The Hindu : National : Tarapur 4 to go critical in December

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 15, 2004

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National

Tarapur 4 to go critical in December

By T.S. Subramanian

The reactor containment buildings of the Tarapur Atomic Power Project-3 (left) and TAPP-4 (right) at Tarapur, Maharashtra. The TAPP-4 is all set to be commissioned in December and it will generate 540 Mwe. - Photo courtesy: Department of Atomic Energy

CHENNAI, SEPT. 14. The fourth unit of the Tarapur Atomic Power Project (TAPP), Maharashtra, is all set to generate electricity from December with the successful completion of the leak test of its reactor building on September 13. It has established the integrity of the containment and the efficacy of its design. TAPP-3 and 4 reactors have a capacity of 540 MWe each. The third reactor will reach criticality in 2005.

S.K. Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited, described the completion of the leak test as "a major step towards criticality."

TAPP-3 and 4 are India's next generation reactors, incorporating the latest safety features in line with the international codes and practices. Called Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors, they use natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as both moderator and coolant. TAPP-3 and 4 are forerunners to India's 700 MWe reactors to be built in the near future. P.C. Rawal is the Principal Project Director, TAPP-3 and 4. So far, India has built 12 PHWRS of 220 Mwe capacity each.

`Dome-inside dome'

The reactor buildings of TAPP-3 and 4 have a double-containment — the buildings are topped with two domes using a "dome-inside dome" concept. This state-of-the-art containment system is to prevent the leak of radioactivity into the atmosphere in case of incident/accident. The building houses the reactor core, that is, the reactor and all other critical nuclear components including the steam generators. The circular reactor containment building is 50.5 metres tall and has a diameter of 60 metres, making it one of the largest containment volumes for any reactor in the world. The walls of the two containment domes are made of high-strength, high-performance concrete. Work on TAPP-4 began in March 2000 and it will reach criticality almost one year ahead of schedule.

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