It is necessary to solve the problem of transmitting to the operator the information received by the underwater dosimetric complex within the framework of the works devoted to estimations of radioactive contamination of the bottom surface of deep sea areas. The use of standard radio channel in such conditions is impossible, therefore it is expedient to use ultrasonic channel of information transmission. Thus, the issue of ultrasonic anisotropic radiation transmission in deep sea water area is considered. Anisotropy of radiation is necessary to reduce the error and increase the reliability of information transmission. A boundary value problem to estimate the ultrasound pressure on the aquatic medium is formulated and its solution in the form of a wave equation in seawater is given. Attention is paid to such characteristics of sea water areas as water salinity, liquid column pressure determining its density, temperature, range of radiation propagation taking into account its frequency characteristics. The problem is solved by the known method of separation of varia­bles in spherical geometry taking into account the anisotropy of radiation, the given characteristics of which are determined on the basis of the optimal choice of the radiation direction to the ultrasonic buffer device located on the water surface of the water area, determined experimentally. The calculation results show that at the radiation frequency of 1 kHz the detector reliably registers the signal at a distance of ~ 1 km. As the frequency increases, the signal is noticeably absorbed and at a radiation frequency of ~ 40 kHz begins to fall sharply from a distance of ~ 20 m. Similar results are obtained when the problem is solved in the form of radiation of a wide beam. The results of solving the problems allow to formulate certain requirements for the design of ultrasonic detectors used for underwater transmission of information, which will make it possible to implement the method of information transmission from deep water areas when using an underwater dosimet­ric complex and, in addition, to develop a sound method of communication in deep water areas, which will play a significant role in solving the problems of information transmission in these specific condi­tions.

The article shows the importance of additional information support for the NPP operation and emergency and crisis control centers involvement taking into account the safety of operation as the highest priority. Emergency control tools used at Russian nuclear power plants allows to obtain the nuclear power plant operational information outside the automated control system for these purposes. The main consumer of such information is the JSC Rosenergoatom Concern Crisis Center, its capabilities allow regular exercises with modeling of emergency situations at nuclear power plants and working out the actions of personnel. There have been significant changes in the operating systems market in Russia recently, a number of regulatory documents have been issued that include additional requirements from the point of view of information security to obtain data from automated control systems. Rostov NPP has been successfully operating a system of process parameter presentation for more than 20 years, it provides the operation engineering support personnel and crisis centres with all necessary information on the safety of power units in real time. Considering the Rostov NPP experience, the need to develop a new generation of means of transmitting and presenting technological information to the automated control systems of NPP power units is shown. Possible options to overcome the existing limitations are considered in the paper. It proposes a scenario of development and implementation of means of transmission and presentation of technological information at Rostov NPP, including a number of specific functions. The Rostov NPP experience in developing a new generation of means of important technology information transmission and presentation can be replicated at other Russian nuclear power plants. 

The established practice of making a decision on the construction of a new nuclear power plant occurs after the approval of the technical and economic requirements for it, taking into account the need to ensure them during the construction process. It is no secret that the most important indicators of technical and economic requirements, such as capital costs and construction time, are currently not kept for almost all nuclear power plant projects. As a rule, this indicates an insufficiently good elaboration of the project, imperfection of the estimate documentation, and management problems during construction. A distinctive feature of the construction of nuclear power plants in the Russian Federation is that the operating organisation is at the same time the customer of the project, taking part in ensuring all stages of the life cycle of the nuclear power plant, and bearing responsibility for achieving the technical and economic requirements of the project. In this regard, an urgent task is to provide expert support to the project customer from an expert organisation capable of independently assessing the quality of the project and the progress of its implementation. The necessity of support of the technical customer's activity by an expert organisation - architect-engineer is outlined on the basis of positive experience.  Taking into account the world practice of designing, building and operating engineering-complex and capital-intensive projects, it is necessary for the architect-engineer to substantiate a number of optimisation measures based on the use of modern methods (requirements management, application of technical, economic and mathematical models, development and application of digital models and digital twins of nuclear power plants). The necessity of using decision expertise in managing and quality control of nuclear power plant design and construction is substantiated using a technical and economic model and digital twins for new nuclear power plant projects at all stages of their life cycle.  

