Belarusian plant completes hydraulic tests

04 September 2019

Hydraulic tests of the primary circuit systems and equipment for density and strength have been completed at unit 1 of the nuclear power plant under construction in Belarus. Russia's ASE Group said this phase of pre-commissioning tests at a pressure of 24.5 MPa had been passed easily and in "little more than a day".

Unit 1 of the Ostrovets plant (Image: ASE Group)

The next stage, where the secondary circuit will be tested at a pressure of 11.5 MPa, will be completed within the first 10 days of this month.

ASE completed a test-run of all four of the main circulating pumps of the unit in July.

ASE, the engineering arm of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, is the general designer and main contractor of the project to build Belarus's first nuclear power plant, which is near Ostrovets in the Grodno region. It is being built using Russian VVER-1200 reactors to give 2340 MWe net capacity online. The first unit is scheduled for commissioning this year, with the second unit to be brought online in 2020.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News