Russian RBMK reactor design information

摘要

This document concerns the systems, design, and operations of the graphite-moderated, boiling, water-cooled, channel-type (RBMK) reactors located in the former Soviet Union (FSU). The Russian Academy of Sciences Nuclear Safety Institute (NSI) in Moscow, Russia, researched specific technical questions that were formulated by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) and provided detailed technical answers to those questions. The Russian response was prepared in English by NSI in a question-and-answer format. This report presents the results of that technical exchange in the context they were received from the NSI organization. Pacific Northwest Laboratory is generating this document to support the US Department of Energy (DOE) community in responding to requests from FSU states, which are seeking Western technological and financial assistance to improve the safety systems of the Russian-designed reactors. This report expands upon information that was previously available to the United States through bilateral information exchanges, international nuclear society meetings, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reactor safety programs, and Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering (RDIPE) reports. The response to the PNL questions have not been edited or reviewed for technical consistency or accuracy by PNL staff or other US organizations, but are provided for use by the DOE community in the form they were received.