Arktika-class icebreaker
Type of ship Arktika
Associated vessels
- Arktika
- Sibir
- Rossiya
- Sovetskiy Soyuz
- Yamal
- 50 Let Pobedy
The Arktika class is a Russian (formerly Soviet ) nuclear -powered icebreaker series. The six ships of this class are among the largest and most powerful of its kind and among the ten non- military ships of Russia, which are equipped with nuclear reactors. Owner is the Russian Federation, the ship management is done via the " Atomflot " ( Murmansk Shipping Company).
Ship Technology
Hull
The hull of the ship is double-walled and divided into nine sections. The material thickness of the finished cast steel Bugs is up to 50 cm. In relation to the operating load, the wall thickness of the outer sheath is between 25 and 48 mm. Between the two envelopes sea water, which served both as ballast, and the icebreaking support through relocation. Moreover, the ships have on the hull bottom on combined air / water nozzles. You are about nine meters below the water surface and push up to 24 cubic meters of water per second. To minimize friction, some ships of this class have a polymer sheath. It is possible to break the ice in the forward and reverse drive.
Machinery and drive
The icebreaker Arktika the class have two pressurized water reactors of the type OK - 900A, of which, however, only one of is operated. The thermal power of the reactor is 171 MW. Each reactor has a weight of about 160 tons and is in a hermetically sealed unit with reduced air pressure. The shield is carried out with steel, concrete and water. With a consumption of 200 grams of uranium per day, the ships can be operated in four years without interruption. In the event of an emergency shutdown the nuclear chain reaction is completed within 0.6 seconds. On the boats sensors are installed, the constantly monitor the radioactivity on board.
Since the nuclear-powered icebreaker Arktika class is imperative to hold the cold sea water to cool their reactors, these vessels can not be used in the Antarctic, because this tropical water would have to be crossed.
The steam generated in the reactor is fed to two turbine sets that develop mechanical power from a total of 55.2 MW ( 75,000 hp) and drive three DC generators. These generators supply only the three electric propeller motors (nuclear or turbo electric drive) that act on each 50 -ton four-bladed fixed propeller over 20 meters long waves. With a propeller speed between 120 and 180 rpm, a speed of up to 21.4 knots is reached ( about 40 km / h). The starboard propeller and the middle are right-handed, the port propeller is levorotatory. For the power supply five steam turbines are installed with generators that produce an electrical output of 10 MW.
Originally the ships were designed for a service life of 100,000 hours of reactor. The operating time but has since been extended to 175,000 hours.
Equipment
Some icebreakers this class are provided with a helicopter landing deck and run one to two helicopter Kamov Ka -32 type with.
Use
The main task of the icebreaker is to ensure vessel traffic in the Arctic Ocean. In addition, the icebreaker for research missions are used. The ships are able to break ice sheets up to a thickness of about five meters.
The Arktika reached on August 17, 1977 as the first surface vessel to the North Pole. Since the Rossiya first time in 1990 and foreign passengers brought to the North Pole, the ships are also used for expedition cruises. The Sovetskiy Soyuz and Yamal now go several times a year with passengers to the North Pole.