Nuclear power plant units

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

Teollisuuden Voima Oy • Nuclear Power Plant Units Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2
“Always as good as new”
 Contents

TVO – A world-class nuclear power company 3

860 MW boiling water reactors OL1 and OL2 4

A cross-section of the OL1 and OL2 6

■ REACTOR PLANT 8

Reactor building 9

Reactor containment 11

Reactor 13

Reactor core and fuel 15

Control rods 19

Main circulation system 21

■ TURBINE PLANT 22

Turbines and generator 23

Condensate and feedwater 26

Sea water circuit 27

■ WATER CHEMISTRY 28

■ INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL SYSTEMS 30

■ ELECTRICAL POWER SYSTEMS 32

■ SAFETY 34

■ OFF-GAS SYSTEM 38

■ WASTE TREATMENT SYSTEMS 40

■ ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION 42

■ TRAINING SIMULATOR 44

Technical data 46

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 1

2 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2
 TVO – a world-class
nuclear power company

Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO) is a limited company At the top by international comparison

founded in 1969. TVO generates electricity for its own- The capacity factors of the Olkiluoto power plant units,
ers at cost price and builds new power generation which are high even by international standards, testify to
capacity. TVO owns and operates the nuclear power plant TVO’s nuclear power competence. Ever since the early
at Olkiluoto. 1990s, the OL1 and OL2 capacity factors have remained
Output from the nuclear power plant units at Olkiluo- between 93 % and 97 %, a tribute to their dependability.
to is currently equal to about one sixth of the electricity This achievement is the result of careful, anticipatory
consumed in Finland. planning of annual outages and modifications. The radia-
tion doses received by personnel working at the Olkiluoto
Solid nuclear power competence power plant are low by international comparison.
TVO has a personnel of about 700. Personnel turnover
is low, and those employees who have been with the Doing things the TVO way
company since the Olkiluoto power plant units went on As a nuclear power company, TVO is committed to a
stream have each accumulated up to 30 years of experi- high-level safety culture whose principles dictate that
ence in their operation and maintenance. every matter is processed according to its safety implica-
Throughout its existence, TVO has trained its per- tions and that a high level of reliability and production
sonnel to improve their nuclear power competence. The security are aimed for. Safety and its contributing factors
company follows current trends in the field by participat- always take priority over economic targets.
ing in international programmes on the development of TVO’s vision for the future is to remain a world-class
reactor types, which have yielded up-to-date data and nuclear power company that is highly valued by Finn-
helped maintain contact with leading experts. ish society. To this end, TVO pursues a responsible and
The company has also acquired nuclear power com- proactive policy of continuous improvement in transpar-
petence in the projects to uprate OL1 and OL2 and to ent cooperation with its interest groups.
modernize them, and other target-scale development and
construction projects. The modernization projects have
improved the safety, production capacity and economy of
the power plant units.

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 3

 860 MW boiling water reactors
OL1 and OL2

The TVO nuclear power plant units, Olkiluoto 1 and The OL1 unit was first connected to the national grid
Olkiluoto 2 (OL1 and OL2), are identical. Both have a in September 1978, and the OL2 unit in February 1980.
boiling water reactor with a current net output of 860 There are seven main types of nuclear reactor in com-
MW. mercial use worldwide. Most of them are pressurized-
The power plant units were supplied by AB Asea At- water reactors or boiling-water reactors, collectively
om of Sweden (today Westinghouse Electric Sweden AB), known as light-water reactors. In these, purified and
the first one on a turnkey basis and the second one with demineralized water is used as both a coolant and
construction work undertaken by TVO. moderator.
The major subcontractors for the units were STAL- The most common type of reactor in the world is the
LAVAL Turbin AB (turbine plant), ASEA AB (electri- pressurized-water reactor (PWR). More than 60 % of all
cal equipment, generator), Uddcomb Sweden AB (reac- nuclear reactors are PWRs. The runner-up is the boiling-
tor pressure vessel), Finnatom (reactor internal parts, water reactor (BWR), with a share of just over 20 %.
mechanical components), Oy Strömberg Ab (electrical The other reactor types in common use are the pres-
equipment) and Atomirakennus (OL1 civil engineering surized heavy water reactor (PHWR), the gas-cooled re-
consortium). The OL2 construction work was carried out actor (Magnox), the advanced gas-cooled reactor with
by a Finnish-Swedish consortium, Jukola. graphite moderator (AGR), the high-power channel re-
actor with graphite moderator, developed in the Soviet
Union (RBMK), and the fast breeder reactor (FBR).

Nuclear power plants in commercial operation, year 2005 (source: World Nuclear Industry Handbook 2006)

Reactor type Main Countries Number GWe Fuel Coolant Moderator

Pressurised water reactor US, France, 268 249 enriched UO2 water water
Japan, Russia
Boiling Water Reactor US, Japan, 94 85 enriched UO2 water water
Sweden
Gas-cooled Reactor UK 23 12 natural U, CO2 graphite
(Magnox & AGR) enriched UO2
Pressurised Heavy Water Canada 40 22 UO2 heavy water heavy water
Reactor, ”CANDU” (PHWR)
Light Water Graphite Reactor Russia 12 12 enriched UO2 water graphite
(RBMK)
Fast Neutron Reactor Japan, France, 4 1 PuO2 and UO2 liquid sodium none
Russia
Total 441 381

4 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Operating principle of the boiling water reactor

4 6
1

2 7

3
10

8
9

In a boiling water reactor, the water boils as it passes between connected to the generator (7), which generates electricity that is
the fuel rods (1) in the reactor. The reactor output is regulated then fed into the national grid. The steam exiting the LP turbines
with control rods (2) and the recirculation pumps (3). The steam is condensed into water in the condenser (8), using sea water (9)
generated in the reactor is transferred to the high-pressure (HP) as coolant. The condensed water is conveyed through preheaters
turbine (4) through the main steam lines. Having expended part of and a clean-up system to the feedwater pumps (10), which feed the
its energy in the HP turbine, the steam is then transferred to the re- water back into the reactor. The heated cooling water is pumped
heaters (5), where it is dried and superheated and then transferred back into the sea.
to the low-pressure (LP) turbines (6). All the turbines are coaxially

