Russia’s Atommash has manufactured the lower half of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) for China’s Tianwan-7 nuclear power plant.
Welding of the 160-tonne structure took 12 days after which the component was placed for three days in a special furnace operating at 650°C.
In a nuclear power plant, the RPV is one of the largest reactor components, a vessel containing the nuclear reactor coolant, core shroud, and the reactor core and fuel.
Atommash assembled the lower half of the RPV in May 2021 and the upper half in July 2021.
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