The Volgodonsk Branch of JSC "AEM-technology" "Atommash" (part of the Rosatom machine-building division - Atomenergomash) has successfully completed hydraulic tests of the nuclear reactor pressure vessel for the second unit of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) at Pabna, Rosatom officials said.
The Rooppur nuclear power plant is the country’s first nuclear power plant that is being implemented by Rosatom, a subsidiary of Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation. The main construction work of the power plant is continuing at Rooppur in Pabna while its essential machineries are being made in Russia.
It is a top priority project on the Bangladesh government’s agenda, all the way up to the Prime Minister’s Office. The project will host two units and the total capacity of the plant is to be 2,400 MW. It is expected that the power plant will starts its operation by 2024.
Rosatom officials said, the hydraulic tests were carried out in a three-level underground caisson test bench. To install the reactor pressure vessel in the design position, a supporting ring was first installed in the test bench, and then a VVER-1200 reactor pressure vessel was placed on it. The equipment was moved using an overhead crane with a lifting capacity of 600 tonnes. The reactor pressure vessel with height of 11 meters was lowered into the caisson with high precision and closed with a process cover. Then workers installed 54 one and a half meter studs and tightened them using a special wrench.
After creating a complete sealing, the item was filled with distilled water, heated to 65 degrees, created a maximum pressure (24.5 MPa) - 1.4 times higher than the working pressure and held for 10 minutes.
The hydraulic tests of the Reactor Pressure Vessel for Unit No.2 of the "Rooppur" NPP confirmed the tightness of the base metal and the weld joints of the Reactor Pressure Vessel.
The reactor is a vertical cylindrical vessel with an elliptical bottom, inside which the core and internals are located. The top of the reactor is hermetically sealed with a cover with drives of mechanisms and controls and protection of reactors installed on it and nozzles for outputting cables of sensors for the in-core monitoring.
The "Rooppur" NPP is being designed and built according to a Russian project. The design and construction of the facility is carried out by the Engineering Division of Rosatom State Corporation. The plant will consist of two power units with VVER-1200 reactors, the life cycle of which is 60 years with the possibility of extending the service life for another 20 years.