Always as good as new

Modernization and modification projects
TVO pursues a long-term, careful schedule of mainte-
nance to keep the OL1 and OL2 units in a condition al-
Modernization and reactor uprating,
ways as good as new. They are also systematically upgrad-
electrical output from 660 MW to 710 MW 1983 – 1984
ed to match current requirements. Both the Olkiluoto
units undergo a maintenance outage and a refuelling out-
age in alternative years. The longer maintenance outage
Construction of interim storage
lasts some two weeks. Maintenance outage involves refu-
facility for spent fuel (KPA storage) 1984 – 1987
elling, scheduled inspections, anticipatory maintenance
and repairs, and also major modification and moderniza-
tion work and inspection of the condition of the power Containment filtered
plant unit. The refuelling outage is a short, compact out- venting system (SAM) 1986 – 1989
age with as little modification work done as possible.
In addition to this schedule, both units undergo a
longer, extensive service outage roughly every ten years Plant-identical training
to allow for major modifications. simulator at Olkiluoto 1988 – 1990
Between 1995 and 1998, both units were the focus of
an extensive modernization programme (MODE), which
involved some 40 major projects. In both units, the steam Construction of final repository for low- and
separator, generator and main transformer were changed; intermediate-level radioactive waste (VLJ cave) 1988 – 1992
the internal components of the low-pressure turbines and
the turbine control and protection system were replaced;
and the high-pressure turbine was modified. Modernization programme (MODE) and
The Turbine Island Modernisation project (TIMO), reactor uprating, electrical output from
timed to coincide with the annual outages in 2005-2006, 710 MW to 840 MW 1995 – 1998
continued the modernization of the turbine plant with
the replacement of the reheaters, high-pressure turbines,
steam dryers and 6.6 kV switchgear plant and the mod- Turbine plant modernization (TIMO),
ernization of turbine process automation in both power electrical output from 840 MW to 860 MW 2005 – 2006
plant units.

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 5

 A Cross-section of the OL1 and OL2

16

19
21
22
23 20

18 17

24
27 29

26

28

25
30
40

39
41

38

1. Reactor building 16. Turbine building 32. Main control room

2. Reactor pressure vessel 17. High pressure turbine 33. Entrance building
3. Recirculation pumps 18. Reheater 34. Lift
4. Control rod drives 19. Cross-over pipes 35. Ventilation stack
5. Reactor pressure vessel cover 20. Low pressure turbines 36. SAM scrubber (filtered venting system
6. Containment cover 21. Generator of the containment)
7. Containment cover lifted off 22. Exciter 37. Active workshop/laboratory building
(during annual outages) 23. Main transformer (only OL1)
8. Main steam lines 24. Condenser 38. Radioactive waste building
9. Reactor service bridge 25. Condensate line 39. Low and medium-level radioactive
10. Reactor pool 26. Condensate purification system waste storage
11. Fuel pool 27. Low pressure preheaters 40. Liquid waste storage tanks
12. Upper dry-well of containment 28. Feedwater pumps 41. Solid waste system
13. Lower dry-well of containment 29. High pressure preheaters 42. Make-up water tank
14. Condensation pool of containment 30. Auxiliary systems building
15. Main steam lines 31. Control building

6 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 35

7
9

10 34

6
11 5

8 12

2 31

33

36
3 32
15

14

13

42

37 Unit layout

Z
1

Z1

Z1
A Containment OL1 and OL2 X
B Reactor Building
D Turbine building only OL1 T
E Main control room
F Radioactive waste building
H Auxiliary buildings
N Active workshop/laboratory building H D H
(only OL1)
P Entrance building
T Cooling water supply
X Switchgear F N B A E
Z Main transformer
Z1 Startup transformers

N P

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 7

 REACTOR PLANT
Reactor plant

The reactor building encloses the containment of the reactor, which in turn
contains the reactor pressure vessel. The reactor cores of OL1 and OL2
contain 500 fuel assemblies each. The output of the reactor is regulated
with control rods and the recirculation pumps.

8 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Reactor building

Reactor plant
The reactor building is the highest and most dominant Cross-section of the reactor building
building of the plant units. It encloses the containment and the containment
of the reactor.
The reactor building serves as a secondary contain-
ment. The reactor hall, at the top of the building, con-
tains the reactor pool and fuel pools with storage racks 5
and pools for reactor internals, the reactor service bridge
for refuelling operations, and the overhead crane for han- 4

dling the containment cover, the reactor vessel cover and

other heavy components.
Dry storage facilities for receiving and storing fresh fuel
are located at floor level below the reactor hall.
The bottom part of the reactor building contains sepa-
rate compartments for important, safety-related systems, 3

such as the emergency cooling systems. 2

1
Physical separation
At the Olkiluoto power plant units the safety-related sys- 6
14
tems are divided into four redundancy systems (A, B, C 7
10
and D) that are separated from one another. Systematic 9 8

separation provides effective built-in protection against

the hazards associated with fires, flooding, crashing air- 11

craft and other external impacts. 12

The redundancy circuits of safety-related systems in
the Olkiluoto plant unit are assigned to two main groups,
which are located in physically separated areas. A separa-
tion by distance or by means of barriers is used between
the redundancy systems (A/C and B/D, respectively). 13
This principle is also applied to the electric power sup-
ply and the control equipment. Areas housing equipment
belonging to different redundancy groups are ventilated
and cooled by separate ventilation subsystems.

1. Reactor pressure vessel 8. Containment

2. Main steam lines 9. Control rod service platform
3. Fuel pool 10. Blow-down pipes
4. Reactor service bridge 11. Embedded steel liner
5. Reactor hall crane 12. Condensation pool
6. Recirculation pumps 13. Scram system tracks
7. Control rod drives 14. SAM-scrubber

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 9

Reactor plant

Reactor core 85 cm concrete

Pressure vessel wall, 0.5 cm steel liner

15 cm steel

Biological shield, 25 cm concrete

200 cm concrete

The reactor pressure vessel is enclosed in

a containment made of concrete and steel.

