Hot functional tests began on 1 September at unit 2 of Russia’s Novovoronezh II NPP, according to state nuclear corporation Rosatom. This is the most important stage of commissioning, which precedes the physical start-up of the unit to confirm its reliable and safe operation, the state nuclear corporation said. Vladimir Kazansky, deputy chief engineer for the construction of new units at Novovoronezh II, said the 144 hot tests will take about 50 days and will include running the four main circulation pumps at a coolant temperature of 280 degrees Celsius and a pressure of 16.0 MPa. They will also include checks on the power supply, steam pipes, safety systems and reactor control and protection systems.
The VVER 1200/392M pressurised water reactor unit with a design net capacity of 1,114MWe is the second of two units at Novovoronezh II, which is the lead project for the deployment of the AES-2006 design incorporating a Gidropress-designed reactor, an evolutionary development from the VVER-1000. Unit 1 was connected to the grid in August 2016.
