The world's first Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear power plants moved a step closer to commissioning this week with completion of the cold hydrostatic tests (CHT) at Sanmen Unit 1 in Zhejiang Province, China. The successful completion of the tests confirms that the reactor systems meet design pressures under operating and accident conditions, Westinghouse said in a statement. It also indicates successful completion of the plant's design and construction programs.
Every step at Sanmen 1 is a first for the AP1000 and a revelation for Westinghouse and for the industry. “The test confirms that critical components within the reactor coolant system works as designed,” said Westinghouse senior vice president of New Plants and Major Projects Jeff Benjamin.
Completion of the tests “puts us in a great position to load fuel,” said Benjamin, who estimated that step would occur before the end of the year.
The CHT was initiated on May 25 and completed within four hours. The unit's reactor systems maintained a test pressure of 3,107 pounds-per-square-inch for 10 minutes without leakage. More than 1,800 welds were examined after the test and none of them leaked under that enormous pressure, Westinghouse said.
Completion of the CHT leads the way to the next two commissioning milestones: Hot functional tests and initial fuel load. The hot functional tests area an across-the-board test of all the plant's systems. Fuel loading is done after that test is successful.
Each step completed also informs other AP1000 projects around the world. There are AP1000 construction projects underway at Haiyang in Shandong Province – which is gearing up for a CHT process in the coming weeks – and at Sanmen Unit 2, Haiyang Unit 2 and at four units under construction in the United States, two at the Vogtle expansion project near Waynesboro, Ga., and two at the V.C. Summer project in Jenkinsville, S.C.