Chennai, Oct 9: Russia's integrated atomic power entity, Rosatom State Corporation, conducted tests for the critical systems of the upcoming third and fourth 1,000 MW nuclear power plants at Kudankulam. The tests were performed in Russia with representatives from the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL).

Rosatom stated that the In-Core Instrumentation System (ICIS) and System for Integrated Analysis (SIA) for Unit 3 at Kudankulam underwent testing by Rusatom Automated Control Systems JSC (RASU JSC, a company of Rosatom) in collaboration with NPCIL representatives.

Additionally, testing of automated leakage detection subsystems for Units 3 and 4 was successfully completed, as mentioned by the Russian company.

Acceptance tests and comprehensive integration tests were conducted at the manufacturer's site, Specialized Scientific Research Institute for Instrumentation Engineering (SNIIP JSC, a company under the management of RASU JSC).

ICIS is a crucial component of the Instrumentation and Control System, primarily responsible for monitoring nuclear fuel and reactor safety parameters. It monitors power density fields, temperature fields, and oversees process parameters in various reactor operating modes, including abnormal situations.

According to Rosatom, ICIS and SIA were the first subsystems to be confirmed as ready. Equipment within these systems facilitates the acquisition, analysis, and transmission of information regarding the reactor's status to the Main Control Room (MCR).

Following this, leakage monitoring systems were tested in collaboration with NPCIL representatives.

Post-testing, the equipment will be shipped to India before the end of 2023.

“All these subsystems are part of MCDS -- reactor monitoring, control and diagnostic system. They ensure monitoring and control of the reactor plant in different operating modes, and have a project-specific design that takes into account technical features of the future power unit and the customer’s requirements,” said Dmitry Kukushkin, Head of Kudankulam NPP I&C Project Office, RASU JSC.

Similar equipment, developed in collaboration with NRC Kurchatov Institute, was installed in Units 1 and 2 almost 20 years ago and has been operating without any issues, as per Rosatom's statement.