Containment

Fuel Steam Reactor Steam Fuel

pool separator pool dryer pool
pool pool

Containment
fill-up line

Relief line
Upper drywell
Upper personnel air lock

Containment wall
Blowdown
pipes
Steel liner

Wetwell

SAM-scrubber
Condensation pool

Lower drywell
Flooding line

Nitrogen
Lower personnel air lock
Water

Concrete

10 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Reactor containment

Reactor plant
The reactor containment is made of prestressed concrete. valve. A relief line with rupture disc activation is provid-
The containment is based on the principle of pressure- ed to exclude the possibility of a rapid containment fail-
suppression. This allows for a compact containment de- ure in the case of pressure suppression bypass. There is a
sign, with the minimum amount of equipment installed scrubber unit (SAM) for the containment gas cleanup to
inside the containment. relieve the containment pressure following a severe acci-
The use of internal main circulation pumps has al- dent. The lower drywell can be flooded by opening lines
lowed a further reduction of the containment volume. from the wetwell pool. A line is provided to fill the con-
All components requiring regular servicing during the tainment with water from an outside source.
normal operation of the reactor are located outside the
containment.
The tightness of the containment is ensured by a
steel liner embedded in the concrete and the steel cover
of the containment. The concrete protects the steel liner The reactor steel cover is fixed with 120 bolts.
against corrosion, thermal transients and hot water and The cover is sealed with O-ring seals.
any steam jets or missiles that may occur in the event of a
pipe rupture.
The tightness of the containment vessel is checked
regularly, every fourth year. When the plant unit is in
operation the containment is filled with inert gas. Fur-
thermore, the design incorporates permanently installed
systems for recombination of hydrogen and oxygen that
prevent the accumulation of dangerous combustible gas
mixtures inside the containment following an accidental
loss of coolant. The containment is divided into the up-
per and lower drywell, and the wetwell.
Access to the containment is gained through air locks
at the bottom of the lower drywell, and at the floor of the
upper drywell. The cylindrical part of the containment
extends to the top of the reactor pressure vessel. The slip
forming technique was extensively used in construction.
The condensation pool is enclosed in the annular
space between the containment wall and an inner cy-
lindrical wall. The inner wall also carries the biological
shield of the reactor, i.e. the concrete wall enclosing the
reactor pressure vessel.
Vent pipes extend vertically from the upper drywell
to the condensation pool. Steam from possible ruptures
and leaks in the reactor’s primary systems are condensed
in the pool. Steam from reactor relief valve discharges is
blown into the pool through blow-down pipes from each

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 11

 Reactor pressure vessel
Inner diameter mm 5,540
Inner height mm 20,593
Reactor plant

Wall thickness, carbon steel mm 134

(ASME A533B, A508Gr2)
Thickness of stainless steel liner mm 5
Design pressure bar 85
Operation pressure bar 70
Design temperature °C 300
Operation temperature °C 286
Weight of vessel ton 524
Weight of cover ton 107

Sectional view of the reactor pressure vessel

Reactor
containment cover
Reactor pressure
vessel cover

Head cooling
spray system

Steam dryer

Steam outlet nozzle

III III III III Support skirt

Level and II II II II

pressure I I I I
Steam separator
transmitters
Reactor
pressure vessel

Feedwater Moderator
sparger tank cover

Core spray
inlet nozzle
Fuel assembly
Control rod
+

In-core neutron +
Moderator tank
flux detector

Control rod
guide tube

+
Recirculation pumps

Control rod
drive motor

12 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Reactor

Reactor plant
The reactor pressure vessel is made of low-alloy steel, with The internals are held in position in the reactor vessel
a lining of stainless steel. All major pipe nozzles are lo- by means of resilient beams in the reactor vessel cover.
cated above the top of the core, to ensure that the core is When the cover has been removed, the internals can
kept flooded in the event of pipe damage in the primary be lifted out of the reactor without breaking any bolted
systems. The reactor vessel hangs on top of the biological joints.
shield by means of a welded-on support skirt. Another related feature is that the thermal insulation
The vessel support skirt is located near the primary of the reactor cover is fastened to the inside of the con-
system pipe connections – this minimizes stress on the tainment cover, and is removed together with it when the
pipe caused by the thermal expansion of the vessel. This reactor is to be opened.
location also gives more space to carry out the mainte- All external pipe connections to the reactor cover
nance of the recirculation pumps. have been eliminated by fixing the connections to the
The reactor internals are designed to allow for fast reactor pressure vessel, which means that the procedures
and safe handling during refuelling operations. for removing the reactor pressure vessel cover have been
Apart from the moderator tank support skirt and the considerably simplified.
pump deck, which are welded to the reactor vessel, all the
internals are removable.

The reactor pressure vessel seen from above. The bolt holes for the
pressure vessel cover on the flange of the pressure vessel are sealed
with plugs. The containment seal surrounds the pressure vessel cover,
and the flange for attaching the containment cover is outermost. Servicing the bolts of the reactor pressure vessel cover.

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 13

 Core
Number of fuel assemblies 500
Total fuel weight tnU 85–90
Reactor plant

Core diameter (equiv.) mm 3,880

Core height mm 3,680

Fuel
Fuel rods per assembly 91–96
Fuel rod outer diameter mm approx. 10
Cladding material Zry-2
Weight of fuel assembly (incl. channels) kg approx. 300
Uranium fuel per assembly kgU 175

The structure of GE-14 type fuel assembly

Partial fuel
spacer
Upper tie plate

Channel shell

Spring
Tie rod
Expansion assembly
Washer, Hexagon nut spring
locking tab Upper plug

