Rosatom strengthens its partnership with Bangladesh by combining the construction of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant with educational initiatives. Another milestone has been completed at the construction site as workers finished steam pipe purging, an important step before commissioning of the power unit. Meanwhile, the Russian nuclear corporation has summarized results of its summer program for student brigades working at overseas construction sites, and the Icebreaker of Knowledge international Arctic expedition for students.
Purging fresh steam pipes has been completed in the turbine building of Rooppur Unit 1, marking another milestone in the cold and hot functional tests, which precede commissioning activities. The purpose of this step is to ensure safe and reliable operation of turbine equipment under normal operating conditions.
The steam pipes were purged using fresh steam at the pressure of 2.0 MPa and temperature of 200°C. This process aims to clean the steam lines of any residual moisture, industrial contaminants, and mechanical particles. The tests involved releasing steam into the atmosphere, accompanied by specific noise.
A follow-up purge with a larger volume of fresh steam will further clean the system and help fine-tune equipment performance under near-operational conditions.
“Completing this commissioning stage at the Rooppur NPP is another step toward starting Unit 1 and connecting it to the power grid to provide Bangladesh with more electricity crucial for its economy and industry. Ultimately, the Rooppur NPP, built to the latest Russian VVER-1200 design, will supply up to 10% of clean energy шт Bangladesh for decades ahead,” said Alexey Deriy, Vice President for Bangladesh Projects at AtomStroyExport.
Meanwhile, student construction brigades finished their summer working semester at Rosatom’s international sites. The Lotus brigade was working at the Rooppur NPP in Bangladesh. Its members were students from Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, and St. Petersburg. They gained hands-on experience in erecting buildings and structures, installing equipment, doing electrical installation, conducting incoming inspection checks, translating explanatory construction documents from English into Russian, maintaining the archive of the production and technical department, and much more.
“I am deeply inspired by the opportunity to participate in international projects. This was my second time working in a student construction brigade as a technician. This experience broadens my horizons, helps me develop intercultural communication skills, and contributes to my personal growth and professional advancement,” said Irina Leusheva from a student brigade.
This year, about 200 students joined Rosatom’s construction brigades. The first such brigade was formed in 2008 and consisted of 20 people. Over the past 17 years, more than 17,000 students were involved in nuclear industry projects at 29 construction sites, 22 of which are in Russia and seven abroad (Turkey, Belarus, China, India, Egypt and other countries).
In late August, the Icebreaker of Knowledge international Arctic expedition organized with Rosatom’s support returned to Murmansk.
Sixty-six talented schoolchildren from 21 countries, including Bangladesh, Egypt, Turkey, Bolivia, Kazakhstan and China, spent more than 10 days aboard the 50 Let Pobedy nuclear icebreaker to reach the geographic North Pole. While travelling, they attended lectures by leading scientists and experts from the nuclear and space industries, conducted a series of scientific experiments, and learned about the design and operation of nuclear icebreakers. As part of the expedition, Rosatom and the Russian space agency Roscosmos jointly conducted test runs on simplified models of unmanned mobile rovers at the North Pole. These rovers are intended to be delivered to the objects in the solar system to explore their geology.
“For the second year in a row, we are opening the Arctic not only to Russian children but also to students from around the world. The entire crew is glad to show expedition members the North Pole and polar bears. You need to see the children’s emotions to truly understand the value of the Icebreaker of Knowledge,” said 50 Let Pobedy Captain Ruslan Sasov.
“I first heard about this expedition from my school teacher and immediately decided to enter the competition. Fortunately, I won the chance to travel to the North Pole. I was deeply inspired to be here,” Mahmoud Al Abdullah, an expedition member from Bangladesh, shared his story.
Photo by: Rosatom, ICAE, ASE EC (Atomstroyexport)
