Staff Reporter:
Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) authorities have successfully conducted the hydraulic pressure tests in the first of their two-unit under-built plant, a statement of its Russian builder Rosatom said.
“Hydraulic 24.5 MPa tests have been successfully completed in terms of density and strength at the primary circuit systems and equipment of the Rooppur NPP power unit No 1,” read the state-run Rosatom statement received on Thursday.
Rosatom State Corporation Engineering Division, which is constructing the country’s maiden nuclear power plant, said the test was aimed to confirm the strength of the primary circuit systems and equipment.
The hydraulic tests were carried out with a pressure of 24.5 MPa while the “hot run of the reactor plant” will be conducted at the next stage.
Rosatom officials said the testing process included several stages, such as preliminary preparation, filling the primary circuit with water, achieving the required pressure and temperature, and preparing the main and adjacent systems.
The statement said an automated process control system was put into operation to control the process parameters during the hydraulic tests.
It said the concerned experts conducted the hydraulic pressure tests thorough monitoring of the equipment status, recording all indicators as demanded by the design requirements and international safety standards.
“The hydraulic tests completed at the Rooppur NPP power unit 1 confirm the high level of quality and safety of our project,” it said, calling the analysis a “significant stage” ahead of the next crucial hot run of the reactor plant”.
Rosatom’s Bangladesh project vice president Alexey Deriy, ASE said they were “confident that the plant will become a reliable source of energy for Bangladesh for decades to come”.
Bangladesh’s first-ever two-unit nuclear power plant is being implemented at Rooppur with Russia’s technical and financial support. Each of the units will host two units and will generate 1,200 MW electricity through “3+ generation VVER 1200 reactors”.
According to the statement the first unit was getting ready for fuel loading and subsequent start-up in near future.
