Obninsk NPP – location of the world's first nuclear power plant: Russia, Kaluga region, Obninsk city – world nuclear power plant map ,
Status: Closed nuclear power plants , Closed nuclear power plants in Russia
On June 27, 1954, the most important event in the history of nuclear power plants occurred: the world’s first nuclear power plant generated current, and it all happened in the city of the USSR - Obninsk.
Let us remember the history of how the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant was created. In the fall of 1949, the USSR successfully tested the first Soviet nuclear bomb. Almost immediately, scientists came to the conclusion that a huge mass of atomic energy could be directed into peaceful channels. On May 16, 1950, a resolution of the Council of Ministers determined the construction of an experimental reactor with a tiny power of 5 MW in modern times.
The world's first nuclear power plant used a beryllium-moderated pressurized water reactor with lead-bismuth cooling, uranium-beryllium fuel and an intermediate neutron spectrum. All work was carried out under the guidance of I.V. Kurchatov, after whom the city of nuclear scientists was later named - Kurchatov. The reactor itself was designed by N.A. Dollezhal and his group.
June 27, 1954, the world's first nuclear power plant with a reactor AM-1(Atom peaceful) with a power of 5 MW gave the first current and made the atom truly peaceful. The planet's first nuclear power plant appeared nine years after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The first nuclear power plant in the world and the USSR in Obninsk operated for 48 years. On April 29, 2002, the reactor of the first nuclear power plant in the world was shut down for economic reasons. Based on the work of the Obninsk NPP, the first nuclear power plant of the USSR of industrial power level was launched - Beloyarsk nuclear power plant , with an initial capacity of 300 MW. For those wishing to visit the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant Museum, the home hotel offers its services. Nowadays, the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant is one of the most important places of pilgrimage for “nuclear tourists”.
Modern nuclear power plants widespread throughout the world, as they have high power and productivity. The first nuclear power plants inferior to the latest nuclear power plants in many respects. Construction of the first nuclear power plants began in the middle of the last century.
The development of the plan for the first nuclear power plant began after the successful testing of the first in the USSR atomic bomb, when plutonium was produced at a nuclear reactor, and the production of enriched uranium was also organized. A large-scale discussion of the prospects and main problems of launching nuclear power plants to produce energy took place in the autumn of 1949.
Work on the construction of the first nuclear power plant began in the mid-20th century. Over the course of 4 years from 1950 to 1954, the first nuclear power plant was built. The first nuclear power plant was officially put into operation on June 27, 1954 on the territory of the Soviet Union, in the city of Obninsk. The operation of this nuclear power plant was ensured by the AM-1 reactor, the maximum power of which was only 5 MW.
This power plant operated uninterruptedly for almost 48 years. In April 2002, the station's reactor was shut down. The decision to shut down the station was made due to economic considerations and the inexpediency of its further use. Obninsk NPP became not only the first launched, but also the first nuclear power plant shut down in Russia.
The first nuclear power plants in the USSR were able to open the way to the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes. The operation of the very first nuclear power plants also made it possible to accumulate the engineering and scientific experience necessary for the further design and construction of larger plants. 
The nuclear power plant erected in Obninsk, even during the construction period, was transformed into a kind of school for training personnel, operating personnel and researchers. The Obninsk NPP has played this role for several decades through industrial use and a large number of experiments conducted at it.
Long-term operating experience of the first Soviet nuclear power plant confirmed almost all the engineering and technical solutions put forward by professionals in this field. This provided an opportunity to build and successfully launch the Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Plant in 1964, whose capacity reached 300 MW. 
In Britain, the very first nuclear power plant was officially launched only in October 1956. Outside the territory of the Soviet Union, this facility became the first industrial station in its category. British built power locality Calder Hall power station was 46 MW at the time of commissioning. A few years later, construction began on several more large nuclear power plants.
In the United States, the first nuclear power plant began operating in 1957. The 60 MW power plant is located in the US state of Shippingport. The United States stopped construction of reactors in 1979 after the global accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. The construction of two new reactors based on the previous station is planned only for 2017.
The major event that happened in 1986 had a serious impact on the world and forced us to reconsider a number of related issues. Experts from different countries actively began to solve the safety problem and thought about the importance of international cooperation in order to ensure maximum safety of nuclear power plants.
