On the Need to Conduct Additional Stress Tests to Evaluate the Safety of the Hydraulic Structures Site at the Zaporizhzhia NPP

V. Yu. Ulyanov; V. V. Bilyk

doi:10.15802/stp2025/343194

Authors

V. Yu. Ulyanov Independent researcher, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9028-3408
V. V. Bilyk Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies, SEI DIIT, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4435-2388

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15802/stp2025/343194

Keywords:

Zaporizhzhia NPP, cooling pond dam, alluvial sands, soil liquefaction, dynamic instability, settlement, creeping of slopes

Abstract

Purpose. Conducting a comprehensive analysis concerning the condition of the cooling pond dam at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), which is a key component in the hydraulic structures system at this NPP, to justify further research. Additionally, identifying any extra or previously unaccounted factors that could affect the overall safety of the structure. Methodology. The authors performed a comprehensive review of all available engineering surveys and geotechnical research materials related to the Zaporizhzhia NPP cooling pond dam. These materials were produced by various organizations starting from the completion of the facility in 1985, with particular focus on the period 2011–2018, especially after the publication of the 2011 stress test report. Special attention was given to high-precision geodetic data on settlements and deformations of grades on the cooling pond dam. This enabled a new perspective on the findings of the engineering and geological surveys, as well as the stress tests conducted based on them. Findings. Based on the analysis of the dam body soil research data, previously unaddressed issues were raised and examined, including those related to the facility's operation. The need to conduct new stress tests was justified, considering the current conditions at the NPP site and its surroundings. Practical value. For the first time, a comprehensive analysis of the facility's condition was conducted based on accumulated geotechnical data. The stress tests performed in 2011 were found to be overly optimistic. Originality. The need for further research on the facility was justified, including through a program to evaluate the technical condition of the cooling pond dam using innovative methods from the Prydniprovska State Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture.

References

Antonova, L. N., Kanyuk, G. I., Pogonina, T. Ye., Mikhayskiy, D. M., Omelchenko, L. N., & Fokina, A. N. (2012). Naznachenie i osobennosti usloviy raboty vodoemov-okhladiteley teplovykh i atomnykh el-ektrostantsiy. Eastern-European Journal of Enterprise Technologies, 2/10(56), 56-63. (in Russian)

Babich, A. V., & Vovk, N. I. (2011). Osobennosti gidrokhimicheskogo i termicheskogo rezhimov vodoema-okhladitelya Zaporozhskoy AES. Problemy zooinzhenerii i veterinarnoy meditsiny, 1, 313-319. (in Rus-sian)

Bronnikov, V. K., Verkhovetskiy, N. A., Nazipov, R. M., Barabashov, S. V., Vasilev, A. N., Gavrilyuk, N. A., & Osadchiy, V. I. (1994). Zaporozhskaya AES i okruzhayushchaya sreda. Kharkov: Izdatelstvo «Kharkov». (in Russian)

Gosudarstvennaya inspektsiya yadernogo regulirovaniya Ukrainy. Natsionalnyy otchet o rezultatakh provedeniya «stress-testov». (2011). Kiev. Retrieved from https://snriu.gov.ua/storage/app/uploads/public/5ed/0e1/545/5ed0e1545f03c241500484.pdf (in Russian)

Gromov, G., Dybach, A., Zelenyi, O., Inyushev, V., Nosovsky, A., Sholomitsky, S., Shugailo, A., Gashev, M., & Boichuk, V. (2012). Rezultaty ekspertnoy otsenki stress-testov energoblokov AES Ukrainy s uchetom uro-kov avarii na AES «Fukusima-1» v Yaponii. Nuclear and Radiation Safety, 1(53), 3-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32918/nrs.2012.1(53).01 (in Russian)

Kozlov, I. L. (2016). Sovershenstvovanie teoreticheskikh i metodologicheskikh osnov analiza bezopasnosti AES pri maloveroyatnykh avariynykh sobytiyakh s katastroficheskimi posledstviyami (PhD dissertation). Odessa, Ukraine. (in Russian)

Kosach, N. I., & Beiner, N. V. (2014). Analiz effektivnosti okhladitelnykh ustroystv v oborotnykh sistemakh vodosnabzheniya AES. In Metrolohiia – 2014 (pp. 231-234). Kharkiv, Ukraine. (in Russian)

Sedin, V., Ulyanov, V., Kovba, V., Horlach, S., & Zahilskyi, V. (2023). Morphological features of eolian and alluvial sands of energodar city. Ukrainian Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture, 1(013), 92-101. DOI: https://doi.org/10.30838/j.bpsacea.2312.280223.92.923 (in Ukrainian)

Skalozubov, V. I., Bogodist, V. V., Kozlov, I. L., Gablaya, T. V., & Kochneva, V. Yu. (2013). Metod otsenki kriteriev zatopleniya promploshchadki Zaporozhskoy AES pri zaproektnykh zemletryaseniyakh. Nuclear and Radiation Safety Journal, 4(60), 16-19. Retrieved from http://jnas.nbuv.gov.ua/article/UJRN-0000133551 (in Russian)

Nastanova z provedennia sposterezhen za osidanniam fundamentiv, deformatsiiamy konstruktsii budivel i sporud ta rezhymom pidzemnykh vod na maidanchykakh teplovykh ta atomnykh elektrostantsii, 85 SOU-N MEV 40.1-00013741-79:2012. (2013). (in Ukrainian)

Sukhov, A. K., & Moroz N. A. Problemy ekspluatatsii prudov-okhladiteley AES v perspektive razvitiya yadernoy energetiki Ukrainy. Zbirnyk naukovykh prats' SNUYaE ta P., 2(38), 130-137.

Abubakar Tadda, M., Ahsan, A., Imteaz, M., Shitu, A., Abdulbaki Danhassan, U., & Idris Muhammad, A. (2020). Operation and Maintenance of Hydraulic Structures. Hydraulic Structures – Theory and Applica-tions. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91949 (in English)

ENGINEERING EVALUATION ASSESSMENT. (2016). Retrieved from https://mtu.gov.ua/files/USACEreport.pdf (in English)

Khan, M., Awan, M. U. F., Lal, K., Gulab, M., Ahmed, S., & Ahmed, Z. (2023). Role of In-Service Inspections in Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). The Nucleus. 60(1), 86-97. DOI: https://doi.org/10.71330/nucleus.60.01.1266

Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards in Ukraine: Summary Report by the Director General. (2022, February-April). Ukraine. ReliefWeb. Retrieved from https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/nuclear-safety-security-and-safeguards-ukraine-summary-report-director-general-24-february-28-april-2022 (in English)

Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards in Ukraine: 2nd Summary Report by the Director General. (2022). IAEA, Vienna. Retrieved from https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/documents/ukraine-2ndsummaryreport_sept2022.pdf (in English)

Ulianov, V. Y., & Bilyk, V. V. (2022). Research Results of the Earth Dam Condition of Cooling Pond of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Science and Transport Progress, 2(98), 86-99. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15802/stp2022/267939 (in English)