A cold and hot test phase preceding the reactor startup has been completed at Novovoronezh Unit 6, now under construction. The ‘hot’ part of the tests included blowing the steam lines in the turbine island. All the process systems in the reactor island were also checked and tested in a series of nearly 150 trials. The site is now being prepared for be pressure tests of the reactor containment. This will be followed by inspection of the equipment after its design-basis operation. As soon as the regulator issues an operating license, Unit 6 will be loaded with fresh nuclear fuel. 

Bulky and heavy

Installation of the reactor vessel has been a major recent event at Rostov NPP Unit 4. The operation required extreme precision as the 320-ton vessel had to be installed on the bottom support ring with pinpoint accuracy. “It was not the first reactor we assembled, so we did our job with the highest quality. Tolerances are minimal – for example, horizontal deviation of the 5-meter cylindrical vessel should not exceed 0.1 millimeter,” says Oleg Shulyar, General Manager at the Volgodonsk Branch of Sezam, a subcontractor performing on-site installation. “Putting the vessel in place means that construction is almost over and installation of core systems begins. The vessel is one of the bulkiest components. As the next step, we will install steam generators and then move on to the assembly of the main circulation circuit,” explains Rostov NPP Director Andrei Salnikov. The first out of four steam generators for Rostov NPP Unit 4 has been already placed in its permanent position in the reactor island. The second generator is also on the site awaiting installation, with the other two to be delivered by the year end. Steam generators belong to the core steam exchanging systems of a nuclear station and are designed to transfer heat produced in the reactor core to the secondary circuit, where the heat transfer surface generates steam feeding the turbine. Unit 4 is scheduled for the startup in 2017.

Project management

A team meeting was held at the Leningrad NPP to discuss the current project status. “The date of commissioning remains unchanged. The startup of Unit 1 is scheduled for December 2016. By that time, we will have to do hydrostatic tests and make every step that precedes the startup in accordance with the commissioning schedule,” says NPP director Vladimir Pereguda. The NPP team introduces project management practices, with employee working groups established to improve key processes on the construction site. The team meeting analyzed the progress achieved by the working groups and set out areas for them to focus on when planning, organizing and monitoring human and financial resources. In particular, such areas include workplace arrangements during operation, capacity output, automated process control systems, fire protection, water supply, sewerage, etc. According to Vladimir Pereguda, Director of Leningrad NPP, much has been done in recent weeks to improve operational excellence on the site. Principles of operational excellence, he says, are the introduction of project management practices, efficient allocation of resources, optimal human resource planning, leadership and closer cooperation with the general contractor. Five bulky electrical components were delivered to the site in December for the construction of new reactor units at Leningrad NPP. They were four auxiliary power transformers and one transformer for the auxiliary boiler. The new high voltage transformers boast improved structural properties, better performance, and are reliable and easy to operate and maintain.