Today, in countries such as India, Canada, Russia, India, Korea, China, the USA and Finland, further development programs are being actively developed and implemented. nuclear energy. In modern conditions, around the world there are 56 reactors at the construction stage and another 143 reactors are expected to be built before 2030. 
It is constantly increasing all over the world. At the same time, consumption growth is increasing at a more accelerated pace than energy production, and the practical application of modern promising technical solutions in this area, for many reasons, will begin in a few years. The solution to this problem is the improvement of nuclear energy and the construction of new nuclear power plants. The following advantages of operating nuclear power plants can be identified:
Despite a large number of While there are several positive aspects of operating nuclear power plants, there are several problems. The main disadvantage is the serious consequences emergency situations, to prevent which power plants are equipped with rather complex security systems with large reserves and redundancy. This ensures that damage to the central internal mechanism is avoided even in the event of a major accident. 
A big problem for the operation of nuclear power plants is also their destruction after exhaustion of resources. The cost of their liquidation can reach 20% of the total costs of their construction. In addition, for technical reasons, it is undesirable for nuclear power plants to operate in maneuvering modes.
The first nuclear power plants in the world made it possible to take a big step in improving nuclear energy. In modern conditions in Russia, about 17% of electricity is generated using nuclear power plants. Due to the benefits of operating nuclear power plants, many countries are starting to build new reactors and consider them as a promising source of electricity.
What was the first peaceful reactor?
The principle of operation and design of the reactor became clear to the reactor developers back in the mid-1940s: B metal case graphite blocks with channels for uranium blocks and control rods - neutron absorbers - were placed. The total mass of uranium had to reach a critical mass, at which a sustained chain reaction of fission of uranium atoms began. Moreover, on average, for every thousand neutrons generated, several did not fly out instantly, at the moment of fission, but a little later they flew out of the fragments. The existence of these so-called delayed neutrons turned out to be decisive for the possibility of a controlled chain reaction.
Although the total number of delayed neutrons is only 0.75%, they significantly (by about 150 times) slow down the rate of increase in the neutron flux and thereby facilitate the task of regulating the reactor power. During this time, by manipulating the neutron-absorbing rods, you can interfere with the course of the reaction, slow it down or speed it up. In addition, as it turned out, the neutron flow significantly heated the entire mass of the reactor, so it is sometimes called the “atomic boiler.”
This scheme served as the basis for the creation of the first reactor for a nuclear power plant. During construction, the design of an industrial reactor was taken as a basis. Only instead of uranium rods, uranium heat-removing elements - fuel rods - were provided. The difference between them was that the water flowed around the rod from the outside, while the fuel rod was a double-walled tube. Enriched uranium was located between the walls, and water flowed through the internal channel. To prevent it from boiling and turning into steam right there in the fuel elements - and this could cause abnormal operation of the reactor - the water had to be under a pressure of 100 atm. From the collector, hot radioactive water flowed through pipes into a heat exchanger-steam generator, after which, after passing through a circular pump, it returned to the collector cold water. This current was called the first circuit. Water (coolant) circulated in it in a closed circle without coming out. In the second circuit, water acted as a working fluid. Here it was non-radioactive and safe for others. Having heated up in the heat exchanger to 190 °C and turned into steam with a pressure of 12 atm, it was supplied to the turbine, where it did its useful work. The steam leaving the turbine had to be condensed and sent back to the steam generator. The efficiency of the entire power plant was 17%.
At the nuclear power plant, the control system for the processes occurring in the reactor was also carefully thought out, devices were created for automatic and manual remote control of control rods, for emergency stop reactor, devices for replacing fuel rods.
