Dr Jitendra Singh said, the first lot of TVS-2M fuel assemblies has been received in May-June 2022 from Russian Federation and loaded in Unit-1 and they are performing satisfactorily….reports Asian Lite News
The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, said Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy corporation Rosatom has offered a more advanced fuel option to Kudankulam Nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu.
In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the first lot of TVS-2M fuel assemblies has been received in May-June 2022 from Russian Federation and loaded in Unit-1 and they are performing satisfactorily.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, use of the more advanced TVS-2M fuel assemblies in KKNPP reactors will allow 18-month operating cycles as against 12-month operating cycle with UTVS Fuel Assemblies presently in use in Unit-2.
The Minister said Russia had offered a more advanced fuel TVS-2M type in place of UTVS type fuel for use in reactors at Unit 1&2 at Kudankulam. He said after detailed deliberations by experts, considering the better operational performance with TVS-2M type fuel assemblies, it was decided to use TVS-2M fuel in place of UTVS fuel assemblies in Kudankulam Units-1&2.
Recently, Rosatom said that one set of main equipment for the upcoming Unit 5 of 1,000 MW nuclear power plant is ready for shipment to Kudankulam.
The equipment was made by ZiO-Podolsk JSC part of Rosatom.
The separator-reheater is designed to remove moisture and superheat steam that has worked out in the high-pressure cylinder and enters the low-pressure cylinder of the turbine.
The MSR-1000-1 is a cylindrical apparatus consisting of a separat or and a single-stage reheater, which, when mounted at the nuclear power plant are located vertically one after the other.
The weight of the separator is 47 tonnes, the length is almost 7 metre, and the diameter is 4 metre.
The reheater is a heat exchanger consisting of 222 individual cassettes. The weight of the reheater is 108 ton, the length is 7.7 metre, and the diameter is 4 metre.
Rosatom said the second set of MSR for Unit 5 is under production.
Recently, the test assembly of the apparatus was successfully carried out.
The specialists of the plant carried out mating of the MSR components- the separator and the reheater were connected using technological plates.
The test assembly helps to ensure the alignment of all elements. Products completely repeat their design position. The process allows to reduce the time and simplify the equipment installation at the NPP construction site drastically. The total weight of the assembled product was 162 tonnes, the height of the apparatus was about 18 m, and the diameter was 4 m.
MSR is a long lead item. The production process of one set lasts an average of eight months, Rosatom said.
India’s atomic power plant operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) has two 1,000 MW plants (Units 1 and 2) at Kudankulam, while four more (Units 3, 4, 5 and 6) are under construction.
All the six units are built with Russian technology and equipment supplied by Rosatom.