Rosatom Engineering Department (ASE) stated on December 2 that two types of automatic orbital welding machines have been activated at the Rooppur nuclear power plant under construction in Bangladesh.

Due to the joint work of Energospecmontazh JSC and ASE's Technology Transfer and Technology Policy Center, the design agency and the regulatory agency have agreed to use the new automatic welding machine.

Three automatic argon arc welding equipment (AAD) and one argon arc welding equipment based on the automatic pressure method are now in operation. Previously, this type of equipment was tested during the construction of the Novovoronezh-II nuclear power plants in Russia and Belarus.

AAD is 15% faster than manual welding. Their main advantage is to ensure consistent seam quality. Using the device in Novovoronezh shows that there is no need to redo the work, and a person sometimes admits that there is a defect and has to take time to repair it. These devices have been in use in Rooppur since September, but the main load will fall on them in 2022.

Bengali speakers received training to work at AAD. Students first completed a 16-hour theoretical course, followed by a two-week practical course. The AAD purchased by Energospecmontazh operates using argon arc welding technology with automatic wire feeding. The operator only needs to adjust the equipment to the pipeline parameters.

Another new type of automatic device is the automatic pressure (flash) method based on TIG welding technology. This makes welding joints 40% faster than professional welders. In this case, there is no need to prepare pipe joints. The only limitation of this technique is the diameter and wall thickness of the pipe being welded. Therefore, the automatic welding machine of Rooppur NPP is used in parallel with AAD.

Denis Kalinin, head of production system development at Energospecmontazh, said: “For us, welding using AAD and automatic pressure is not performed by welders, but by operators who can be trained within two weeks. This is very important for us. Important." "Our construction sites usually have enough installers, and qualified welders are always in short supply. A major advantage of automated equipment is that we can ensure high-quality and high-speed welding, allowing welders to perform more complex installation work. ." 

Polar crane installed at Rooppur 2

At the same time, work on the Rooppur nuclear power plant is in progress. The polar crane bridge was installed at Rooppur 2 on November 29.

Experts from Energospecmontazh used Liebherr heavy-duty crawler cranes with a lifting capacity of 1,350 tons to lift the beams of the polar crane bridge and install them on the track at an altitude of +38.50 meters.

"The installation of the polar crane is one of the most important events in the construction of the power plant," said Aleksey Deriy, ASE vice president and director of the Rooppur nuclear power plant construction project. "After the crane is adjusted and tested, the main heavy equipment and pipelines in the reactor compartment will be installed."

Currently, the installation of structures and crane mechanisms on the crane runway is in progress. After the nuclear power plant is put into operation, the crane will be used for maintenance work and fuel transportation.

The Rooppur factory was built by Rosatom and is located on the east bank of the Ganges in Pabna District, about 160 kilometers northwest of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It will include two VVER-1200 reactors: Rooppur 1 is scheduled to start operation in 2023, followed by Rooppur 2 in 2024.

Rooppur is using an automatic argon arc welding device (photo source: Rosatom)