Nuclear power plant (NPP)
a power plant in which atomic (nuclear) energy is converted into electrical energy. The energy generator at a nuclear power plant is atomic reactor(see Nuclear reactor). The heat that is released in the reactor as a result of a chain reaction of fission of the nuclei of some heavy elements is then converted into electricity in the same way as in conventional thermal power plants (See Thermal power plant) (TPP). Unlike thermal power plants operating on fossil fuels, nuclear power plants operate on nuclear fuel (See Nuclear fuel) (mainly 233 U, 235 U. 239 Pu). When dividing 1 G uranium or plutonium isotopes released 22,500 kW h, which is equivalent to the energy contained in 2800 kg standard fuel. It has been established that the world's energy resources of nuclear fuel (uranium, plutonium, etc.) significantly exceed the energy resources of natural fossil fuel reserves (oil, coal, natural gas and etc.). This opens up broad prospects for meeting rapidly growing fuel demands. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the ever-increasing volume of consumption of coal and oil for technological purposes in the world. chemical industry, which is becoming a serious competitor to thermal power plants. Despite the discovery of new deposits of organic fuel and the improvement of methods for its production, there is a tendency in the world towards an increase in its cost. This creates the most difficult conditions for countries with limited reserves of fossil fuels. There is an obvious need for the rapid development of nuclear energy, which already occupies a prominent place in the energy balance of a number of industrial countries around the world. The world's first nuclear power plant for pilot industrial purposes ( rice. 1
) power 5 MW was launched into the USSR on June 27, 1954 in Obninsk. Before this, the energy of the atomic nucleus was used primarily for military purposes. The launch of the first nuclear power plant marked the opening of a new direction in energy, which received recognition at the 1st International Scientific and Technical Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy (August 1955, Geneva). In 1958, the 1st stage of the Siberian Nuclear Power Plant with a capacity of 100 MW(total design capacity 600 MW). In the same year, the construction of the Beloyarsk industrial nuclear power plant began, and on April 26, 1964, the generator of the 1st stage (unit with a capacity of 100 MW) supplied current to the Sverdlovsk energy system, 2nd unit with a capacity of 200 MW commissioned in October 1967. Distinctive feature Beloyarsk NPP - steam overheating (until the required parameters are obtained) directly in a nuclear reactor, which made it possible to use conventional modern turbines on it almost without any modifications. In September 1964, the 1st unit of the Novovoronezh NPP with a capacity of 210 MW Cost 1 kWh electricity (the most important economic indicator of the operation of any power plant) at this nuclear power plant systematically decreased: it amounted to 1.24 kopecks. in 1965, 1.22 kopecks. in 1966, 1.18 kopecks. in 1967, 0.94 kopecks. in 1968. The first unit of the Novovoronezh NPP was built not only for industrial use, but also as a demonstration facility to demonstrate the capabilities and advantages of nuclear energy, the reliability and safety of nuclear power plants. In November 1965, in the city of Melekess, Ulyanovsk region, a nuclear power plant with a water-cooled reactor came into operation (See Water-cooled reactor)
"boiling" type with a capacity of 50 MW, the reactor is assembled according to single-circuit circuit, facilitating the layout of the station. In December 1969, the second unit of the Novovoronezh NPP was launched (350 MW).
Abroad, the first nuclear power plant for industrial purposes with a capacity of 46 MW was put into operation in 1956 at Calder Hall (England). A year later, a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 60 MW in Shippingport (USA). A schematic diagram of a nuclear power plant with a water-cooled nuclear reactor is shown in rice. 2
. The heat released in the core (See Core) of reactor 1 is taken away by water (coolant (See Coolant)) of the 1st circuit, which is pumped through the reactor circulation pump 2.
Heated water from the reactor enters the heat exchanger (steam generator) 3,
where it transfers the heat obtained in the reactor to the water of the 2nd circuit. The water of the 2nd circuit evaporates in the steam generator, and the resulting steam enters the turbine 4.
