top of the planet, entering the North Pole.

"Lenin"

This icebreaker, launched on December 5, 1957, became the world's first ship equipped with a nuclear power plant. Its most important differences are a high level of autonomy and power. Already in the course of its first use, the vessel demonstrated excellent performance, thanks to which it was possible to significantly increase the navigation period.
During the first six years of operation, the nuclear icebreaker covered more than 82,000 nautical miles, navigating over 400 ships. Later, "Lenin" will be the first of all ships to be north of Severnaya Zemlya.

"Arctic"

This nuclear-powered icebreaker (launched in 1975) was considered the largest of all those existing at that time: its width was 30 meters, length was 148 meters, and the side height was more than 17 meters. The unit was equipped with a medical unit, which included an operating theater and a dental unit. All conditions were created on the ship, allowing the flight crew and the helicopter to be based.
"Arctic" was capable of breaking through ice, the thickness of which was five meters, and also move at a speed of 18 knots. The unusual color of the ship (bright red), which personified a new maritime era, was also considered a clear difference. And the icebreaker was famous for the fact that it was the first ship that managed to reach the North Pole.

"Russia"

This unsinkable icebreaker, launched in 1985), became the first of a series of Arctic nuclear installations, the capacity of which reaches 55.1 MW (75 thousand horsepower). The crew has at their disposal: the Internet, the Priroda salon with an aquarium and live vegetation, a chess room, a cinema, and everything else that was present on the Siberia icebreaker.
The main purpose of the installation: cooling of nuclear reactors and use in the Arctic Ocean. Since the ship was forced to constantly be in cold water, it could not cross the tropics to find itself in the Southern Hemisphere.

For the first time, this vessel made a cruise to the North Pole, specially organized for foreign tourists. And in the 20th century, a nuclear icebreaker was used to study the continental shelf at the North Pole.

The design feature of the Sovetsky Soyuz icebreaker, commissioned in 1990, is that it can be retrofitted into a battle cruiser at any time. The vessel was originally used for Arctic tourism. Making a transpolar cruise, from its board it was possible to install meteorological ice stations operating in automatic mode, as well as an American meteorological buoy. Later, an icebreaker stationed near Murmansk was used to supply power to facilities located near the coast. The vessel was also used during the study in the Arctic of the impact of global warming.

Yamal

The nuclear-powered icebreaker Yamal was laid down in 1986 in the USSR, and was launched after the demise of the Soviet Union in 1993. Yamal "became the twelfth ship to reach the North Pole. In total, he has 46 flights in this direction, including the one that was specially initiated to meet the third millennium. Several emergencies occurred on the ship, including a fire, the death of a tourist, and a collision with the Indiga tanker. The icebreaker was not injured during the last emergency, but a deep crack formed in the tanker. It was Yamal that helped transport the damaged vessel for repairs.
Six years ago, the ice drift completed a rather important mission: it evacuated archaeologists from the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, who reported their own disaster.

"50 years of Victory"

This icebreaker is considered the most modern and largest of all. In 1989 it was laid down under the name "Ural", but since there was not enough funding, for a long time (until 2003) it was not completed. Only from 2007 the ship could be operated. During the first tests, the nuclear icebreaker demonstrated reliability, maneuverability, and a top speed of 21.4 knots.
At the disposal of the ship's passengers: a music salon, a library, a swimming pool, a sauna, a gym, a restaurant, and satellite TV.
The main task assigned to the icebreaker is the escort of caravans in the Arctic seas. But the ship was also intended for Arctic cruises.

Today, about 300 thousand inhabitants live in the port city of Murmansk. The figure is not impressive, nevertheless it is the largest city in the world located beyond the Arctic Circle.

