Welding of the main circulation pipeline has been completed at the Russia-supplied Kudankulam-3 nuclear power plant under construction in in Tamil Nadu, southern India, Atomstroyexport, the engineering division of Russia’s state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom said.
Atomstroyexport said welding of the main circulation pipeline is one of the most complex and critical stages of construction and installation work at a power unit. The welding work began in December 2022.
The main circulation pipeline connects the major equipment of a nuclear power plant – reactor, steam generators, reactor coolant pumps – and is a part of the primary circuit of a nuclear power plant.
Work is now scheduled to begin on various hydraulic tests and flushing of the primary circuit.
Construction of the Generation III Kudankulam-3, a VVER- V-412, 917-MW pressurised water reactor, began in June 2017.
There are three other units of the same design under construction at the site. Kudankulam-4 was started in 2017 and Kudankulam-5 and -6 in December 2021.
Kudankulam-1 and -2, also both VVER V-412 units, have been in commercial operation since December 2014 and March 2017 respectively.
