The vast space of the Russian Arctic, the lowest temperature on the planet there, and at the same time the large geopolitical, logistical and natural possible of this region, caused an awesome fleet of icebreakers to appear in Russia (read: Jęczniak: Arctic atomic fleet of | Think Poland (myślpolska.info).
Consider what makes her special. It's an atomic drive. This is the origin of energy that allows to build always more powerful ships, allowing to break always thicker ice cream, to open pioneering Arctic shipping routes like the North Sea Road.
How does it work? It's a atomic "pot", heating water with the heat emitted during a controlled chain reaction. There are 235 uranium pellets in the active reactor zone, where there is simply a controlled reaction of atom smashing and energy release. In RITM-200 they are packed in 241 long chromonic tubes (they replaced zirconium, they behave better in water-chemical emergencies). This region cools the water at 317 degrees C under force (that's why it doesn't turn into a steam), while giving the heat to the steam generator, creating overheated steam there, fueling the turbine. This 1 moves generators that produce electricity, drives ship screws with electrical motors. Simple, right? At the end of the cooling process in icebreakers is based on sea water, which is always low temperature.
Russian atomic icebreakers usually have 2 reactors working to meet the needs of a tiny city. This drive achieves much more power on the propeller shaft than diesel engines, and this 1 determines the power of the ship. As a result, atomic icebreakers have virtually complete autonomy of being in the open sea – they can not enter port for even seven. The only limitation is the replacement of crews in the skill strategy and the dates of consumption of products. In the past of RosAtomFlot, it happened that “the Arctic” did not enter the port all year.
The different energy density of the atom is this fundamental advantage. alternatively of utilizing dozens of tons of fuel all day, the icebreaker needs microscopic amounts of atomic fuel in grams. Yes – here tons, and there – we play, mass differences – millions of times. This is clear, compared to the common combustion engine (heavy diesel, erstwhile a mazut). To replace atomic fuel for the RITM-200 reactor, which is adequate for 7 years of operation – 540 000 tonnes of diesel is needed. Over half a million tons! That's 20,000 car tankers! And since the maximum fuel charge per ship is 20,000 tons, you gotta do it together 27 times, 4 times a year to fill up the icebreaker tank.
For ships, it is crucial to be independent of the work to refuel, that is, to wrap in port, but for icebreakers – especially. The supply of fuel in certain situations is very hard or even impossible. The long-term operation of the reactor, loaded erstwhile all 7 years – is simply a immense advantage, gives immense fresh opportunities.
The natural power to break the atom is inactive better exploited thanks to investigation of scientists and the work of constructors and engineers. advancement from the first solutions is huge. The first Lenin icebreaker constructed the OK-150 reactor. Work on it looked like pre-computer 3D printing – it was worked on a wooden model of the reactor, sculpting elements that were easy to transform and fit. However, as usual, the beginnings were hard and full of mistakes. The reactor was not efficient, hard to use, it was hard to repair, so after 8 years of use, 3 OK-150 reactors were converted to 2 OK-900 reactors.
However, even specified a failed model showed the power of atomic energy. The ship's power was 44,000 horsepower, which was more than 3 times higher than the power of the newest steamers of the American Wind class, which went to the USSR as part of Land-Lease.
Two blocks of the strongest RITM-200 reactors, 175 MW each, work on the Arctic icebreaker. They were importantly refined, passing from a block concept, where elements of the full energy strategy were separated – to an integrated model. In it steam generators are placed inside the reactor body. In addition, the anticipation of maneuvering power has been increased, which is simply a critical component erstwhile the icebreaker’s work is interrupted.
Continue... in the next issue...
Andrzej Szczęsniak
Think Poland, No. 27-28 (2-9.07.2023)
