AEM Technology, part of the Atomenergomash engineering division of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, has welded together the upper and lower parts of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) for unit 1 of the Rooppur nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.
The 10-day operation involved continuous heating of the seam to a temperature of 150-300 degrees Celsius. During that time, about two tonnes of flux and more than one-and-a-half tonnes of wire with a diameter of 4 mm were used. After welding, the 320-tonne RPV was transferred by crane to a furnace to be heat treated for two days. The equipment will then be subjected to x-ray, ultrasonic and capillary inspections.
Two 1200 MWe (gross) VVER-1200 units are being built at Rooppur, which is on the eastern bank of the river Ganges at Rooppur, 160 km from Dhaka.