Water rod

Partial fuel Spring

spacer retainer

Partial rod
assembly

Fuel tube

UO2
Fuel spacer pellet
UO2 /Gd2O3
pellet
Basic / Special Lower
rod assembly plug

Lower tie plate Basic / Special Tie rod Partial rod

rod assembly assembly assembly

Fuel
spacer

Channel
nose piece

14 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Reactor core and fuel

Reactor plant
The reactor cores of the OL1 and OL2 power plant units The uranium fuel is in the form of short sintered pel-
contain 500 fuel assemblies each. The fuel bundles are lets made of UO2. The pellets contain uranium whose
put in fuel channels, which convey the coolant around U235 content is enriched. The pellets are charged in Zir-
the fuel rods. caloy-2 tubes which are welded with end plugs to consti-
Initially designed as an 8 x 8 matrix, the fuel assem- tute hermetically closed fuel rods. The rods are assembled
blies were first redesigned as a 9 x 9 matrix and then as by means of upper and lower tie plates and 6-8 spacers.
the 10 x 10 matrix currently in use. The 10 x 10 type has The geometrical structure of the assembly depends on
new features that have made reactor power uprating and the design.
more efficient fuel use possible. A burnable absorber (Gd2O3) is used in the fuel de-
Compared with TVO’s earlier fuel designs, 10 x 10 sign, added to some of the pellets in the bundle to reduce
fuel has lower linear heat generation rate in the fuel rods, the power peaking factor and to compensate for the ex-
and this fuel type improves the heat transfer from fuel to cess reactivity during the first half of an operating cycle.
coolant. The 10 x 10 assemblies also contain different as- The fuel assemblies have radially-zoned enrichment
sembly-internal water structures such as water channels, distribution. In this way, the power-peaking factor can be
which improve reactor core behaviour at high power lev- reduced and fuel heat transfer capacity optimized.
els and in case of malfunctions. In addition to the water In the figure below, enrichment is colour-coded: the
channels, the assemblies contain partial-length fuel rods darker the colour, the higher the enrichment.
that improve reactor stability.

Slightly under one quarter of the fuel in the reactor is replaced GE14 fuel assembly
with fresh fuel annually. In this photo, the fresh fuel assemblies
can be identified by their lighter colour.

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 15

 Regulating reactivity
Excess reactivity during the operat-
Reactor plant

ing cycle is absorbed by burnable

absorber, the control rods and the
boiling of coolant regulated through
Excess reactivity the primary circuit.

Burnable absorbers

Regulation of steam in reactor

through primary circuit

Control rods

Energy generated during the cycle, EFPH* Coast-down operation

*1 EFPH = 2,500 MWh

Refuelling acteristics are placed in the reactor so that the restrictions

When a reactor is operated in a one-year cycle, typically on core use and fuel use are complied with. Every year, a
some one quarter of the fuel assemblies in the reactor reactor physical measurement of the fuel assemblies de-
core are replaced during each cycle. The amount of fuel termines the U235 enrichment level of the fuel rods in
replaced is determined by its excess reactivity, which cor- the refuelling batch and burnable neutron absorber con-
responds to the energy to be generated during the cycle, tent and placement, taking into account the anticipated
i.e. the cycle length. Fuel assemblies with different char- length of future cycles.

Reactor use and regulation

During the operating cycle, excess reactivity in the reac-
tor is absorbed by the control rods in the reactor core,
by the burnable absorber in the fuel assemblies, and by
Spent fuel assemblies are transferred from the reactor the boiling of the coolant regulated through the primary
to the fuel pool using the reactor service bridge. circuit. Excessive reactivity is at its highest at the begin-
ning of the cycle and steadily decreases as the burnable
absorber is consumed, which reduces the need for mov-
ing the control rods at various points of the cycle. Once
the burnable absorber has been sufficiently consumed,
reactivity required for power generation can be released
by retracting the control rods in small increments. At the
end of the cycle, all the control rods are fully retracted,
and reactivity is maintained for a while by increasing the
primary circuit flow until the reactor output slowly be-
gins to decline.
The control rods are used not only for regulating re-
activity but also for adjusting the power distribution in
the reactor core and for regulating the output of the reac-
tor. Minor power adjustments are made by regulating the
primary circuit flow.

Interim storage of spent fuel

Fuel assemblies removed from the reactor are transferred
to fuel pools in the reactor hall to cool off for a few years.
The water in the pools cools the fuel and protects the en-
vironment against radiation. During this process, the ra-
dioactivity of the spent fuel is considerably reduced. The
fuel assemblies are kept under water throughout the en-
tire transfer.
After a few years of cooling, the fuel assemblies are
packed into a strong, water-filled transfer tank and trans-

16 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Reactor plant
ported by a special vehicle to the interim storage facility than 1/1000 of the original levels, which makes it easier
(KPA storage) at the power plant site. The transfer tank to pack and handle the waste.
can hold 41 fuel assemblies and weighs 93 tonnes when The final repository will be at Olkiluoto. Its construc-
fully loaded. tion and operation will be the responsibility of Posiva Oy,
Before placement in the final repository, the spent a company jointly owned by TVO and Fortum Power and
fuel is kept in water-filled pools in the interim storage Heat Oy. The spent fuel from the Fortum’s nuclear power
facility for several decades. During this time, the radio- plant units in Loviisa will also be stored at Olkiluoto.
activity and heat output of the spent fuel decrease to less Final depositing is scheduled to begin in 2020.

Spent fuel is transferred to the interim storage facility in a transfer tank made of spheroidal graphite cast iron.
Its walls are 36 cm thick, and it weighs 93 tonnes when fully loaded.

