Reactor internals en route to demo Hualong One unit

The reactor internals for the demonstration Hualong One being constructed as unit 5 of the Fuqing nuclear power plant in China's Fujian province have been shipped from the manufacturing plant in Shanghai. The unit is scheduled to be completed next year.

The reactor internals for Fuqing 5 leave the factory (Image: CNNC)

The reactor internals were designed by China Nuclear Power Research and Design Institute and manufactured by the Shanghai No.1 Machine Tool Plant. China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced today that the components left the manufacturing plant yesterday for the construction site.

Reactor internals are the major structures within a reactor vessel that have one or more functions such as supporting the core, maintaining fuel alignment, directing primary coolant flow, providing radiation shields for the reactor vessel, and guiding in-core instrumentation.

CNNC noted that the reactor internals "are components in the nuclear island main equipment that are difficult to manufacture, require long processing cycles, and require high assembly precision".

The control rod drive mechanism for use at Fuqing 5 passed factory acceptance tests on 15 March. The ML-B type drive mechanism was independently developed by CNNC China Nuclear Power Research and Design Institute and fully domestically manufactured by Shanghai No.1 Machine Tool Plant, CNNC said.

Fuqing 5's reactor pressure vessel was installed on 28 January. The vessel completed hydraulic pressure tests in April last year. Those tests confirmed the integrity of the vessel's welds and seals.

In November 2014, CNNC announced that the fifth and sixth units at Fuqing will use the domestically-developed Hualong One PWR design, marking its first deployment. The company had previously expected to use the ACP1000 design for those units, but plans were revised in line with a re-organisation of the Chinese nuclear industry. China's State Council gave final approval for construction of Fuqing units 5 and 6 in April 2015.

The pouring of first concrete for Fuqing 5 began in May that year, marking the official start of construction of the unit. Construction of unit 6 began in December the same year. The dome of unit 5 was installed on the containment building in May last year. Fuqing 5 and 6 are scheduled to be completed in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Researched and writtenby World Nuclear News