Refueling Complexes and Equipment for Civilian and Naval Ship Reactor Installations: Creation and Development

Abstract

The history of the creation and development of reloading systems and reloading equipment for refueling reactor installations on civilian and naval ships, commencing in the late 1950s, is described. The PU-1 equipment was created for unloading fuel from the reactor of our country’s first nuclear submarine. Subsequently, reloading equipment kits were created in different years for refueling and unloading nuclear fuel from naval ship reactors – PU-2, OK-300PB, OK-300PBM/650-3, KN-3PB, OK-300PBU, and AUPO. The next phase of the development of the reloading equipment became the creation of refueling complexes for civilian ships: the floating nuclear thermal power plant Akademik Lomonosov and the general-purpose nuclear icebreaker (design 22220). For over 70 years, the listed equipment has been used on naval and civilian ships for refueling and unloading of nuclear fuel.