Specialists from the Afrikantov Experimental Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering (OKBM Afrikantov), a part of Rosatom’s Mechanical Engineering Division, have 3D printed the impeller wheel of the RITM-200 ship reactor’s pumping tools utilizing selective laser fusion expertise.
The work was carried out at OKBM Afrikantov’s Nizhny Novgorod Additive Applied sciences Heart utilizing a home Ilist-L+ printer and stainless-steel grade 12Х18Н10Т.
OKBM Afrikantov acquired permission to fabricate tools elements for the RITM-200 utilizing the SLM course of in November 2025. Regulatory documentation was subsequently developed and permitted, and the primary Russian Maritime Register of Delivery certificates for the tactic was granted.
“When utilizing additive selective laser fusion expertise, stainless-steel grade 12Х18Н10Т acquires new mechanical and efficiency properties,” acknowledged Alexander Lukoyanov, Head of the Additive Applied sciences Centre at OKBM Afrikantov.
“This expands the scope of software of the fabric, will increase the reliability and effectivity of merchandise. The event of regulatory documentation and affirmation of the traits of the fabric set up a secure technical and regulatory foundation for its additional industrial use as a part of the tools of reactor crops.”
Manufacturing cycle diminished, serial manufacturing in view
Ilya Kavelashvili, Director of the Additive Applied sciences Enterprise Unit at Rosatom’s Gas Division (TVEL), acknowledged that the additive course of reduce the manufacturing cycle for the impeller wheel by 20%. “The usage of additive applied sciences ensures excessive repeatability of outcomes, minimises the quantity of fabric and reduces the time for manufacturing components,” he stated.
“Individually, I wish to word that this precedent is a robust impetus for the formation of a technological map for the additive manufacturing of advanced and important components for the nuclear business. This in the end serves as a strong foundation for mass manufacturing of a variety of merchandise used within the manufacture of high-tech tools for the nuclear business, and brings us to a brand new degree of high quality in home mechanical engineering.”
The RITM-200 reactor has been in service aboard Russian nuclear icebreakers since 2020. The design additionally underpins floating energy models and low-power nuclear energy crops (NPPs) being developed for distant areas, together with initiatives in Yakutia, Uzbekistan, and Chukotka.