A portable atomic power plant TES-3 By N. M. Sinev et al. TES-3, nuclear power train, the first mobile low-capacity nuclear power plant, transportable land-based nuclear power plant.This paper describes the portable power station TES-3 now in operation in Obninsk. The main equipment for TES-3 fits on four transporters. The plant is designed on the double cycle principle with a water-moderated heterogeneous 11 MW(th) reactor, cooled by water at 130atm(a).
source.image: Found And Explained
The “self-propelled uranium-fueled machine” was created in record-breaking time due to the scale and cooperation of the project participants under the scientific guidance of the Laboratory V staff. In the once-through boilers, steam at 20 atm (a) and 285 CC is produced sufficient to give a power output of about 2 000 kW at the turbine shaft. For the condenser 900 t/h of cooling water is required. The lifetime of the core is about a year.
The equipment, including the reactor, can be transported by means of motor vehicles to a new location of operation. For this purpose the reactor is provided partly with removable shielding which can be dismantled within several hours of shut-down with a partially or fully burned-up core. During transport the reactor is cooled down by means of an air radiator.
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Additional shielding consisting of local materials (reinforced concrete, sand) is used when the reactor is stationary and in operation. The reactor core can be replaced with the help of a 25 t crane under field conditions without removal of the reactor vessel top cover. The task was to create a low-capacity nuclear power plant manufactured in maximum factory readiness and, at the same time, satisfying the rail transportation requirements.
