Reactor Monitoring Systems for reactors 3 and 4 of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, which are under construction, have been successfully tested in Russia.
The In-Core Instrumentation System (ICIS) and System for Integrated Analysis (SIA) for reactor 3 were tested by Rusatom Automated Control Systems JSC (RASU JSC, a company of Rosatom State Corporation), together with representatives of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).
At the same time, testing of automated leakage detection sub-systems for Units 3 and 4 was also completed. Acceptance tests and comprehensive integration tests were carried out recently at the site of the manufacturer, Specialized Scientific Research Institute for Instrumentation Engineering (SNIIP) JSC.
The ICIS and the SIA were the first sub-systems to receive a confirmation of readiness. Equipment within these systems ensured acquisition, analysis and transmission of information on the reactor state to Main Control Room (MCR). After that, leakage monitoring systems were tested, together with the NPCIL representatives. Following successful completion of the tests, the equipment will be shipped to KKNPP site by the year-end.
“All these sub-systems are part of the MCDS – reactor monitoring, control and diagnostic system. They ensure monitoring and control of the reactor in different operating modes and have a project-specific design that takes into account technical features of the future power unit and the customer’s requirements. In this case, the equipment has been designed for KKNPP Units 3 and 4 with VVER-1000 reactors”, said Dmitry Kukushkin, Head of KKNPP I&C Project Office, RASU JSC.
Similar equipment, developed together with NRC Kurchatov Institute, was installed at Kudankulam NPP Units 1 and 2 almost 20 years ago, and it had been operating without any issues, sources in the NPCIL and Rosatom said.
