Cold functional testing has been completed at unit 6 of the Tianwan nuclear power plant in China’s Jiangsu province, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has announced. The ACPR1000 reactor is scheduled to enter commercial operation by the end of 2021.
Cold functional tests are carried out to confirm whether components and systems important to safety are properly installed and ready to operate in a cold condition. They are the first comprehensives tests to check the performance of the entire reactor. The main purpose of these tests is to verify the leak-tightness of the primary circuit and components – such as pressure vessels, pipelines and valves of both the nuclear and conventional islands – and to clean the main circulation pipes.
CNNC noted the completion of the tests on 4 October marks the transfer of Tianwan 6 from the equipment installation stage to the commissioning stage.
Units 5 and 6 at Tianwan – Tianwan Phase III – both feature ACPR1000 reactors. First safety-related concrete was poured for unit 5 on 27 December, 2015, with that for unit 6 poured on 7 September, 2016. Tianwan 5 entered commercial operation last month, with unit 6 expected to follow by the end of next year.
The first four units at the site – which began commercial operation between June 2007 and December 2018 – are Gidropress VVER units supplied by Russia, as will be the seventh and eighth, for which a general contract was signed in March.
When all eight units are in operation Tianwan would become the largest nuclear power plant in the world with eight units and a total generating capacity of about 8100 MWe.
The Tianwan plant is owned and operated by Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corporation, a joint venture between CNNC (50%), China Power Investment Corporation (30%) and Jiangsu Guoxin Group (20%).
Source: World Nuclear News