Most often, 4 types of thermal neutron reactors are used at nuclear power plants: 1) water-water reactors with ordinary water as a moderator and coolant; 2) graphite-water with water coolant and graphite moderator; 3) heavy water with water coolant and heavy water as a moderator; 4) graphite-gas with gas coolant and graphite moderator. The choice of the predominantly used reactor type is determined mainly by the accumulated experience in reactor construction, as well as the availability of the necessary industrial equipment, raw material reserves, etc. In the USSR, mainly graphite-water and water-water reactors are built. At US nuclear power plants, pressurized water reactors are the most widely used. Graphite gas reactors are used in England. Canada's nuclear power industry is dominated by nuclear power plants with heavy water reactors. Depending on the type and aggregate state of the coolant, one or another thermodynamic cycle of the nuclear power plant is created. The choice of the upper temperature limit of the thermodynamic cycle is determined by the maximum permissible temperature of the shells of fuel elements containing nuclear fuel, the permissible temperature of the nuclear fuel itself, as well as the properties of the coolant adopted for a given type of reactor. At nuclear power plants, the thermal reactor of which is cooled by water, low-temperature steam cycles are usually used. Gas-cooled reactors allow the use of relatively more economical steam cycles with increased initial pressure and temperature. Thermal diagram The nuclear power plant in these two cases is 2-circuit: the 1st circuit circulates coolant, the 2nd circuit is steam-water. With reactors with boiling water or high-temperature gas coolant, a single-circuit thermal nuclear power plant is possible. In boiling water reactors, water boils in the core, the resulting steam-water mixture is separated, and saturated steam is sent either directly to the turbine, or is first returned to the core for overheating ( rice. 3
). In high-temperature graphite-gas reactors, it is possible to use a conventional gas turbine cycle. The reactor in this case acts as a combustion chamber. During reactor operation, the concentration of fissile isotopes in nuclear fuel gradually decreases, i.e., fuel rods burn out. Therefore, over time they are replaced with fresh ones. Nuclear fuel is reloaded using mechanisms and devices with remote control. Spent fuel rods are transferred to a spent fuel pool and then sent for recycling. The reactor and its servicing systems include: the reactor itself with biological protection (See Biological protection), a heat exchanger, and pumps or gas-blowing units that circulate the coolant; pipelines and fittings of the circulation circuit; devices for reloading nuclear fuel; special systems ventilation, emergency cooling, etc. Depending on the design reactors have distinctive features: in vessel reactors (See Vessel reactor), the fuel rods and moderator are located inside the vessel, bearing the full coolant pressure; in channel reactors (See Channel reactor) fuel rods, cooled by a coolant, are installed in special channel pipes that penetrate the moderator, enclosed in a thin-walled casing. Such reactors are used in the USSR (Siberian, Beloyarsk nuclear power plants, etc.). To protect nuclear power plant personnel from radiation exposure, the reactor is surrounded by biological shielding, the main materials for which are concrete, water, and serpentine sand. The reactor circuit equipment must be completely sealed. A system is provided to monitor places of possible coolant leaks; measures are taken to ensure that the occurrence of leaks and breaks in the circuit does not lead to radioactive emissions and contamination of the nuclear power plant premises and the surrounding area. Reactor circuit equipment is usually installed in sealed boxes, which are separated from the rest of the NPP premises by biological protection and are not maintained during reactor operation. Radioactive air and a small amount of coolant vapors caused by leaks from the circuit are removed from unattended rooms of the nuclear power plant using a special ventilation system, in which cleaning filters and holding gas tanks are provided to eliminate the possibility of air pollution. The compliance with radiation safety rules by NPP personnel is monitored by the dosimetry control service. In case of accidents in the reactor cooling system, to prevent overheating and damage to the tightness of the fuel rod shells, a quick (within a few seconds) shutdown is provided nuclear reaction; The emergency cooling system has autonomous power sources. The presence of biological protection, special ventilation and emergency cooling systems and a radiation monitoring service makes it possible to completely protect NPP operating personnel from harmful effects radioactive exposure. The equipment of the turbine room of a nuclear power plant is similar to the equipment of the turbine room of a thermal power plant. A distinctive feature of most nuclear power plants is the use of steam of relatively low parameters, saturated or slightly superheated. In this case, to prevent erosion damage to the blades of the last stages of the turbine by moisture particles contained in the steam, separating devices are installed in the turbine. Sometimes it is necessary to use remote separators and intermediate steam superheaters. Due to the fact that the coolant and the impurities it contains are activated when passing through the reactor core, constructive solution The equipment of the turbine room and the turbine condenser cooling system of single-circuit nuclear power plants must completely eliminate the possibility of coolant leakage. At double-circuit nuclear power plants with high steam parameters, such requirements are not imposed on the equipment of the turbine room. Specific requirements for the layout of nuclear power plant equipment include: the minimum possible length of communications associated with radioactive media, increased rigidity of the foundations and load-bearing structures of the reactor, reliable organization of ventilation of the premises. On rice.
