Dry Reactor Shield Installed at Akkuyu NPP Power Unit 1

Oct 01, 2026

Another significant phase of construction at the Akkuyu NPP site has been completed.

The dry reactor containment, which ensures safety at the nuclear power plant during emergencies—including an earthquake of magnitude 9—has been installed at the first power unit. The containment ensures the sustainable operation of the ionization cells located in the measurement channels required for measuring reactor capacity.

The dry containment—a thick-walled cylindrical steel structure surrounding the nuclear reactor vessel and filled with serpentine concrete—is capable of withstanding high temperatures of up to 500°C.

The dry shield consists of two elements—an upper and a lower section—which are welded together in a leak-tight manner and then filled with concrete to form a cylinder. The assembled structure is sent to cure at a temperature of 220 degrees to remove excess moisture from the concrete. The structure is then tested for cracks in the concrete. For this purpose, neutron profiling is performed; neutron beams are emitted from one side of the cylinder, and their intensities are detected by an external sensor. Research conducted on the dry containment vessel to be used in Unit 1 of the Akkuyu NGS confirmed that the poured concrete is of high quality.

Weighing 142 metric tons, with an outer diameter of 6.5 meters and a height of over 5 meters, the dry shield was installed using a special traverse.

The dry shield was manufactured for the Akkuyu NPP by the Tyazhmash plant (Syzran, Russia). On August 26, Tyazhmash had delivered the core catcher—another critical component for the safety of Unit 2—to the Akkuyu NPP site.