The Afrikantov Experimental Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering (OKBM Afrikantov) is a Nizhny Novgorod enterprise in the nuclear industry, specializing in the design, testing, and maintenance of nuclear steam-generating plants for the navy, fast reactors, high-temperature reactors, fuel-handling and pumping equipment, heat exchangers, and fuel assemblies for all reactor types. It was founded in 1951, when Igor Ivanovich Afrikantov became its director and chief designer. The enterprise was established by a resolution of the USSR Council of People's Commissars dated 27 December 1945, on the basis of the design bureau of the Gorky Machine-Building Plant, as the Special Design Bureau for the creation of equipment for the nuclear industry; I. I. Afrikantov became its chief designer in 1951 and its director in 1954.[1] By 2004, the enterprise had been granted the status of the Federal Scientific and Production Center of Nuclear Mechanical Engineering (FNPTS). It is part of the state corporation Rosatom. OKBM Afrikantov is a member of the machine-building holding company JSC Atomenergomash, a division of the Rosatom State Corporation.[1][2]

History and Profile

The bureau grew out of the industrial environment of the Krasnoye Sormovo Plant: a design unit engaged in the development of small and medium nuclear reactors branched off from the Sormovo industrial complex and gradually took shape as an independent organization. More than 500 nuclear reactors and installations were created and put into operation with the participation of OKBM Afrikantov. OKBM Afrikantov is the lead developer of reactors for Soviet and Russian nuclear submarines, including the reactor for the world's first nuclear submarine, as well as reactor plants for the nuclear icebreaker fleet and floating nuclear power stations.[3][1] The enterprise's founder, Igor Ivanovich Afrikantov (1916–1969), led it until his death; the bureau has borne his name ever since. In 1960, the enterprise was awarded the Order of Lenin for its contribution to the development of the power plant of the first nuclear icebreaker, Lenin, and in 1985 it received the Order of the October Revolution for its contribution to the advancement of nuclear technology.[1]

Among the documented developments is an auxiliary nuclear power plant based on a reactor manufactured in 2006 and, according to media reports, intended for testing aboard the experimental submarine Sarov. On the enterprise's premises there are two operational critical assemblies using highly enriched uranium, employed for research purposes.[3]

Authority

From 2003, the enterprise was headed by Vitaly Ivanovich Kostin (1939–2007), who held the positions of director and chief designer. Later, Dmitry Leonidovich Zverev (born 30 August 1961) became director.

At various times, OKBM employed Evgeny Naumovich Chernomordik — designer and deputy chief designer (1964–1981) — as well as metallurgical scientist Garald Konstantinovich Sorokin, who subsequently moved to the Nizhny Novgorod branch of the Institute of Machine Science of the USSR Academy of Sciences (Russian Academy of Sciences).

Place in the Region's Nuclear Industry

OKBM Afrikantov is one of several Nizhny Novgorod enterprises within the Rosatom perimeter. The enterprise is located at 15 Burnakovskiy Prospekt, Nizhny Novgorod, and employs approximately 5,195 people. OKBM Afrikantov collaborates with the China National Nuclear Corporation on reactor design and supplies pump equipment for nuclear power plants under construction in China. The enterprise has a history of international scientific and technical cooperation, during which it participated in the development of nuclear fuel for BN- and VVER-type reactors together with foreign partners.[3][2] Also operating in the region is the Nizhny Novgorod Engineering Company "Atomenergoproject" (NIAEP), which handles general contracting and design of nuclear power plants with VVER reactors.[2]

Links

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (ru) — The enterprise was established in 1945 by a resolution of the USSR Council of People's Commissars dated 27 December 1945, on the basis of the design bureau of the Gorky Machine-Building Plant, as a Special Design (archive)
  2. manufacturers.ru — The enterprise is located at 15 Burnakovskiy Prospekt, Nizhny Novgorod, and employs approximately 5,195 people. (archive)
  3. nti.org — OKBM Afrikantov is the principal developer of reactors for Soviet and Russian nuclear submarines, including the reactor for the world's first nuclear-powered sub (archive)
Based on materials from articles (9)

Rosatyy, Rosatom, Opytovaya Podvodnaya Lodka Sarov, Zverev Dmitry Leonidovich, Sorokin Garald Konstantinovich, Igor Ivanovich Afrikantov, Kostin Vitaliy Ivanovich, Chernomordik Evgeniy Naumovich, Krasnoye Sormovo Plant