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 17

 Control rods
Number of control rods 121
Absorber length mm 3,650
Reactor plant

Total length mm 6,380

Absorber material B4C and Hf

Control rod drives

Control rod

Scram and purge water inlet Control rod

drive housing
B4C and Hf
Bayonet
coupling
Control rod Piston tube

Guide tube

Drive screw

Control rod
guide tube

Latch

Drive nut

Separation indicator

Thermal
sleeve
Leakage water outlet

Drainage valve
Cooling water inlet

Mechanical seal

Reactor pres-
sure vessel

Slip coupling

Control rod indicator

Drive motor

18 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Control rods

Reactor plant
The control rod drive system provides two independent The control rods are divided into 14 scram groups of
ways of moving the control rods, one electro-mechanical eight or nine rods each. Each scram group is served by
system for normal operation with fine motion and one a scram module, comprising a water tank connected to a
hydraulic system for fast scram insertion. nitrogen container (with high pressure nitrogen) through
The drive allows for slow-motion and accurate posi- a scram valve.
tioning of the control rods. The fine-motion feature ena- The division into scram groups is made so that the re-
bles control rod manoeuvring even at full power without activity coupling between the rods within a scram group
increasing the risk of mechanical interaction between is negligible. Due to this arrangement, the malfunction of
pellets and cladding. one scram group is equivalent to the loss of one control
The controllability of the plant is improved by the rod.
ability to move a synchronized group of control rods. The Furthermore, the electricity power supply to the scram
power supply to the electro-mechanical drives is provid- system and the electromechanical drives are arranged in
ed by four diesel-backed busbars. such a way that an electrical fault cannot simultaneously
The control rod drives are purged with water from the render both the scram function and the electro-mechani-
reactor water cleanup system to keep the gaps clean to cal drive inoperative. An automatic boron injection sys-
minimize radioactive contamination and thereby reduce tem is provided to shut down the reactor in the event of a
occupational exposure during maintenance. total failure of the control rod insertion.
The drives provide rapid insertion of the control rods
by means of high-pressure water acting on a piston tube.

The control rods are divided into 14 scram groups,

five of eight rods each and nine of nine rods each. The drive screw and drive nut of the control rod drive
There are 121 control rods in all in the reactor core. being serviced during the annual outage.

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 19

 Recirculation pump

Grab ball
Reactor plant

Wear ring
Pump impeller

Reactor pressure vessel

Stretch tube

Moderator tank support skin

Secondary seal chamber

Upper journal

Pump motor casing

Stator winding

Rotor

Rotor shaft

Pump shaft

Lower journal

Main thrust bearing

Auxiliary thrust bearing

Cable box

20 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Main circulation system

Reactor plant
The primary circuit is a water circulation system within Recirculation pump (Normal power operation, 6 pumps)
the reactor pressure vessel. The water flows down onto Rated speed rpm approx. 1,350
the bottom of the vessel and is pumped up in the middle, Head m approx. 25
through the reactor core. The water cools the core. Steam Motor power kW 740
to the turbines is generated as part of the water boils.

The coolant flow through the core is maintained by six

internal circulation pumps. The internal circulation
pump design is based on wet motors, thus eliminating
shaft seals. The motor housing forms an integral part of
the reactor vessel. Internal circulation pumps provide a
number of advantages over external pumps:
• no risk of major pipe rupture below the top of the
core
• compact containment design
• low circulation pressure drop improves natural
circulation and decreases auxiliary power demand
• reduced radiation level of the drywell contributes
to very low occupational exposure during pump
motor maintenance and inspection
• significant reduction of primary system weld length

A split shaft design allows for convenient assembly and

disassembly. The pump shaft extends into the hollow mo-
tor shaft and power is transmitted from the motor shaft
through a coupling that can be disassembled from the
bottom of the motor housing. A pump motor or impel-
ler can thus be removed or replaced without draining the
water from the reactor vessel.

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 21

 TURBINE PLANT
Turbine plant

The steam generated in the reactor is transferred to the high-pressure (HP)

turbine through the main steam lines. Having expended part of its energy
in the HP turbine, the steam is then transferred to the reheaters, where it
is dried and superheated and then transferred to the low-pressure (LP) tur-
bines. All the turbines are coaxially connected to the generator, which gen-
erates electricity that is then fed into the national grid. The steam exiting
the LP turbines is condensed into water in the condenser, using sea water
as coolant.

22 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Turbines and generator

Turbine plant
Turbine plant The outer casing is sealed off from the atmosphere
Live steam is transferred from the reactor to the High of the turbine hall by double compensating bellows at
Pressure (HP) turbine through four main steam lines, the penetration ducts and by labyrinth-type shaft glands
with a control valve and an emergency stop valve built at the turbine shafts. The outer casing is built of plates
into the same casing. and forgings welded together to form a cylinder with
Exhaust steam from the HP turbine is discharged flat ends. A reinforcement ring is installed midway be-
via transfer pipes into two consecutive combined mois- tween the middle and each end, serving as an anchoring
ture separators and steam reheaters, located one on each point for adjustable tiebolts. These bolts tie up the casing
side of the turbine. The reheating is done partly with HP against axial forces caused by the steam. The inner casing
turbine extraction and partly with live steam from the is fastened to the outer casing, which is in turn fixed to
main steam lines. The reheated steam is supplied to the the bedplate.
LP turbines through eight crossover pipes equipped with
combined emergency stop and intercept valves. The HP LP turbines
and LP (Low Pressure) turbines are equipped with steam The LP turbines are double-flow turbines symmetrically
extraction for preheating the condensate and feedwater. built with axial-flow, reaction type blading. The main
The turbine plant also includes bypass valves for dump- parts are:
ing steam directly into the condenser. This is used during • a welded outer casing
plant startup and shutdown, and in the event of generator • a welded inner casing
load loss. • a forged and welded rotor
• three cast blade carriers
HP turbine • two cast shaft seal holders, one at each end
The HP turbine is a double axial-flow, symmetrical, reac-
tion type turbine with steam admission at the middle and An extensive modernization of the turbine plants of OL1 and OL2 was
exhaust at the ends. The main parts are: carried out during annual outages in 2005 and 2006. The photo shows
• a welded outer casing the new reheater for OL1 being lifted into place.
• a cast inner casing
• a forged and welded rotor
• shaft seals at the ends.

The turbine is of a dual casing type with both casings

split horizontally on the turbine centre line, bolted to-
gether through a flanged joint.
Live steam is admitted into the inner casing through
two central penetration ducts, in the upper and lower
halves. In this way, live steam does not come into contact
with the outer casing. Steam is extracted at one point on
each side of the turbine through holes in the inner casing
and led to the extraction space between the casings and
then to the extraction ducts.