The port is located on the Kola Bay, which never freezes, even in spite of the polar latitudes, thanks to which ships and vessels from all over the world can come here all year round. Thanks to the warm ocean currents, the Barents Sea is not completely covered with ice, and in the city itself it is not so cold in winter. Originating in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf Stream rushes across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe, washing the shores of Great Britain and Iceland along the way. The thermal power of this flow is equivalent to a million nuclear power plants. This is enough to keep the climate of Northern Europe mild and the Barents Sea to remain navigable all year round. Further, where there is no warm current east of Novaya Zemlya, the only ships that can navigate freely are icebreakers... A very important transport corridor passes through the ice of the Arctic - the Northern Sea Route through the ports of Murmansk-Salekhard-Dudinka. It not only opens up access to the territories of Eastern Siberia, but is also a promising route for international shipping. The path from the North Sea to the Sea of ​​Japan through the Suez Canal past the pirate Somalia is 23 thousand km, and if by an icebreaker across the Arctic Ocean, then only 14 thousand.

The first nuclear-powered icebreaker in the world was the Lenin, built in 1959. Of course, before him there were both diesel and steam icebreakers, but it was the nuclear ones that made it possible to take a completely new look at the development of the Arctic expanses. With the advent of nuclear-powered ships, movement along the Northern Sea Route became possible all year round. The main advantage of a nuclear icebreaker is its autonomy. He does not need to replenish coal and diesel fuel supplies. This allowed the nuclear-powered icebreaker "Lenin" to overcome 150 thousand km in the first 6 years of operation and to lead more than 400 ships along the Northern Sea Route. It was replaced by an atomic icebreaker"Arktika", which laid the foundation for a whole family of icebreaking ships of the same class. In 1977, the Arctic became the first ship in the world to reach the North Pole on the surface. The special design of the icebreaker's hull makes it possible to break through three-meter ice.

icebreaker "Yamal" photo

The main difference between the icebreaker and other ships is the hull shape. The sloping nose resembles a spoon in shape. The icebreaker does not have a protruding wave damper typical for other ships. Below the waterline there is an ice protection belt made of steel sheets welded together 5 cm thick. The vessel also has a reinforced stem. This design allows the icebreaker to run into thick ice and break it with its enormous weight.

To prevent ice from freezing on the vessel during stops, anti-icing devices are installed along the entire side. Air is supplied through them under pressure. Air bubbles escaping from the nozzles create foam, which prevents the formation of ice on the icebreaker's hull. The rudder of the icebreaker is made with a significant margin of safety than on conventional ships. This is a necessary measure, because often very strong ice has to be overcome in reverse, crushing the ice with propellers.

Today ROSATOMFLOT operates 6 nuclear-powered icebreakers. They carry out the main work from summer to late autumn, when ice conditions are lighter, and scheduled repairs are carried out on ships in winter. One of the operating icebreakers is Yamal.

The Yamal nuclear icebreaker belongs to the Arctic class. The length of the vessel is 150 meters, the displacement is 23 thousand tons, the capacity of the power plant is 70 thousand liters. sec., maximum speed of 21 knots. One charge of nuclear fuel is enough for five years of service.

The movement of the ship is carried out from the navigation bridge by means of three controls, which receive energy from two nuclear reactors. This icebreaker is a fairly maneuverable vessel. The change from FULL REVERSE to FULL FORWARD takes only 11 seconds. When driving in three-meter ice, icebreaker makes its way with blows, the ship accelerates and breaks the ice for several tens of meters, then moves back and picks up speed again. The average speed in this case drops to two kilometers per hour. One of the main systems of an icebreaker vessel is the ballast tank system. It is available on all ships, however, on icebreakers, water tanks are used to prevent the icebreaker from getting stuck in the ice. Differential tanks, which are located on the bow and stern, are responsible for tilting along the longitudinal axis. An additional 1,000 tons of water can be pumped into the bow tank to make it easier to break strong ice with its weight. Heeling tanks are located on the sides, they deflect the vessel along the transverse axis. All navigation information is displayed at the navigator's workplace. For reliability, the icebreaker has several radars of different systems. They help skippers to determine position and discrepancy with other vessels.

