Pentair Valves & Controls has announced the specification of Sempell pressurizer safety relief valve (PSRV) systems at the new Barakah nuclear plant in the United Arab Emirates. The PSRV systems are the first pilot-operated safety relief valves with the ASME NV-Stamp, and will be used in all four planned units at Barakah.
Traditionally associated with oil exports, the United Arab Emirates is exploring nuclear power generation to meet needs for electrical power, which is expected to grow 5.5 from GWe in 2011 to over 40 GWe in 2020. The Barakah site is the first nuclear power plant in the UAE, and results from a partnership between the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) and the Korea Electric Power Cooperation (KEPCO). The site is set to house four APR-1400 third generation reactors built according to a modified Korean design, and is expected to be fully operational by 2017. The units will have a generation capacity of 1.4 GW each, supplying power to a significant proportion of the UAE.
Doosan Heavy Industries, one of the subcontractors used by KEPCO to supply turbines and generators to the project, specified Sempell PSRV systems in compact design type VS99 for use in the pressurized water reactors (PWR) at the Barakah plant. The PSRV systems are specially designed and engineered for the Korean reactor designs, and have been subject to four years’ development, manufacturing and testing to ensure their suitability and performance. Sempell’s PSRV systems meet ASME III and QME 1 approvals, providing the highest safety assurances. The pilot-operated PSRV systems for application within the primary circuit protect it from extensive pressure increases. These form part of the four compact valve stations welded directly on the top of the pressurizer in a horizontal position in each reactor unit to achieve optimized pipe conduction.
