<p>"The 65-tonne inner vessel has been successfully installed and bolted precisely inside the main vessel. The process started at 6 a.m. Friday and got over around 2 a.m. Saturday without any scratch to any of the components," Prabhat Kumar, project director at Bhavini, told IANS. <br /><br />With the meteorological department forecasting a clear sky Friday, Bhavini officials decided to lower the 11-metre tall conical shaped inner vessel into the already erected main vessel. <br /><br />The inner vessel, which would support reactor components like pumps and heat exchangers, was ready for installation for nearly a week but cloudy weather deterred the officials to proceed further. <br /><br />The sodium-cooled PFBR designed by the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) has three vessels -- a safety vessel, a main vessel and an inner vessel. A breeder reactor is one that breeds more material for a nuclear fission reaction than it consumes. <br /><br />Outer-most is the stainless steel safety vessel (200 tonnes, 13 metres in diameter and 13 metres in depth) which was lowered into the reactor vault in June 2008. <br /><br />The main vessel - 12.9 metres in diameter and 12.94 metres in height, weighing 206 tonnes - was lowered into the safety vessel December 2009. <br /><br />The project achieved its third milestone in May this year when another critical component, thermal baffle, a cylindrical safety vessel weighing 60 tonnes, measuring 12 metres in diameter and more than six metres in height, was lowered into the main vessel. <br /><br />The inner vessel installation process consists of opening and closing the reactor vault cover (now temporary), lifting the heavy component by a crane, lowering it into the main vessel at a precise position and bolting it properly. <br /><br />"Precision is the major challenge in this operation though tonnage-wise inner vessel is much lighter than the other two vessels that were erected earlier," Kumar said. <br /><br />But the process wasn't entirely smooth. "One of the hydraulic systems in a jack used to lift the inner vessel was found to be malfunctioning. It had to be replaced immediately," Kumar said. <br /><br />The PFBR is expected to start operations next September. After erecting the inner vessel, the top opening will be covered with a component called 'roof slab' and the main vessel will be welded to it. <br /><br />Other reactor components will be inserted into the main vessel through the opening in the roof slab. <br /><br />Kumar is confident that 95 percent of the reactor components would be received by the end of this year. <br /></p>
<p>"The 65-tonne inner vessel has been successfully installed and bolted precisely inside the main vessel. The process started at 6 a.m. Friday and got over around 2 a.m. Saturday without any scratch to any of the components," Prabhat Kumar, project director at Bhavini, told IANS. <br /><br />With the meteorological department forecasting a clear sky Friday, Bhavini officials decided to lower the 11-metre tall conical shaped inner vessel into the already erected main vessel. <br /><br />The inner vessel, which would support reactor components like pumps and heat exchangers, was ready for installation for nearly a week but cloudy weather deterred the officials to proceed further. <br /><br />The sodium-cooled PFBR designed by the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) has three vessels -- a safety vessel, a main vessel and an inner vessel. A breeder reactor is one that breeds more material for a nuclear fission reaction than it consumes. <br /><br />Outer-most is the stainless steel safety vessel (200 tonnes, 13 metres in diameter and 13 metres in depth) which was lowered into the reactor vault in June 2008. <br /><br />The main vessel - 12.9 metres in diameter and 12.94 metres in height, weighing 206 tonnes - was lowered into the safety vessel December 2009. <br /><br />The project achieved its third milestone in May this year when another critical component, thermal baffle, a cylindrical safety vessel weighing 60 tonnes, measuring 12 metres in diameter and more than six metres in height, was lowered into the main vessel. <br /><br />The inner vessel installation process consists of opening and closing the reactor vault cover (now temporary), lifting the heavy component by a crane, lowering it into the main vessel at a precise position and bolting it properly. <br /><br />"Precision is the major challenge in this operation though tonnage-wise inner vessel is much lighter than the other two vessels that were erected earlier," Kumar said. <br /><br />But the process wasn't entirely smooth. "One of the hydraulic systems in a jack used to lift the inner vessel was found to be malfunctioning. It had to be replaced immediately," Kumar said. <br /><br />The PFBR is expected to start operations next September. After erecting the inner vessel, the top opening will be covered with a component called 'roof slab' and the main vessel will be welded to it. <br /><br />Other reactor components will be inserted into the main vessel through the opening in the roof slab. <br /><br />Kumar is confident that 95 percent of the reactor components would be received by the end of this year. <br /></p>