Engineer Novovoronezh NPP four times accelerated processing of large pipes

At the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant, a development was introduced, which allowed to significantly accelerate the preparation of suture pipes for further repair work. The new device was created by the leading engineer of the central repair shop Alexei Kashirin. This was reported on November 6 in the press service of the company.

Previously, the processing of one pipe with a diameter of 1820 mm took at least 20 hours. Due to uneven rolling during work on the machine there were defects that specialists had to correct manually. At least three locksmiths were required to perform this task.

To eliminate the problem, Alexey Kashirin developed special screw spacers. They are placed inside the pipe, after which the mechanism gradually expands and aligns its shape. The devices belong to the type of “karakuri” – equipment that helps simplify production operations.

The development is designed for pipes with a diameter of 1600 to 2000 mm. Thanks to the prefabricated design, it can be transported and used in different production areas.

After the introduction of the device, the need for manual tubing completely disappeared. In addition, it was practically possible to eliminate the risk of defects during subsequent assembly and welding.

Now processing pipe with a diameter of 1820 mm takes about five hours instead of the previous twenty. Thus, the production process has accelerated four times. According to Alexei Kashirin, the development is used almost every month.

The press service of the Novovoronezh NPP also noted that the devices of the type “karakuri” have been used at Rosatom enterprises since 2018. Currently, more than 46 organizations of the state corporation use more than 500 such devices. Their implementation has reduced the cost of heavy manual labor by more than 250 thousand hours.