Development of Neutron Flux Monitoring Apparatus for Promising VVER Designs

Next-generation apparatus for monitoring the neutron flux (NFMA) has been developed for use in the generation-3+ reactor installations of project NPP-2006. The apparatus is a component of the control and protection system in the power generating units of Novovoronezh NPP-2. Technical and algorithmic innovations making the apparatus more competitive relative to world analogs, including from the standpoint of safety, reliability, diagnostics, convenience of service, and methodological characteristics, are used. The apparatus was put into commercial operation in the No. 1 unit of Novovoronezh NPP-2. The basic principles of the NFMA design are presented, innovative and conservative (conventional) solutions adopted in the development of the apparatus are described, and the results of physical measurements performed in the course of the startup procedures are presented.