The inner containment dome has been installed at unit 6 of China’s Lufeng NPP in Guangdong province. It is the first of two HPR1000 (Hualong One) units being built at the site, where four CAP1000s are also planned.
The proposed construction of four 1,250 MWe CAP1000 reactors (units 1-4) was approved by China’s National Development & Reform Commission in September 2014, but construction of units 1&2 did not receive State Council approval until August 2024, with approval for units 3&4 still pending.
However, in April 2022 the State Council approved construction of two Hualong One units at Lufeng as units 5&6. First concrete for Lufeng 5 was poured the following September and for Lufeng 6 in August 2023. The two units are expected to be connected to the grid in 2028 and 2029.
China General Nuclear (CGN) said the installation of the dome “marks the successful capping of the reactor building of the Hualong One nuclear power unit”, noting that construction had officially moved from civil construction to equipment installation.
The 238-tonne steel dome measuring 45 metres in diameter and almost 14 metres in height was lifted some 60 metres above ground level using a crawler crane and lowered into position on top of the walls of the double containment structure. An outer dome will subsequently be installed over the inner one.
“The project construction team accurately predicted the difficulties of hoisting through simulation and deduction of the whole process, and comprehensively used 3D laser simulation and real-scene replication technology, finite element analysis, real-time meteorological monitoring and other technical means to ensure that the dome was successfully hoisted into place in one go,” said Zhang Weixiao, the official in charge of the lifting operation.
The main function of the dome is to ensure the integrity and leak tightness of the reactor building.
According to CGN, once all six units are in operation, the Lufeng plant will generate about 52 TWh, which will reduce standard coal consumption by almost 16m tonnes and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 42m tonnes.
