Handling equipment is installed at the rotating shield plug of the reactor vessel after a shutdown for refueling or for replacing of defective fuel subassemblies. Core subassemblies are unloaded (after a short decay time) inside sodium-filled cans by means of a shielded gas-cooled flask and are placed in a sodium-cooled storage vessel for activity decay. To locate a fuel pin defect in the core, suspicious fuel subassemblies are extracted from the core and leak tested above the core using the in-vessel handling machine. Handling machines are developed from corresponding KNKII equipment supported by prototype tests performed in an Interatom sodium test facility. Handling of core subassemblies and of other radioactive components outside the reactor vessel is done by a multipurpose transfer machine. The sodium-cooled fuel storage has a capacity of one core loading of fuel subassemblies. Handling operations are remotely controlled. Provisions are made for an outer dimensional control of fuel subassemblies in the course of a refueling shutdown. The preoperational tests under sodium are completed, and some of the reflector subassemblies have been loaded into the core under sodium. These tests and operations have shown reliable equipment performance.