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 23

Turbine plant

HP turbine
Turbine plant
Steam inlet
TURBINE
Double compensating bellows
Nominal rating MW 890
Live steam pressure bar 67 Steam extraction
Live steam temperature °C 283
Live steam flow kg/s 1,260 Outer casing
Rated speed rpm 3,000
High Pressure turbine Axial, 2-flow Inner casing
High Pressure control valves 4
Low Pressure Turbine Axial, 2-flow Rotor
Low Pressure intercept valves 8
Exhaust area m2 8 x 7.7
Shaft seals
Last stage
blade length mm 930
overall diameter mm 3,570
Steam Steam
extraction exhaust
GENERATOR
Nominal rating MVA OL1 950, OL2 905
Power factor, nominal cos 0.9
Rated voltage kV 20
Voltage range % 95–108 LP turbine
Frequency Hz 50
Cooling, rotor/stator water/air Steam inlet Blowout disc
Exciter brushless

CONDENSER Inner casing

2
Cooling surface m 27,700 Blade carriers
Cooling medium sea water
Cooling water flow kg/s 29,200 Shaft seals
Vacuum at full load bar 0.05
Temperature rise °C 13
Rotor
FEEDWATER
Preheating stages 5
Final feedwater temperature °C 185
Outer casing
Steam extractions
Steam for condenser

24 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Turbine plant
Steam enters the turbine from the separator/reheater Generator
units through crossover pipes fitted with low-pressure in- The turbine drives the rotor of the generator coaxially. All
tercept valves. main parts in which electrical losses occur are directly
The LP turbine is essentially of a dual casing design water cooled. This includes the rotor winding and the
similar to that of the HP turbine. stator winding as well as the winding terminals. The sta-
The blade carriers are supported by the inner cas- tor core is cooled by circulated air, which is then routed
ing, which in turn is supported by brackets at the lower through an air/water heat exchanger. The cooling water is
part of the outer casing. Steam is extracted between the brought out to an external cooling and treatment plant.
blade carriers into the extraction space between the inner All surfaces in contact with the water are made of
casing and the blade carriers, and then to the extraction stainless steel. The generator is equipped with a brushless
ducts. excitation system with an AC exciter and rotating recti-
The lower half of the outer casing is designed to form fiers. The diode rectifier is protected by fuses mounted in
a rectangular opening, which is welded to the condenser modules on the exciter rotor. This design allows for the
throat. inspection of the fuses during normal operation and easy
Each LP turbine is provided with two blowout discs, replacement of fuse modules.
which protect the turbine against pressure in the event of The generator is located outside the radiation shield
other safety equipment failing to function. of the turbine, and it is therefore fully accessible during
The rotors, bladings, blade carriers and inner casings normal operation of the plant.
were replaced during annual outages between 1996 and
1998.

Generator and exciter.

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 25

 Condensate and feedwater
Turbine plant

The turbine is equipped with a single-pass condenser, be supplied to all of the water boxes even if one pump
mounted across the longitudinal axis of the turbine. The should fail.
condenser is divided into two shells, one for each pair of The heating of the condensate and feedwater up to a
low pressure turbines. Each shell is fitted both with two temperature of 185 °C is carried out in five stages. Both
water-boxes and with hotwells, which also act as conden- the low pressure preheaters and the high pressure pre-
sate storage tanks. heaters are divided into two half-capacity, parallel cir-
The condenser is cooled by sea water. The sea water cuits, each equipped with a bypass system.
cooling pumps are of a vertical propeller type and they The condensate pumps are 4 x 33 % units. OL1 feed-
are located in the cooling water intake tunnel. The pumps water pumps are 4 x 25 % units and OL2 feedwater
supply the cooling water to a header before the condenser pumps are 4 x 33 % units. The pumps are driven by elec-
water boxes. Isolating and non-return valves are arranged tric motors. The flow of the feedwater is controlled by ad-
in the inlet of the cooling water pipes, so that water can justing the speed of the feedwater pumps with hydraulic
couplings.

Condensate and feedwater system

Main steam By-pass of turbines when needed

Steam extraction lines

Sea water
Main condensate/
feedwater
HP LP1 LP2 LP3 LP4
Drain

Reactor
HP High-pressure MS/S2
turbine
LP 1-4 Low-pressure 434 431 431 434
turbine SR
MS/S2 Moisture separator
SR Steam reheater 441 P
G Generator

431 Condenser
434 Sea water
441 P Condensate pumps
441 Condensate system 332
445 P Feedwater pumps
445 Feedwater system
332 Condensate
clean-up system
445 445 P 441

26 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Sea water circuit

Turbine plant
Cooling water is conveyed from the sea to both power perature of the sea water increases by about 13 degrees as
plant units through underground cooling water ducts to it passes through the condenser. Some 30 cubic metres of
a screening and pumping building, where the channel water per second are pumped through the condenser in
is divided into four intake channels. Each channel has a both power plant units. The surge tank is a shock absorb-
motor-driven intake valve, mechanical water treatment er in case the main cooling water pumps stop, to protect
equipment, fine screens and basket filters. The main cool- the condenser. If the intake of cooling water is blocked
ing water pumps pump the water into the condenser, for some reason, cooling water can be taken from the ex-
from which it passes into the surge tank, and from there traction side, in which case the water flow in the cooling
through an underground tunnel into the sea. The tem- water channels will be reversed.

Sea water system

Condenser Sea water pumps Basket filters Fine screen Intake valves
Cold sea water

Sea water heated in the condenser

Surge
tank
2700 2700

2700

2700 2700

Left auxiliary Right auxiliary

system building system building

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 27

 WATER CHEMISTRY
Water chemistry

Steam-water circulation and cleanup systems

HP LP1 LP2 LP3 LP4

G

321

331

354

332
312

312 Feedwater system Steam

321 Shutdown cooling system Water
331 Reactor water cleanup system Sea water
332 Condensate cleanup system
354 Scram system

28 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Water chemistry
The primary circuit of a boiling-water reactor operates The reactor water cleanup system comprises two ion
without chemical additives to the coolant, i.e. ‘neutral exchanger units of radial flow, bed-filter type. Each unit
water’. Electrical conductivity of the feedwater is kept as is capable of producing the normal cleanup flow, so that
low as possible. the flow can be doubled when necessary.
High reactor water purity contributes to reliable oper- The cleanup flow is generated by one pump in the
ation of the reactor. Keeping impurity levels low prevents shutdown cooling system, through two regenerative heat
crud deposits on the fuel rods and reduces the radioac- exchangers and one cooler, to one of the ion exchangers,
tive contamination of the primary system, thus reducing and returns to the reactor via the regenerative heat ex-
occupational radiation exposure. Reduction of particular changers. A portion of it flows through the scram system,
impurities such as chloride also decreases exposure to purging and cooling the control rod drives.
stress corrosion. The condensate cleanup system, located prior the
The primary circuit water is treated by two inde- reheaters, comprises seven parallel-coupled trains with
pendent, coordinated cleanup systems: the reactor water rod-type precoat filters. These filters clean the feedwater
cleanup system and the condensate cleanup system. returning from the condenser to the reactor both me-
chanically and with a thin ion-exchange resin layer on
the surface of the filter rods.

