Half shell of reactor for BelNPP second unit passes quality control tests

The Volgodonsk-based branch Atommash of the Russian company AEM Technologies successfully completed the quality control tests of the lower half shell of the nuclear reactor for the second unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP), BelTA learned from the Atomenergomash press service.

“When conducting control tests on the weld seams the result was 100% positive,” specialists said.

Non-destructive evaluation methods were used for the quality control test. These were dye penetration inspection, ultrasonic examination and radiographic inspection.

A corrosion-resistant layer is currently applied on the inside surface of the lower half shell of the nuclear reactor for the second unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. 

The reactor is a vertical cylinder with an elliptical bottom. The reactor core and the internal components are located inside. The reactor is hermetically sealed by a lid that also bears the actuators and mechanisms meant to regulate the process and protect the reactor. The lid also contains pipe sleeves that will be used to feed cables from internal reactor control sensors.

AEM Technologies was established in 2007. It is part of Atomenergomash, the mechanical engineering division of the Russian nuclear industry corporation Rosatom. AEM Technologies has an engineering division in Saint Petersburg and two manufacturing divisions in Petrozavodsk and Volgodonsk.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is a project to build an AES-2006 type nuclear power plant 18km away from Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The Belarusian nuclear power plant will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). In line with the general contract for building the nuclear power plant the first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2018, with the second one to go online in 2020.