Eight hydraulic tanks of the passive core filling system (SPZAZ) have been installed in the reactor building of unit 2 at the Akkuyu NPP being constructed in Türkiye by Rosatom. The tanks are part of the passive safety system of the plant. Installation of the eight containers took nine days.
The SPZAZ hydraulic tank is a thick-walled stainless-steel vessel weighing 77 tonnes (96 tonnes with supports) and a volume of 120 cubic metres. During plant operation, each container will be filled with a solution of boric acid. If the pressure in the primary circuit of the reactor plant drops below a certain level, the solution is automatically supplied to the core, ensuring cooling of the reactor.
“These are the last large elements of the primary circuit of the reactor plant, which are installed using Open Top technology,” noted Sergei Butskikh, General Director of project company Akkuyu Nukleer. “At the subsequent stage of construction, we will install the sixth tier and the dome part of the internal containment. The SPZAZ is one of the plant protection systems, which together minimise the likelihood of emergency situations even in the absence of power supply.”
Akkuyu NPP will eventually host four Russian-designed VVER-1200 reactors. The pouring of first concrete for unit 1 took place in April 2018, for unit 2 in June 2020, for unit 3 in March 2021, and for unit 4 in July 2022. Rosatom is constructing the reactors according to a build-own-operate model. Work continues at the facilities of all four units and auxiliary structures. In total, the project provides for the construction of 560 buildings and structures as part of a large-scale infrastructure complex.
