Rooppur power plant’s equipment manufacturing on target in Russia

Manufacturing and testing of equipment for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant are making good progress in Russia while its construction is on track in Bangladesh.

Atommash has completed hydraulic tests on the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) and the first steam generator of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Unit-1. 

The company is part of Atomenergomash – the engineering division of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom. 

The tests conducted by Atommash confirmed the strength of the base metal and welded joints of both items which belong to first safety class in a nuclear power plant, reads a press release issued yesterday. 

A watertight chamber, or caisson, was used for the hydraulic tests, during which a maximum pressure of 24.5 MPa (Megapascal) was generated in the RPV – 1.4 times higher than the operating pressure. 

A crane with a lifting capacity of 600 tonnes was used to lower the 11-metre RPV into the caisson. 

The reactor pressure vessel is a vertical cylindrical vessel with an elliptical bottom and contains a reactor core and the internals.

In another test, all holes of the steam generator were closed with special blind covers. Primary and secondary circuits of the generator were also filled with distilled water. 

The primary circuit was tested at a pressure of 24.5 MPa and a water temperature of 350 degrees Celsius. 

The secondary circuit was tested at a pressure of 11.45 MPa and a water temperature of 300 degrees Celsius. 

In both cases, the pressure was 1.4 times higher than the operating pressure.

The steam generator is a heat exchanger which is 14 metres in length, more than 4 metres in diameter, and weighs 350 tonnes. 

The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Unit-1 will have four such steam generators. 

Earlier, at the final manufacturing stage, welding of the steam generator bottom was completed at the same factory.

Also, AEM-technology Petrozavodskmash – part of the machine-building subdivision of Atomenergomash – has completed assembling and welding of ring weld joints of four main coolant pumps for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Unit-1.

Next, the coolant pumps will undergo heat treatment and hydraulic tests.

Coolant pumps at a nuclear power plant help coolant circulation from the reactor to the steam generators.

These pumps operate under a coolant pressure of 160 atmospheres and a temperature of 300 degrees Celsius. 

A coolant pump weighs more than 31 tonnes and is 3.5 meters in height and more than 3 meters in width.  

Each unit of the Rooppur Power Plant will have four such coolant pumps. 

The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant will have two power units – each with a capacity of 1,200 MW. 

Each unit will be equipped with a Russian generation 3+ VVER-1200 reactor.