WWER-type reactor plants
Water-cooled water-moderated power reactor (WWER) belongs to the most prevailing type of light water reactors. Water is used as coolant and moderator in the reactors of this type. Operation of WWER and PWR reactors is based on this principle. The WWER is not an analog of PWR referred to this type, because there are essential differences both in design and materials used.
WWER distinguishing features:
- Usage of horizontal steam generators that never encountered with such problems as fretting, PWSCC, fouling, denting, etc.
- Usage of hexahedral fuel assemblies
- Usage of bottom penetrations in the WWER vessel
- Usage of high-capacity pressurizers that provide reactor plant safety due to large reactor coolant inventory.
Development of WWER-type reactor plants of a wide power range (from 300 to 1700 MW) is the mainstream activities of OKB”GIDROPRESS”.
OKB”GIDROPRESS” is a world leader in the number of implemented WWER-type reactor designs. 70 WWER Units have been constructed in all. During last 10 years 9 WWER Units have been constructed and commissioned in Russia and abroad.
Safety
Safety is a convincing argument in favor of the choice of state-of-the-art WWER reactors. In last WWER-type reactor designs the newest safety approaches are implemented based on the principle of defense-in-depth, several safety levels and optimal combination of multichannel passive and active safety systems.
The lessons of “accidents of the century” at “Three Mile Island” NPP (USA, PWR-type reactor) and Chernobyl NPP (USSR, RBMK-type reactor) are taken into account in WWER nuclear power plants. Based on the results of assessment of causes and consequences of the accident at “Fukushima” NPP (Japan, BWR-type reactor), the additional safety analyses have been performed with account of external extreme impacts. The analyses results are taken into consideration in new designs of reactor plants with WWER; some additional measures are implemented at operating NPPs on the base of these analyses. It allows assuring further reliable development of domestic nuclear power engineering and WWER technology export.
Operation
At present WWER reactors developed at OKB “GIDROPRESS” are operated at 20 NPPs in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Finland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, China, Iran and India.
They are 23 WWER-440 Units with the total power of 10120 MW and 32 WWER-1000 Units with the total power of 32000 MW to be replenished in the near future with newly constructed power Units with WWER-1000 reactors.
Activities are under way on extension of first generation reactor equipment service life. Extensive work has been performed on elaboration of a high-power WWER-1500 reactor plant.
Construction
Today OKB “GIDROPRESS” is the only company in the world which reactor plant designs are implemented simultaneously in five power Units abroad: Kudankulam NPP in India, Tianwan NPP in China. Each of the designs is unique, and each of the power plants has its own peculiarities. All the designs have the following common features: high quality standards of work and maximum requirements for the safety level.
WWER-1000 reactor plant
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WWER-1000 reactor plant
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Prospects
The program of long-term activities (2009-2015) of the State Atomic Energy Corporation “Rosatom” which is approved by the RF government in September 2008 envisages construction and commissioning of new commercial NPP Units equipped with modernized WWER-1200 reactor plants. The reactor is based on WWER technology proved by operational experience.