The Yamal icebreaker is equipped with two nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 55 MW, a fuel supply of 200 kg of uranium, which will be enough for 5 years of continuous operation.

After the navigation bridge, the second most important room on the ship is the central control room. During the parking time, nuclear reactors are shut down, but this does not mean that they are turned off, it is just that all their processes are slowed down, the installations generate 1/1000 of their rated power, nevertheless, they must be constantly monitored. This is what the watch engineers at the central control room are doing around the clock. A dosimetrist on duty monitors the readings of hundreds of sensors installed throughout the icebreaker, if somewhere the background radiation is exceeded, an indicator on a special shield will immediately light up. In addition to automatic measurements, control measurements are regularly carried out in the reactor compartment. The central compartment has its own strict access control. The principle of operation of a ship's reactor does not differ from a reactor at a nuclear power plant, only on a ship it is smaller and more compact.

Water circulates in the core, in which rods are immersed, inside of which are uranium tablets. When a free neutron collides with a nucleus, it decays with the release of a large amount of energy, two new neutrons fly out of it, which split new uranium nuclei. Thus, a chain reaction occurs that heats the water up to 300 degrees. To control the temperature, graphite rods are lowered into the reactor, which absorb excess neutrons. The higher the position of the rods, the less neutrons it catches and the more active the chain reaction is. Circulation pumps constantly pump water through the reactor, transferring heat to heat exchangers. When the reactor is shut down during the shutdown, the nuclear reaction inside almost freezes, and there is practically no radiation. Nevertheless, all those leaving the reactor compartment are subject to mandatory dosimetric control. A special installation will even feel an infected speck of dust that has settled on the suit, and if it finds it, the door will not open and the mechanic will have to go to decontamination.

According to the principle of movement, the Yamal icebreaker belongs to nuclear steam electric ships. That is, electricity for engines is generated using steam heated to 300 degrees in a nuclear reactor. The steam pressure is 30 kg sq. see Turbines on icebreakers differ from those installed at nuclear power plants. To increase the efficiency at nuclear power plants, the turbine consists of three sections designed for different pressures. In ship installations, power had to be sacrificed for the sake of compactness. There is a long shaft from the turbine. It has three generators that generate a total of 27.5 thousand kW, and two turbines with six generators generate 55 thousand kW. This would be enough to run about 50,000 household electric kettles. All this energy is spent on the operation of the cruise motors. Electric generators produce 1000 volts alternating current. The motors need a constant current to operate. The whole transformer compartment copes with this problem. A propeller shaft comes out of the electric motor, at the end of which a propeller is located. When the bridge captain gives the command "LOWEST FORWARD", the engine starts to rotate at 20 rpm, and all this speed is transmitted to the propeller, when the captain gives the command "FULLY FORWARD", the engine rotates at 150 rpm. and this propels the icebreaker to its maximum speed of 22 knots.

A watch on an icebreaker lasts 4 months, but it happens that people are delayed for one year. Therefore, it is very important that seafarers can rest and feel at home at any time. It is for relaxation on board that there is a real pool. There is one thing about the stern of the icebreaker that sets them apart from other ships. The fact is that in conditions of heavy pilotage, and when the ice is difficult, ships are towed on "whiskers". The vessel stands immediately behind the icebreaker and is pulled up by a towing winch in such a way that the bow of the vessel goes into a special recess. Thus, ice closure is eliminated between the towed vessel and the icebreaker, and in turn the navigation becomes much easier. For movement in the Arctic, it is very important to have an accurate picture of the ice situation, therefore, all icebreakers have a helipad with a helicopter hangar. On the fifth bridge, located above the wheelhouse, floodlights with 50 kW lamps are installed, which with a powerful sheaf of light snatch out the space in front of the icebreaker, illuminating the polar ice.

 

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