Hydraulic tests have been completed on the reactor pressure vessel for the first unit of the Akkuyu nuclear power station under construction in Turkey, Russian equipment manufacturer Atomenergomash said.
The tests on the 330-tonne RPV were carried out with a maximum pressure of 24.5 megapascals (MPa), which is about 1.4 times higher than operating pressure.
In a nuclear power plant, the RPV is the pressure vessel containing the nuclear reactor coolant, core shroud, and the reactor core.
The tests on the 330-tonne RPV were carried out with a maximum pressure of 24.5 megapascals (MPa), which is about 1.4 times higher than operating pressure.
In a nuclear power plant, the RPV is the pressure vessel containing the nuclear reactor coolant, core shroud, and the reactor core.
Atomenergomash said preparation for the testing, at its Atommash subsidiary in Volgodonsk, had been carried out in challenging conditions because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Akkuyu, which will be the first commercial nuclear power station in Turkey, will have four Generation III+ VVER-1200 units, with the first expected to come online in 2023 and a further unit starting every year afterwards.
Russia says it is the first nuclear power station project to be built using the build-own-operate (BOO) model.
Under the model, the plant supplier, in this case Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, is also the investor or co-investor and owner or co-owner of the facility, gaining returns on its investments during operation from electricity sales.
