Hydraulic testing of half bodies of Passive Core Flooding System (PCFS) Hydro-accumulators for Power Unit– 2 of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant begins at Petrozavodsk Branch of AEM-Technologies, Russia.
The construction work of the country’s first nuclear power project with a capacity of 2400 megawatt is going on in full swing at Rooppur in Pabna district, with the support of Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation, Rosatom.
Eight PCFS Hydro-accumulators will be installed in each unit. It means, a total of 16 PCFS Hydro-accumulators will be installed in the power plant, project official said.
Rosatom official said that Hydraulic test is one of the most important final inspections of the equipment. PCFS Hydro-accumulator is filled with specially treated thermally enriched water and the pressure in the vessel is raised up to 4.4 MPa and held for 10 min minimum. After the pressure is released, the outer surface is inspected visually for any leaks and permanent deformations.
Hydro-accumulators each having a capacity of 120 cubic meters are manufactured from stainless steel. It comprises three shells and two heads. Ladders and maintenance platforms as well as other internals are installed within the body.
PCFS refers to the second level of NPP passive safety systems. It is intended for the removal of the coolant residual heat of the reactor primary circuit. An aqueous boric acid solution heated to a temperature of approximately 60 degrees is stored in the Hydro-accumulator during operations of the plant. If for any reason the pressure in the primary circuit falls below a certain level, the fluid is automatically fed into the reactor and the active core is cooled down.
Rooppur NPP is designed and being constructed by the Engineering Division of the Rosatom State Corporation. AEM-Technologies has been producing main reactor room equipment for both the units of the power plant.
The government believes at least 1,200MW units of electricity from the first nuclear plant will be added to the national grid by 2023. The second, with the same amount of power, will be launched by 2024.
Originally, the first unit of the power plant was scheduled to open and start functioning by 2024 and the second one by 2025.
Manufacturing of its various types of machinery and equipment is running in full swing in Russia. Some of them have already reached Bangladesh, some have been shipped and others are still in the manufacturing process.
Officials said the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant will bring about a comprehensive change in the country's economy, contributing more than two percent to GDP growth.
Once the nuke plant goes into operation, it will offer a window of opportunity, such as ensuring uninterrupted electricity supply to over 15 lakh families, and jobs for a large number of people.
That is apart from the fact that the plant will make special contributions to industrial development and scientific research. Above all, it will signal a release from the monopoly fuel of oil, gas, and coal for power generation.
On October 2 in 2013, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the first stone in the foundation of Rooppur NPP. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the construction of the Rooppur NPP Project on 6 December 2016 at an estimated cost of Taka 1,13,092.91 crore.
Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is planned and being constructed according to Russian design. The plant will have two power units with the latest generation 3+ VVER 1200 reactor, which will fully meet all international safety requirements.