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OK-550 Atomic Reactor, Submarine

Since the late 1950s, intensive research had been conducted at the research institutes and design bureaus of the Minsredmash and the Ministry of Industry and Industry on the development of a nuclear missile launcher for an automated high-speed small displacement submarine with a crew of up to 15-20 people (fighter boats of surface ships and nuclear submarines of a probable enemy), which received the project design index 705.

The idea of creating such a boat belonged to Academician A.P. Alexandrov and chief designer of the first domestic nuclear submarine, pr. 627 V.N. Peregudov. They were supported by D.F. Ustinov (at that time the chairman of the military-industrial complex under the Council of Ministers of the USSR) and a number of ministers who, in May 1960, sent a corresponding letter to the Central Committee of the CPSU. As a result, by a special resolution of the CPSU Central Committee in June 1960, this proposal and the direction of the relevant work were approved.

When choosing a reactor installation for project 705, three options were considered for a steam generating unit (PPU): double-circuit with a water-water reactor, single-circuit with a boiling reactor and double-circuit with a liquid metal coolant reactor. Their analysis showed that in the conditions of limiting the overall dimensions of polyurethane foam, due to the design features of the nuclear submarines, the best solution is provided by polyurethane foam on the iron ore base. An additional factor in favor of such a solution was the results of the operation of stand 27 / VT and the pilot nuclear-powered submarine of project 645. As a result, the OK-550 project of a three-loop PPU with a liquid metal coolant reactor developed by Design Bureau of Plant No. 92 was adopted.

The supervisor of the construction of the nuclear submarine of project 705 was LIPAN, the steam generating unit - IPPE. The main designer of the nuclear submarine as a whole was SKB No. 143 of the Ministry of Industry, and PPU - OKB of Plant No. 92 of the Ministry of Defense. The construction of the nuclear submarine of project 705 was entrusted to the Leningrad plant "Sudomekh" of the Ministry of Industry.

The malfunctions that had appeared at that time at stand 27 / VT, and the accident at the pilot nuclear submarine of Project 645 required a serious reassessment and adjustment of some important provisions of the program for creating nuclear installations with LMW for nuclear submarines. The inadmissibility of the operation of the installation during leakage of steam generators became apparent, which was previously allowed. According to specially adopted programs for the technology of liquid metal coolant, a special regulation was developed in relation to PPU OK-550 and BM-40A, requiring the maintenance of the required quality of the alloy in the circuit, periodic regeneration of the alloy, etc. The designers had to urgently finalize the PPU projects with the aim of introducing additional biological protection, to make changes in the design of steam generators and other systems, in connection with which the construction of nuclear submarines was slowed down.

At the same time, a number of scientists and specialists opposed the use of PPU with LMW on nuclear submarines. So, the chief designer for energy SKB-143 P.D. Degtyarev refused to sign the technical project of the boat for project 705, and the head of OKBM, the designer of the PPU for project 705K I.I. Afrikantov appealed to the CPSU Central Committee with the opinion that it was necessary to redo the installation. In addition to these addresses of famous scientists, there were other speeches of lesser-known specialists at various important meetings. The essence of these statements was that there were a number of unresolved scientific and technical problems, as well as shortcomings, and it was more than premature to put untreated installations on ships under construction. At the same time, it was not a question of the depravity of the very direction of the development of PPU with LMW.

The curator of the project was Academician A.P. Aleksandrov, whose point of view was the active use of submarine fleet reactors with iron ore materials. He was supported by the party organs of the Central Committee of the CPSU, which pursued the goal of increasing the defense capability of the state. Moreover, the risks of using new technologies were not adequately taken into account.

The first experimental nuclear submarine of project 705 with OK-550 PPU was launched on April 22, 1969 and completed by September 1970. The installation and commissioning of the equipment of the nuclear installation on the Project 705 nuclear submarines was accompanied by repeated serious malfunctions, the cause of which was equipment failure, excessive tightness of the reactor compartment and delay in checking the operation of the reactor installation on the ground bench.

Complex mooring tests of nuclear power plants on the nuclear submarines of project 705 were held in Leningrad in early October 1970. After the transfer of the boat to Severodvinsk and the audit of the facility, many malfunctions and breakdowns were again revealed. Due to the insufficient vibration resistance of the tube system of the steam generator, the PPU power was initially limited to 60% of the nominal, and in September 1971 after the failure of one of the three loops - 36%. In this regard, the state sea trials of Project 705 nuclear submarines were carried out in the White Sea at the end of 1971 on two serviceable PUF loops with a power limit of 36% of the nominal. Upon completion, the boat was handed over to the fleet for trial operation and at the beginning of 1972 transferred to the Navy base.

However, in February 1972 another PPU loop failed with the ingress of 700-800 liters of alloy into the compartment, so the trial operation of the boat was discontinued. The submarines were towed back to Severodvinsk to the Zvyozdochka repair plant to carry out an audit and establish a complete picture of the causes of PPU failure.

The audit revealed large corrosion damage to the pipes of the primary circuit, insufficient vibration resistance and corrosion damage to the pipe systems of steam generators. As a result, it was decided not to restore the experienced nuclear submarine, and it was decommissioned from the Navy.

Designers and designers took into account the identified shortcomings, and in subsequent submarines of Project 705, the length of the reactor compartment was increased by 1200 mm to reduce the tightness in the compartment, many changes were made to the design of the steam generator and other systems. It was also decided to force the construction of a full-scale ground stand KM-1, begun in 1968, with the installation of OK-550.

After the KM-1 stand was put into operation and important results were obtained on it, confirming the correctness of the main design decisions of the PPU OK 550 project, the serial construction of the Project 705 nuclear-powered submarine began, and three ships were commissioned before 1981: K-316, K- 373 and K-463. The KM-1 stand with the OK-550 installation was successfully operated until 1987 with the normal state of the alloy in the primary circuit and maintaining the integrity of the fuel rods of the active zone until its energy reserve was completely depleted.