Russian firm ships out equipment for third unit of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant

The total weight of the equipment for KKNPP Unit 3 is more than 1000 tonnes. In total, there will be eight sets of Moisture Separator Reheaters and High Pressure Heaters.

The third unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) is slated to get another batch of equipment as Rostov-based Atomenergomash, a machine-building division of Russia’s state-owned Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, has shipped out moisture separator reheaters and high pressure heaters for the project in Tamil Nadu.

In March 2018, the first batch of equipment for turbine building of Unit 3 of Kudankulam NPP was completed and shipped out. Since then, the Russian firm has also sent spare parts for the scheduled maintenance of Reactor Coolant Pumps at KKNPP Units 1 and 2 which are already functional. The civil work for KKNPP 3 and 4 started in June 2017.

“Each shipment of heavy and oversized cargo is a unique technological operation. Russian experts have studied a number of different options for delivering such equipment to the site. Nowadays, the cargo is shipped to the port of Thoothukudi, and then delivered to the site by roads. At the same time, NPCIL is developing port infrastructure near the site of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. The facility is likely to be commissioned this year,” Andrey Shevlyakov, CEO of Rosatom South Asia told The Indian Express.

Moisture separator reheaters, manufactured by ZiO-Podolsk, a subsidiary of Atomenergomash, are designed to remove water condensed fr om the process steam to maximise thermal efficiency and reliability of the low pressure turbine. The weight of equipment is 47 tonnes; height is 7 meters; diameter is 4 meters.

High Pressure Heaters with a length of more than 11 meters, that weigh 120 tonnes, pre-heat feedwater, delivered to a steam generator. The equipment is the one of the main elements of the turbine island, wh ere the thermal energy is extracted from pressurised steam and converted into electrical energy.

The total weight of the equipment for KKNPP Unit 3 is more than 1000 tonnes. In total, there will be eight sets of Moisture Separator Reheaters and High Pressure Heaters.

The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is jointly constructed by Rosatom and state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited. Atomenergomash is the supplier of the main equipment for the reactor and turbine islands. The design and construction works on the site are being performed by ASE Group of Companies, an engineering division of Rosatom.