Final module installed at Sanmen 2

Monday, 4 January 2016

The final module - the containment water tank - has been installed at the second AP1000 unit under construction at Sanmen in China's Zhejiang province.

The CB20 module is lowered on to Sanmen 2's containment (Image: CNEC)

The operation to lift the 312-tonne containment cooling tank - with an outer diameter of almost 26 metres, an inner diameter of 10.6 metres and a height of just over 10 metres - was completed on 27 December, plant constructor China Nuclear Engineering Corporation (CNEC) announced.

Pumps arrive for unit 1

The first two of four reactor coolant pumps for unit 1 of the Sanmen plant arrived at the construction site on 30 December, State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC) announced.

The pumps were shipped from US manufacturer Curtiss-Wright Corporation on 11 November following final performance testing and post-test inspections.

The third and fourth pumps for Sanmen 1 were due to be shipped from the USA last month, while all four pumps for Haiyang 1 will be shipped by the end of February, SNPTC said.

The large round component is a major part of the AP1000's safety systems. It will hold some 3000 cubic metres of water ready to flow down to evaporate from the surface of the containment vessel in any emergency situation where the reactor system may be overheating. This evaporation would help to cool the overall system. The water could also be directed to top up the used fuel pool, while the tank itself can be refilled from water stored elsewhere on site.

The positioning of the module completes the distinctive silhouette of the AP1000 design, while fit-out and preparation continues inside.

In September 2007, Westinghouse and its partners the Shaw Group received authorization to construct four AP1000 units China: two at Sanmen in Zhejiang province and two more at Haiyang in Shandong province.

Sanmen unit 1 is expected to be the first AP1000 to begin operating, in September 2016. Haiyang 1 is expected to start up by the end of 2016. Containment tests have already been successfully conducted at both units. All four Chinese AP1000s are scheduled to be in operation by the end of 2017.

Four AP1000 reactors are being built in the USA - two each at Vogtle and Summer - while three AP1000s are also proposed for the Moorside site in the UK.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News