shows a section of the main building of the Beloyarsk NPP with a channel graphite-water reactor. The reactor hall houses a reactor with biological protection, spare fuel rods and control equipment. The nuclear power plant is arranged according to block principle reactor - turbine. Turbine generators and their servicing systems are located in the turbine room. Between the engine and reactor rooms there are auxiliary equipment and station control systems. The efficiency of a nuclear power plant is determined by its main technical indicators: unit power of the reactor, efficiency, energy intensity of the core, burnup of nuclear fuel, utilization factor of the installed capacity of the nuclear power plant per year. With the growth of nuclear power plant capacity, specific capital investments in it (cost of installed kW) decrease more sharply than is the case for thermal power plants. In that main reason the desire to build large nuclear power plants with large unit power units. It is typical for the economics of nuclear power plants that the share of the fuel component in the cost of generated electricity is 30-40% (at thermal power plants 60-70%). Therefore, large nuclear power plants are most common in industrialized areas with limited supplies of conventional fuel, and small-capacity nuclear power plants are most common in hard-to-reach or remote areas, for example, nuclear power plants in the village. Bilibino (Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic) with electrical power standard block 12 MW Part of the thermal power of the reactor of this nuclear power plant (29 MW) is spent on heat supply. In addition to generating electricity, nuclear power plants are also used to desalinate seawater. Thus, the Shevchenko NPP (Kazakh SSR) with an electrical capacity of 150 MW designed for desalination (by distillation method) per day up to 150,000 T water from the Caspian Sea. In most industrialized countries (USSR, USA, England, France, Canada, Germany, Japan, East Germany, etc.), according to forecasts, the capacity of existing and under construction nuclear power plants will be increased to dozens by 1980 Gvt. According to the UN International Atomic Agency, published in 1967, the installed capacity of all nuclear power plants in the world will reach 300 by 1980. Gvt.
The Soviet Union is implementing an extensive program of commissioning large energy units (up to 1000 MW) with thermal neutron reactors. In 1948-49, work began on fast neutron reactors for industrial nuclear power plants. The physical features of such reactors make it possible to carry out expanded reproduction of nuclear fuel (reproduction factor from 1.3 to 1.7), which makes it possible to use not only 235 U, but also raw materials 238 U and 232 Th. In addition, fast neutron reactors do not contain a moderator, are relatively small in size and have a large load. This explains the desire for intensive development of fast reactors in the USSR. For research on fast reactors, experimental and pilot reactors BR-1, BR-2, BR-Z, BR-5, and BFS were successively built. The experience gained led to the transition from research on model plants to the design and construction of industrial fast neutron nuclear power plants (BN-350) in the city of Shevchenko and (BN-600) at the Beloyarsk NPP. Research is underway on reactors for powerful nuclear power plants, for example, a pilot reactor BOR-60 was built in Melekess. Large nuclear power plants are also being built in a number of developing countries (India, Pakistan, etc.). At the 3rd International Scientific and Technical Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy (1964, Geneva), it was noted that the widespread development of nuclear energy has become a key problem for most countries. The 7th World Energy Conference (WIREC-VII), held in Moscow in August 1968, confirmed the relevance of the problems of choosing the direction of development of nuclear energy at the next stage (conditionally 1980-2000), when nuclear power plants will become one of the main producers of electricity. Lit.: Some issues of nuclear energy. Sat. Art., ed. M. A. Styrikovich, M., 1959; Kanaev A. A., Nuclear power plants, Leningrad, 1961; Kalafati D.D., Thermodynamic cycles of nuclear power plants, M.-L., 1963; 10 years of the world's first nuclear power plant of the USSR. [Sat. Art.], M., 1964; Soviet atomic science and technology. [Collection], M., 1967; Petrosyants A.M., Atomic energy of our days, M., 1968. S. P. Kuznetsov.
Big Soviet encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1969-1978 .
Synonyms:A power plant in which atomic (nuclear) energy is converted into electrical energy. The energy generator at a nuclear power plant is a nuclear reactor. Synonyms: Nuclear power plant See also: Nuclear power plants Power plants Nuclear reactors Financial dictionary... ... Financial Dictionary
- (NPP) power plant where nuclear (nuclear) energy is converted into electrical energy. At a nuclear power plant, the heat released in a nuclear reactor is used to produce water steam that rotates a turbine generator. The first nuclear power plant in the world with a capacity of 5 MW was... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
