The IPHWR (Indian Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor) is a class of Indian pressurized heavy-water reactors designed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. [1] The baseline 220 MWe design was developed from the CANDU based RAPS-1 and RAPS-2 reactors built at Rawatbhata, Rajasthan. Later the design was based on VVER technology which was scaled to 540 MW and 700 MW designs. Currently there are 17 units of various types operational at various locations in India.
The first PHWR units built in India (RAPS-1 and RAPS-2) are of Canadian CANDU design similar to the first full-scale Canadian reactor built at Douglas point, Ontario. The reactors were set up in collaboration with Government of Canada. Starting in 1963, 100 MWe RAPS-1 was mostly built with equipment and technology supplied by AECL, Canada. RAPS-1 was commissioned in 1973 but the cessation of Canadian cooperation in light of successful development of nuclear weapons by India as part of Operation Smiling Buddha the RAPS-2 commissioning could only be completed by 1981. India took help of Soviet Union whose VVER(Pressurised Water Reactor type) technology was used as a design for indigenization by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in partnership with Indian manufacturers Larsen & Toubro and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited. Successively, a totally Indian design of 220 MWe power capacity was designed and two units were built at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu state christened MAPS-1 and MAPS-2. MAPS-1&2 design was evolved from RAPS-1&2, with modifications carried out to suit the coastal location and also introduction of suppression pool to limit containment peak pressure under loss of coolant accident (LOCA) in lieu of dousing tanks in RAPS-1&2. In addition, MAPS-1&2 have partial double containment. This design was further improved and all subsequent PHWR units in India have double containment. [2]
With experience of design and operation of earlier units and indigenous R&D efforts, major modifications were introduced in NAPS-1&2. These units are the basis of standardized Indian PHWR units later designated as IPHWR-220.
The design of subsequent units i.e. KGS-1, KGS-2, RAPS-3, RAPS-4, RAPS-5, RAPS-6, KGS-3 and KGS-4 is of standard Indian PHWR design. The major improvements in these designs include valve-less primary heat transport system and a unitized control room concept. In addition, the design of these units included improvements in Control and Instrumentation system and incorporation of computer based systems to match with the advancement in technology.
Upon completion of the design of IPHWR-220, a larger 540 MWe design was started c. 1984 under the aegis of BARC in partnership with NPCIL. [3] Two reactors of this design were built in Tarapur, Maharashtra starting in the year 2000 and the first was commissioned on 12 September 2005.
The IPHWR-540 design was later upgraded to a 700 MWe with the main objective to improve fuel efficiency and develop a standardized design to be installed at many locations across India as a fleet-mode effort. The design was also upgraded to incorporate Generation III+ features.
The 700 MWe PHWR design includes some features, which are introduced for the first time in Indian PHWRs which include partial boiling at the coolant channel outlet, interleaving of primary heat transport system feeders, passive decay heat removal system, regional over power protection, containment spray system, mobile fuel transfer machine, and a steel liner on the inner containment wall. [4]
| Specifications | IPHWR-220 [2] | IPHWR-540 [5] [6] [7] [3] | IPHWR-700 [4] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thermal output, MWth | 754.5 | 1730 | 2166 |
| Active power, MWe | 220 | 540 | 700 |
| Efficiency, net % | 27.8 | 28.08 | 29.08 |
| Coolant temperature, °C: | |||
| core coolant inlet | 249 | 266 | 266 |
| core coolant outlet | 293.4 | 310 | 310 |
| Primary coolant material | Heavy Water | ||
| Secondary coolant material | Light Water | ||
| Moderator material | Heavy Water | ||
| Reactor operating pressure, kg/cm2 (g) | 87 | 100 | 100 |
| Active core height, cm | 508.5 | 594 | 594 |
| Equivalent core diameter, cm | 451 | - | 638.4 |
| Average fuel power density | 9.24 KW/KgU | - | 235 MW/m3 |
| Average core power density, MW/m3 | 10.13 | - | 12.1 |
| Fuel | Sintered Natural UO2 pellets | ||
| Cladding tube material | Zircaloy-2 | Zircaloy-4 | |
| Fuel assemblies | 3672 | 5096 | 4704 fuel bundles in 392 channels |
| Number of fuel rods in assembly | 19 elements in 3 rings | 37 | 37 elements in 4 rings |
| Enrichment of reload fuel | 0.7% U-235 | ||
| Fuel cycle length, Months | 24 | 12 | 12 |
| Average fuel burnup, MW · day / ton | 6700 | 7500 | 7050 |
| Control rods | SS/Co | Cadmium/SS | |
| Neutron absorber | Boric Anhydride | Boron | |
| Residual heat removal system | Active: Shutdown cooling system Passive: Natural circulation through steam generators | Active: Shutdown cooling system Passive: Natural circulation through steam generators and Passive Decay heat removal system | |
| Safety injection system | Emergency core cooling system | ||
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The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is India's premier nuclear research facility, headquartered in Trombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was founded by Homi Jehangir Bhabha as the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET) in January 1954 as a multidisciplinary research program essential for India's nuclear program. It operates under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India.
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A pressurized heavy-water reactor (PHWR) is a nuclear reactor that uses heavy water (deuterium oxide D2O) as its coolant and neutron moderator. PHWRs frequently use natural uranium as fuel, but sometimes also use very low enriched uranium. The heavy water coolant is kept under pressure to avoid boiling, allowing it to reach higher temperature (mostly) without forming steam bubbles, exactly as for a pressurized water reactor. While heavy water is very expensive to isolate from ordinary water (often referred to as light water in contrast to heavy water), its low absorption of neutrons greatly increases the neutron economy of the reactor, avoiding the need for enriched fuel. The high cost of the heavy water is offset by the lowered cost of using natural uranium and/or alternative fuel cycles. As of the beginning of 2001, 31 PHWRs were in operation, having a total capacity of 16.5 GW(e), representing roughly 7.76% by number and 4.7% by generating capacity of all current operating reactors.
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Types of nuclear fission reactor | |||||||||||||||
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| Light water | |||||||||||||||
| Heavy water by coolant |
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None (fast-neutron) |
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| Others | |||||||||||||||
