December 16, 2021
Welding of the primary circuit has started at the first block of the Rooppur nuclear power plant in Bangladesh. The work has been described as “one of the key events in the construction of a nuclear power plant” by Russia’s state-owned nuclear company Rosatom, which is building the power plant.
One of Energospetsmontazh’s elite welders (Image: Rosatom)
The primary circuit connects the main components of Rooppur 1, a pressurized water reactor VVER-1200. It ensures that the heat generated by the reactor core is continuously dissipated to steam generators via main circulation pumps. The Rooppur 1 reactor pressure vessel and four steam generators were brought into position in October and November, respectively.
The 85 cm wide primary circular tubes are forged from 7 cm thick metal. The primary circuit is 160 meters long and includes 260 tons of pipes and other metal structures. To connect everything together, 28 joints have to be welded manually.
“The safety and efficiency of the unit depends on the quality of the welded joints,” said Alexey Deriy, director of the Rooppur construction project and vice president of Atomstroyexport, the Rosatom subsidiary that is leading the work. The welding work is carried out by another Rosatom subsidiary, Energospetsmontazh.
Rooppur 1 started construction in 2018 and is expected to start generating electricity in 2023 or 2024. Unit 2 of the power plant was a year ago and Bangladesh has announced that it would like to commission a second nuclear power plant as soon as Rooppur is operational.
Researched and written by World Nuclear News
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