Russia’s Kalinin NPP has completed procedures to replace the turbine condenser as part of the large-scale modernisation of equipment at unit 3, the plant said on 5 September. The work was carried out in accordance with a wider programme to remove all copper-containing equipment from the secondary circuit of NPPs to improve the operating reliability of their steam generators. Kalinin-3, along with other NPPs built in the Soviet time, initially had the turbine condenser with tubing made of a copper-containing alloy, which is susceptible to metal corrosion, the plant explained. Copper does not allow changes to the water chemistry of the secondary coolant, which, in turn, affects adversely the lifetime performance of steam generators. Kalinin-3 has also replaced the generator stator and modernized low-pressure cylinder No 2 at the turbine in the course of the scheduled repair programme. Two wall panels were dismantled to deliver large-size equipment in the turbine hall. Kalinin-3 was stopped for repair and maintenance in May and is now once again operating at full power.