The paper considers the application of meteorological characterisation methodology to the regions recommended for NPP construction in Nigeria. Regions Geregu and Itu are considered as such, with significantly different meteorological characteristics, as they are located in different parts of the country (the former in the arid region, in the centre of the country, the latter - on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in the Niger Delta). The methodology provides the mathematical apparatus for calculating the main characteristics of the surface layer of the atmosphere model. The use of this apparatus made it possible to estimate the general character of meteorological characteristics of the regions (longitudinal wind speed, turbulent diffusion coefficient, parameter characterising the transverse dispersion of impurity) and their averaged values used further as some parameters allowing to determine the characteristics of environmental radioactive contamination, which can include the air basin and the underlying surface. The use of a geophysical model of the surface layer of the atmosphere and the meteorological parameters obtained made it possible to answer a number of questions concerning the peculiarities of atmospheric transport of radioactive impurity characteristic of the regions of Nigeria in which the Government of Nigeria intends to build nuclear power plants. Therefore, the axial and transverse distributions of radioactive impurity as a function of atmospheric stability were obtained under hypothetical radiation accidents, which revealed the peculiarities of p/a impurity distribution in these regions. The presented results of calculations should be taken into account when estimating the size of the sanitary protection zone around NPPs in one and another region and the necessary and sufficient number of environmental radiation monitoring stations when they are located within these zones

Equipment of foreign manufacturers was widely used in the Russian industry in the recent past.
At the same time technical support for the operation of such complex equipment is currently significantly hampered or non-existent under the pressure of sanctions and system restrictions imposed on Russia. The Novovoronezh NPP staff is confronting successfully such challenges by developing technical solutions that enable the continued efficient operation of imported equipment under the new reality. One of the many examples of the efforts of the Novovoronezh NPP staff to ensure Russia's economic safety and technological sovereignty is given in this article. During operation of power units with VVER-1200 reactors, failures in operation of turbine unit rotor hydraulic lift pumps of Allweiler GmbH (Germany) were identified. As part of the programme of import substitution and improvement of equipment reliability on the basis of available documentation and comparative analysis of operation modes of turbine unit rotor hydraulic lift pumps pumps at Novovoronezh and Leningrad NPPs, the technology of turbine unit rotor hydraulic lift pumps repair with modernisation of internals by means of installation of bronze bushing and observance of precise clearances of pump internals is developed. Improved circuit solutions for the system of hydrostatic lifting of rotors are proposed which exclude damage to the turbine unit rotor hydraulic lift pumps during operation of the power unit at capacity and during scheduled preventive maintenance. The modernisation of equipment manufactured in Germany and its successful operation at Novovoronezh NPP is a vivid example of a scientifically sound technical response to the sanctions pressure of foreign countries and can be extended to other Russian enterprises as a positive practice.

The paper presents the neutron-physical justification of replacement of the burn-up gadolinium absorber placed in a small number of fuel elements by erbium placed in all fuel elements of the fuel assembly. A scheme of fuel elements placement is chosen for the gadolinium absorber, modeling their real
arrangement in fuel assemblies with maximum concentration of gadolinium in fuel elements (8%). In the selected scheme the center fuel element is symmetrically surrounded by two rows of fuel elements with the total number of fuel elements of 18. When selecting the weight content of erbium in fuel elements not only the total compensated reactivity reserve for the campaign is taken into account but also intrinsic safety properties such as the density and total temperature coefficients of reactivity on the fuel loading coolant which allows reducing the negative influence of erbium on the burnup of unloaded fuel. In addition, the erbium homogeneous arrangement in fuel elements leads to a uniform distribution of energy release in comparison with the gadolinium absorber. The comparative analysis of neutron-physical characteristics of the reactor is carried out for the considered absorbers on unit cells and polycells taking into account simplified burnup models at partial reloads without fuel assemblies rearrangements. Repetitive structures consisting of 3 fuel assemblies with different irradiation durations are formed under the condition of application of threefold partial fuel reloading in the core. The obtained results clearly demonstrate that the reactivity coefficients for the erbium absorber have higher values than for the gadolinium variant under the condition of equal compensation of excess reactivity. Taking this factor into account, it is possible to select such a weight content of erbium in fuel elements when losses in burnup will be insignificant.

