Russia has started shipping hydro-accumulators, for the second unit of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. Hydro-accumulators are the main component of a Passive Core Flooding System (PCFS). 8 PCFS hydro-accumulators are installed in a single unit. These are thick-walled stainless steel vessels of 120 m3 capacity. Each of these weighs 7.8 tons.
The first batch of 5 hydro-accumulators was shipped from Petrozavodsk by water for Saint Petersburg’s port, from where it will be finally shipped to Bangladesh.
PCFS is the most important part of NPP safety system. It belongs to the second stage of passive systems and is intended for residual heat removal from the primary circuit. During operation, hydro-accumulators are filled with aqueous solution of boric acid. When the pressure in the primary circuit falls below a certain level, the fluid is automatically fed into the reactor and the core is cooled down.
Design and construction of the Rooppur NPP is carried out by the Engineering Division of the Rosatom State Corporation. “AEM-technology” a member of Atomenergomash, Rosatom’s machine engineering division is manufacturing and supplying main equipment for the reactor rooms of both the units of the project.