Measuring metal concentrations in process water using an ICP optical emission spectrometer.

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 29

 INSTRUMENTATION AND
CONTROL SYSTEMS
Instrumentation and control systems

30 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Instrumentation and control systems
The instrumentation and control systems consist of: in- power plant is automated to such a high extent that nor-
struments that measure processes; various automatic mal running requires minimal control measures from the
and manual control and regulation systems; and sys- control room operators. The control and process equip-
tems which display and record measurements and event ment in the principal systems are divided into four inde-
information. pendent systems.
In keeping with the safety principles observed of the Most of the process measurements are linked to a
power plant, all principal instrumentation systems and process computer system with double redundancy. The
their controls are built as parallel component systems. computer terminal screens help the operators monitor the
The control logic in safety-critical systems relies on the processes through a variety of general, status, trend, event
2-out-of-4 principle, which means that the protection and alert displays. Display pages can be selected accord-
system is automatically triggered if two out of the four ing to the state of operations. There is also a large screen
monitoring systems issue an alert to that effect. The for displaying the status of the turbine plant. The process
principal functions can also be launched and completed computer system is further used for long-term storage of
manually. measurement and event data. Two parallel computers are
The principal power plant control systems, which in- used for calculations involved in the monitoring of the
clude regulation of reactor pressure and feedwater, have reactor core.
triple redundancy. In the power control system, measure- There is a dedicated measurement computer for re-
ment of power at the generator and of the neutron flux cording, at a 100 Hz sampling rate, certain data of par-
is used as the basis for regulating the speed of the main ticular interest for evaluating process transients or
circulation pumps of the reactor. disruptions.
The power plant processes are centrally monitored The power plant has numerous further analogue and
and controlled in the control room. The state of the vari- computer-based control and monitoring systems, such as
ous processes is displayed on numerous screens and with the neutron flux measurement and calibration systems, the
meters and indicator lights. Process control is mainly reactor fuel loading monitoring system, radiation measure-
done through computer terminals and control switches. ment systems for the power plant and its environment, the
The control boards behind the control desks are used for control rod position indicator system, the system monitor-
controlling and observing certain reactor functions and ing vibrations in the turbine and the shaft and bearings of
the operating of the electricity supply and switchgear. The the generator, the turbine protection system, and so on.

Operational levels according to the safety principles of the automation system

protection system trigger threshold
Operating parameters exceed the
Normal operating parameters

parameters exceeded

Process automation Limiting systems Protection systems

Normal operating

systems
Correct the state Protection functions
Govern the operation of the power plant to normal triggered as required
of the power plant so that protection systems (reactor scram and
under normal circumstances are not triggered protection system regulation)

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 31

 ELECTRICAL POWER SYSTEMS
Electrical power systems

421 Generator 642 General 6.6 kV system

611 Main Transformer 653 Diesel generator
612 Start-up transformer 662 Diesel-backed 660 V system
613 Plant transformer 664 UPS-backed 380/220 V system
621 Main grid 400 kV 665 UPS-backed 220 V system
622 Start-up grid 110 kV

Plant distribution network and external grid connections

621 400 kV

622 110 kV

611 612 612

■ subsystem A
421
■ subsystem B
613 613 ■ subsystem C
■ subsystem D

642 6.6 kV A C B D

M M M M

M M M M M M
M M M M M M

653 653 653 653

662 660 V

M M M M M M M M

380/220 V
664

220 V
665

32 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Electrical power systems
The electrical power systems fall into two categories, one The main transformer is a three-phase forced oil/
related to the generating and transmission of power to forced air cooled unit.
the external grid and the other to the (internal) supply The internal power distribution system is divided into
of power to plant unit both under normal circumstances safety-related and non-safety-related systems, in accord-
and in case of disruption. ance with the requirements on the process systems to be
The former consists of the generator, the generator supplied with power. Power is normally taken from the
busbars, the generator breaker, the main transformer and generator through two plant transformers, but during
the 400 kV overhead line and switchyard. The latter in- annual outages or generator disruption, power is taken
cludes the auxiliary transformers and the internal power from the 400 kV grid or from the 110 kV grid through
distribution systems. the start-up transformers.
The generator buses are made up of one-phase bus- The internal distribution network is divided into four
bars with grounded metal enclosures. Each one-phase parallel subsystems, which are independent and physi-
busbar has a single-phase breaker. The busbars also in- cally separated from one another (A, B, C and D).
clude the necessary earthing isolators, voltage and cur- DC systems and battery-backed AC systems supply
rent transformers and capacitors. power to control systems and valve motor drives, among
other things.

Four diesel generators provide the on-site standby power supply.

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 33

 SAFETY
Safety

Three elements are required to Safety rests on two main princi-

ensure reactor safety under all ples: 1) five layers of isolation for
circumstances: 1) control of the radioactive substances: ceramic
chain reaction and the power it fuel, gas-tight fuel rod, gas-tight
generates, 2) fuel cooling even pressure vessel, gas-tight reactor
after the chain reaction is shut containment, and reactor building;
down, i.e. removing afterheat, 3) and 2) the defence-in-depth safety
isolating the radioactive substances principle.
from the environment.

Multiple barriers

Barrier 1 Barrier 2 Barrier 3 Barrier 4 Barrier 5

Gas-tight reactor pressure Gas-tight reactor

Ceramic fuel pellet Gas-tight fuel rod vessel and primary system containment Reactor building

One of the main principles of nuclear safety is the arrangement of

multiple barriers between radioactive materials and the environment.

