Turbine hall valves meant for nuclear reactors 5 and 6 of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project ready in Russia for shipping to KKNPP site.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Russia is all set to ship the first batch of 26 turbine hall pipeline valves, totally weighing about 27.50 tonnes, for the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project’s (KKNPP) reactors 5 and 6.

 These specially designed valves can withstand temperature up to 350 degrees Celsius.

Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation, Rosatom’s machine-building plant Petrozavodskmash is shipping the turbine hall pipeline valves to KKNPP, where 2 X 1,000 MWe VVER reactors built with Russian technical knowhow are generating power while four more reactors with similar capacity are under construction.

Currently shipped high-pressure and low-pressure gate valves are designed for installation in the turbine hall of the nuclear power plant. The key function of the shipped items is a tight shutoff of the fluid or gas flow to ensure reliable operation of the system. During the manufacture, each piece of equipment has been subjected to a set of factory checks including pneumatic, hydraulic and tightness tests. The pipeline valves are distinguished by a high class of tightness, which is confirmed by life tests under operating parameters in testing laboratories accredited by the Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation.

The valves are being transported from Petrozavodskmash’s production site to the Great Port of St. Petersburg by road from where the equipment will reach KKNPP site by sea. Similar pipeline valves of Petrozavodsk have been installed in reactor and turbine halls of the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant and the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant.

Tiny elements

These valves are used in piping systems to monitor and control the flow of fluids or gases. In comparison with the main equipment of the reactor hall, these elements seem to be tiny as they weigh from 30 kg to 5 tonnes. At the same time, they are essential for functioning of a large system of the nuclear power plant, a senior Rosatom official said. “Equipment supplies for reactors 3 and 4 have almost been finished,” the official informed.

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), while operating the first two reactors of KKNPP, is actively engaged in constructing reactors 3 to 6 and hence the installed capacity of this nuclear park will be 6,000 MWe when all six units start power generation.

 Rosatom has agreed to supply fuel to the power units of the KKNPP throughout their life.