Abstract. The article analyses the specifics of human potential formation of nuclear power engineering enterprises in accordance with the perspective trends of strategic development. The purpose of the presented research work is to study the trends of industrial enterprises' personnel development on the basis of effective interaction with educational organisations. The study of best practices on the example of a higher education institution branch allows to identify areas of improvement and form an applied case, which can become an object of benchmarking for other higher education institutions, regardless of their industry focus.
Methodology and Methods. General scientific methods (theoretical analysis of scientific publications, empirical, logical and analytical methods), methods of strategic analysis, and the graphical method are used to study trends in the field of formation and development of human potential of nuclear power engineering enterprises. Expert assessments and analytical reviews of specialists from various divisions of Rosatom are used. A review of publications is conducted and the subject area of the article is determined.
Results. The main directions of strategic development of Rosatom and its engineering division are considered, the vector of personnel requests is determined. The results of research on the problem of interaction between educational organisations and industrial enterprises are analysed, the main forms, methods and tools are identified. The ways and directions of involving in the development projects of organisations of the required competencies are determined. The positive experience of VETI NRNU MEPhI in the field of training specialists for industrial enterprises and organisations of Rosatom is proposed as an object of benchmarking. The advantages, implemented activities and guidelines of the educational organisation, used methods of training graduates for the development of human potential of industrial partners are considered. The key tasks for the development of human potential are formulated to be solved jointly by an educational organisation and employer enterprises. The importance of project work skills as the main format of innovative projects of Rosatom divisions is revealed and an algorithm for their development among graduate students is proposed. Discussion. Effective interaction of enterprises with educational organisations is one of the key solutions to the problem of personnel shortage and updating the competence structure of young specialists, which allows for sustainable economic growth of nuclear power engineering enterprises in the context of strategic guidelines for the development of organisations. Nevertheless, it requires constant adaptation of the methods and practices used to the changing requirements of the external environment, the involvement of the latest digital solutions and a promising approach to identifying personnel needs.

Abstract. The article analyses innovative project activities in the fuel and energy complex of the Russian Federation. The purpose of the presented research work is to identify and substantiate the level and dynamics of innovative activity in certain areas of the fuel and energy complex, including the operation of coal, hydraulic, thermal and nuclear power plants. The novelty of the research lies in identifying the priorities of innovative project activities in the fuel and energy sector of the country. Methodology and Methods. To identify the priorities of innovative project activities in the fuel and energy complex of the Russian Federation, general scientific methods are used in the form of theoretical analysis, analytical and logical methods, the method of comparison and comparison, and the graphical method. The scientific works of foreign and
Russian scientists on the development and implementation of innovative projects in the fuel and energy complex, expert assessments and analytical reviews of specialists in the field of fuel and energy, data from the Federal state Statistics Service are used. Results. The analysis of costs for the development and implementation of innovative projects in the fuel and energy complex of Russia in the context of the stages of the production and technological chain and energy carriers is carried out. The role of renewable energy sources in the production of electricity is noted. The advanced production technologies that are most actively used in the fuel and energy complex of Russia are named. The level of innovative activity of the Russian fuel and energy industries is considered, including in the field of nuclear energy. The dynamics of the development of innovative activities in various areas of the Russian fuel and energy sector in recent years has been revealed. The priorities of innovative project activities in the fuel and energy complex of the Russian Federation are identified and justified. The role of innovative project activity in the field of fuel and energy sector as a strategic direction for the development of the most important structural component of the Russian economy is noted. Discussion. The uneven innovative development of various spheres of the fuel and energy complex of the Russian Federation necessitates the identification and analysis of factors affecting the conditions for the development and implementation of innovative projects in the fuel and energy sector. It is of interest to analyse the dynamics of innovation activity over a longer period, which will allow us to identify certain patterns and form clear prerequisites for changing the level of innovation activity of organizations of the fuel and energy complex of Russia. A promising area is research in the field of renewable energy, taking into account the best practices of foreign countries. The issue of strategic development of innovative design in the field of fuel and energy complex of the Russian Federation requires further study.

The State Atomic Energy Corporation ‘Rosatom’, a diversified holding company combining assets in power engineering, mechanical engineering, and construction, is chosen as the research object in this paper. The subject area chosen is the seamless adaptation of technical university graduates during their employment at the enterprises of Rosatom State Corporation. It is the supraprofessional competences of university graduates that are becoming more and more demanded by employers in the current realities, in the environment of constant changes and tougher requirements from the external macro-environment, in the conditions of continuous education. The aim of the study is to develop a theoretical and methodological basis of the supraprofessional competencies formation, which play a key role in creating a personnel reserve for such high-tech industries as nuclear power engineering. The main methods used in writing the article are analysis, synthesis, as well as theoretical analysis of scientific literature on the research problem and local documentation of Rosatom State Corporation and VETI MEPhI in terms of their interaction on the graduate employment issues. The main result of the study is the conclusion that it is necessary to introduce modern approaches to student education in technical universities and personnel development which will create a powerful pool of qualified specialists capable of solving complex problems in a dynamically changing technological landscape. These competencies go beyond specific subject knowledge and encompass a set of skills, abilities and qualities that are essential for success in further activities as trained specialists, allowing individuals who have mastered supraprofessional competencies to compete in the labor market.