MINSK, 22 April (BelTA) – Specialists have started loading emulators of fuel rod arrays into the reactor of the first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, BelTA learned from representatives of ASE Group. The company is the general designer and general contractor for the project to build the Belarusian nuclear power plant.
It is an important step in preparing the reactor unit for cold and hot operation trials.
The dummy fuel rod arrays represent exact replicas of genuine fuel assemblies but contain no nuclear fuel. The dummy assemblies are used for cold trials in the course of startup and commissioning of the reactor unit.
“The loading of the dummy fuel rod arrays confirms the readiness of the systems and equipment, which are designed to handle nuclear fuel in the course of the reactor's life, readiness for checking the unit for compliance with design parameters and safety standards,” said Vitaly Polyanin, ASE Company Vice President and supervisor of the Belarusian nuclear power plant construction project. After all the 163 fuel rod arrays are inserted into the reactor, a small amount of assembly work will have to be done in order to prepare for hydraulic testing and circulation flushing of the primary and secondary circuits of the rector unit. The testing and flushing are supposed to begin in late May.
The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built near Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast using a Russian design featuring two VVER-1200 reactors with the total output capacity of 2,400MW. The first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2019, with the second one to go online in 2020.
