First steam generator arrives at Hongyanhe 5

The first of three steam generators for unit 5 of the Hongyanhe nuclear power plant has been delivered to the construction site in China's Liaoning province. The ACPR-1000 unit is scheduled to start operation in November 2019.

The first of three steam generators for unit 5 of the Hongyanhe nuclear power plant has been delivered to the construction site in China's Liaoning province. The ACPR-1000 unit is scheduled to start operation in November 2019.

The first steam generator for unit 5 arrives at Hongyanhe (Image: CGN)

The locally-manufactured component - measuring almost 21 meters in length and weighing more than 300 tonnes - was delivered by ship to the Hongyanhe plant yesterday, China General Nuclear (CGN) announced. The interior of the steam generator is equipped with more than 4000 U-shaped heat transfer tubes. The company noted that steam generators are the largest and heaviest equipment in the nuclear island.

Steam generators are used in pressurized water reactors. They act as heat exchangers between the water circulating in the reactor's primary coolant circuit and the water in the secondary circuit that supplies steam to the turbines. Their domed lower head is part of the primary circuit and therefore has an important safety role in ensuring cooling water is always available.

Construction of Phase I of the plant, comprising four CPR-1000 pressurised water reactors, began in August 2009. Units 1 and 2 have been in commercial operation since June 2013 and May 2014, respectively, while unit 3 entered commercial operation in August 2015 and unit 4 in September 2016.

Unit 5 is the first of two 1080 MWe CGN-designed ACPR-1000 reactors that will form the second phase of the Hongyanhe plant. Construction of unit 5 began in March 2015, with construction of unit 6 starting in July the same year. The reactor pressure vessel of unit 5 was installed in March, with that of unit 6 scheduled to begin by the end of this year. Phase II of the Hongyanhe plant is planned to be completed in 2021.

The Hongyanhe plant is owned and operated by Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Co, a joint venture between CGN and State Power Investment Corporation, each holding a 45% stake, with the Dalian Municipal Construction Investment Co holding the remaining 10%.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News