Discussion on Nuclear Power Valves

Nuclear power valve refers to the valve used in nuclear island N1, conventional island CI and BOP system of power station auxiliary facilities in nuclear power plants. From the safety level, it is divided into nuclear safety level I, II, III and non-nuclear level. Among them, nuclear safety level I has the highest requirements. Nuclear power valves are the most widely used medium transmission control equipment in nuclear power plants, and are an indispensable and important part of the safe operation of nuclear power plants.

1. Domestic nuclear power valve level

◆At present, 19 domestic enterprises have obtained the design and production qualification license for civil nuclear pressure equipment issued by the National Nuclear Safety Administration, and can design and produce nuclear-grade valves. The types of valves it designs and produces include gate valves, globe valves, check valves, ball valves, butterfly valves, spring-type safety valves, regulating valves, throttle valves, diaphragm valves, bellows globe valves, etc. Among the 19 enterprises, there are five enterprises with design and production of nuclear grade I valves. Most of the domestically produced valves for nuclear power plants are non-nuclear and nuclear II and III valves. Shanghai Valve No. 5 Factory Co., Ltd. is an important supplier of domestic nuclear power valves. The development of domestic nuclear-grade valves started in the early 1960s. Up to now, after decades of hard work, a certain scale of nuclear-grade valve design, experiment, manufacturing and testing capabilities have been formed in China, and a large number of nuclear-grade and non-nuclear-grade valves have been provided for the construction of Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant Phase I and Phase II. It has made important contributions to the localization of nuclear power valves.

◆At present, China has successfully developed and produced Class I electric gate valves and check valves for pressurized water reactor nuclear island nuclear; High level nuclear grade valve. At the same time, with the guidance of the country's nuclear power development policy, this capability is being rapidly strengthened and expanded. Some important valves in nuclear islands and conventional islands in nuclear power plants, such as pilot-operated safety valves, regulating valves, and main steam isolation valves, cannot provide mature and reliable products in China. At the same time, due to the limitations of domestic nuclear power valve experimental testing methods, as well as technical and management reasons, nuclear power valve products have less reliability data, low level of automatic control, and unstable product quality, which needs to be further improved. Nuclear power is based on safety and reliability as the first principle. This is the fundamental problem of the technical level and quality of nuclear power valve products that our valve companies need to make great efforts to solve, and it is also the focus of the industry. It takes measures in technology, talent, policy, software, hardware and management to solve it.

2. Introduction to foreign nuclear power valves

◆Compared with domestic nuclear power valves, foreign nuclear power valves are complete in variety. The United States built the world's first experimental nuclear reactor in 1942, and the former Soviet Union built the world's first nuclear power plant in 1954. In the development of nuclear power technology for more than 60 years, only for nuclear power valves, a complete system of design, experiment, manufacture and inspection has been formed abroad, and a large amount of experience has been accumulated. The products are mature and the technology is reliable. Western companies such as Westinghouse Company in the United States, Vilan Company in Canada, and Ferratone in France have mastered contemporary advanced nuclear power technology. Vilan's nuclear power valves have a good supply record in almost 90% of the world's nuclear power plants. Many important nuclear and non-nuclear valves in nuclear islands and conventional islands in nuclear power plants in the world, such as pilot-operated safety valves, main steam isolation valves, regulating valves, etc., have been adopted by well-known valve companies in developed countries. Monopoly and very expensive.

3. Technical status and development direction of nuclear power valves

◆With the continuous and rapid development of my country's national economy, very urgent requirements have been put forward to my country's energy industry. At present, in view of the urgent needs of ensuring my country's energy security, optimizing the energy structure, and supporting the sustainable development of the national economy, my country has formulated policies based on thermal power, vigorously develop hydropower, and moderately develop new energy sources, such as nuclear power and wind power. . The construction of nuclear power in our country is being adjusted from experimental and compensatory to strategic and aggressive development. This is an excellent development opportunity for my country's nuclear power industry, and the huge demand for nuclear power plant valves has brought broad market prospects to domestic and foreign valve manufacturers.

◆The continuous improvement of the degree of localization in the field of nuclear power is beneficial to solving the valve matching capacity. In order to reduce the cost of nuclear power, the country actively promotes the localization of various important equipment in the nuclear power industry policy. For the production of nuclear power valve enterprises, on the basis of striving for the support of the national industrial policy, increase the strength of independent research and development, and unite various companies. External cooperative manufacturers can make breakthroughs in valve driving devices, control devices and transmission devices, and solve the bottleneck problem that restricts the performance of the valve as a whole.