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ARTICLES 441The possibilities of using high-temperature reactors operating together with a gas turbine are determined for nuclear-powered icebreakers. The advantages of such systems over previously used nuclear-powered systems and diesel-electric propeller systems are examined. The possibilities of using the MARS-S reactor and gas-turbogenerators, utilizing the heat from the exhaust gases, in nuclear-powered icebreakers are studied. The characteristics of the MARS-S and propeller electric system of a nuclear-powered icebreaker with drive-shaft power up to 90 MW are presented. The possibility of using such systems in floating electric power plants utilizing heat for driving a counterpressure turbine is examined. A version of a single-reactor ship power plant for a lighter and an icebreaker, such as Taimir, is presented.Nuclear-powered icebreakers are essential for life in remote northern regions. Such icebreakers make it possible to escort ship convoys with fuel, equipment, and products along the North Sea route. The Murmansk shipping lines now operate six nuclear-powered icebreakers and one nuclear-powered lighter Sevmorput'. The icebreaker Lenin has been decommissioned, and the icebreaker Sibir' is docked. The icebreaker Arktika has exhausted its service life, but an examination has made it possible to extend the operational service life. The service life of all presently operating icebreakers is close to exhaustion. This makes it urgent to replace the presently operating icebreakers. There are different possible variants for doing so.Construction of Icebreakers with Similar Highly Reliable Operating Systems. Unfortunately, in this case, fuel reloading (approximately once every four years) requires the ship to be taken out of service for 1.5-2 months. Since fossilfuel prices are increasing, the system is becoming uneconomical. Construction of Diesel-Electric Icebreakers of Comparable Power.This variant is undesirable. A 36-MW dieselelectric icebreaker operating at full power consumes 150 tons of fossil fuel per day. During the winter, the system operates almost continuously at full power, and the fuel onboard permits operation for one month. For example, the icebreaker Ermak (36 MW on the propeller drives) has nine diesel generators, some of which may not be operating for various reasons. In addition, the icebreaker does not operate according to the complete electric-drive scheme, which decreases the operating effi-UDC 621.039.1

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Rosatom of the Russian Federation and the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration are developing the Gas-Turbine Modular Helium Reactor (GT-MHR) for the disposition of weapons-grade plutonium. Cost effective disposition of this plutonium material can be achieved by use of very high burnup coated particle fuel in the GT-MHR. In this way essentially all of the valuable energy of the Pu can be efficiently converted to electricity in one pass of the fuel through the GT-MHR.

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