Rosatom joins RPV halves for Rooppur unit 1

13 May 2020

AEM Technology, part of the Atomenergomash engineering division of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, has welded together the upper and lower parts of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) for unit 1 of the Rooppur nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.

The RPV for Rooppur unit 1 (Image: Rosatom)

The 10-day operation involved continuous heating of the seam to a temperature of 150-300 degrees Celsius. During that time, about two tonnes of flux and more than one-and-a-half tonnes of wire with a diameter of 4 mm were used. After welding, the 320-tonne RPV was transferred by crane to a furnace to be heat treated for two days. The equipment will then be subjected to x-ray, ultrasonic and capillary inspections.

Two 1200 MWe (gross) VVER-1200 units are being built at Rooppur, which is on the eastern bank of the river Ganges at Rooppur, 160 km from Dhaka.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News