Examples of the defence-in-depth way of thinking

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

Higher Rapid
temperature neutrons Reactor Reactor

B B B
Negative
feedback
Pushing Pumping boric
control solution into Boric
Reduced Slow rods into reactor
reactor High- and systems
power neutrons low-pressure Flooding of
emergency container
cooling systems building

As the reactor temperature rises, its power The reactor can be closed down in a few In an accident situation the safety systems
is reduced, because the increased boiling seconds by means of two systems with prevent or alleviate the consequences.
produces less slow neutrons and so slows different operating principles.
down the chain reaction.

34 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Safety
Safe use let. Made of uranium dioxide, it retains the fission prod-
The basic principle in nuclear safety is that radioactive ucts. The second barrier is the metal tube enclosing the
substances must not be released into the environment. fuel rod, and the third is the reactor pressure vessel. The
There are multiple layers of safety arrangements to pre- fourth barrier is the gas-tight containment surrounding
vent this. the reactor, and the fifth and outermost barrier is the
The Olkiluoto nuclear power plant units have multi- massive reactor building.
ple safety systems operating on a variety of principles to
detect and quickly control any disruptions. This arrange- High-level safety culture
ment is based on the defence-in-depth safety principle. TVO and its personnel are committed to a high-level safe-
All safety-critical functions are provided with several ty culture whose principles include handling every matter
redundant parallel systems and devices, and high quality according to its safety significance and aiming at a high
standards and sufficient safety margins are applied to the level of reliability and production security in all aspects
design of all equipment and functions. of operations. The high-level safety culture is typified for
The safety arrangements are based on the requirement instance by transparent reporting on any nonconformi-
that no user errors or equipment malfunctions, even if ties, continuous development of operations, and uncom-
several co-occur, can in and of themselves cause a serious promising following of instructions. Safety and safety fac-
accident. The critical safety systems must be able to func- tors always take priority over economic targets. The main
tion even if any given device in the system is incapaci- aim of the personnel at the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant
tated or if any given safety-related device is off line at the is to ensure safe operation of the power plant units under
same time because of repairs or maintenance. all circumstances. TVO is active in its efforts to prevent
To minimize the risk caused by the radioactive fuel, the emergence of disruptions which might affect safety or
there are several concentric protection zones. The first usability. TVO follows a policy of continuously and me-
barrier against the release of radioactivity is the fuel pel- thodically promoting its high-level safety culture.

Parallel principle Separation principle Diversity principle Safe-state principle

Electricity Operation power

Safety-threatening incident

Functioning sub-system
SAFETY FUNCTION

Functioning sub-system
Compressed air
Equipment fault

Equipment fault
Manual Reserve power system
diesel generator

Safety systems comprise Parallel sub-systems in the The same function is implemented If the system loses its driving
several self-replacing parallel safety systems are placed so with systems based on different power, it falls back to a state that
sub-systems. that simultaneous damage to operating principles. is as safe as possible for the plant.
them, e.g. in a fire, is unlikely.

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 35

Safety

Emergency cooling systems of the plant unit

733 ■ subsystem A 733

■ subsystem B
T1 T2 T4 T3
■ subsystem C
■ subsystem D
322 A

322 D

322 B
322 C

323 D

323 B
323 A

323 C
327 A

327 D

327 B
327 C

322 Containment spray system

721 A 721 C 323 Core spray system 721 D 721 B

652 A 652 C 327 Auxiliary feedwater system 652 D 652 B

712 A 712 C 652 Diesel engine auxiliary system 712 D 712 B
712 Shutdown cooling water system
721 Shutdown secondary cooling system
733 Demineralized water distribution system

36 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Safety
Emergency core cooling system This allows testing and repair to be carried out without
Emergency core cooling is provided by two different sys- limiting plant operation.
tems – the auxiliary feedwater system and the core spray Each subsystem incorporates separate pumps, valves
system. The auxiliary feedwater system operates as a high etc., and power supply from correspondingly separated
pressure coolant injection system. It has sufficient capac- standby power diesel generators. The auxiliary feedwater
ity to keep the core flooded following the rupture of any system draws its water from special storage tanks, one
of the nozzles at the bottom of the reactor vessel. separated tank volume for each of the subsystems.
The core spray system operates at low pressure. It feeds The core spray system draws water from the conden-
spray water into the reactor when the pressure drops as a sation pool inside the containment. The water of this pool
result of ruptures in the pipes connected to the cylindri- is cooled by the containment vessel spray system, which
cal part of the reactor vessel above the top of the core. in turn is cooled by the sea water system via an interme-
Both systems, with associated auxiliary systems which diate fresh water system.
perform emergency cooling functions, are divided into The condensation pool heat sink can accept decay
four independent subsystems, of which two are required heat for several hours after reactor shutdown without any
to cope with an accident resulting in a loss of coolant. external containment cooling.

1. Containment spray system ■ subsystem A

2. Core spray system ■ subsystem B
3. Auxiliary feedwater system ■ subsystem C
3 2 1 ■ subsystem D

2 3

1 1 2
3

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 37

 OFF-GAS SYSTEM
Off-gas system

Off-gas system limits the emission of radioactive noble gases from the plant units.

To the stack

Off-gas fans

Off-gas filters

Charcoal
adsorbers

To the
condenser

From the
condenser

Gas decay

Decay
sandtanks Refrigeration units

38 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Off-gas system
The off-gas system limits the emission of radioactive no- to the off-gas flow and the other being used for flushing
ble gases from the power plant units. The system includes back to the condenser. Filters are exchanged according to
a decay phase and an adsorption phase. The decay phase a predetermined plan.
consists of two sand tanks, and the adsorption phase con- After passing through the active charcoal filters, the
sists of three active charcoal filters. gas is conveyed through the second sand tank and then
The sand tanks slow down the progress of off-gas, al- through the off-gas filter to the stack. The off-gas filter re-
lowing short-lived nuclides time to decay. Between the moves 99.9 % of any iodine content in the off-gas.
sand tanks are the active charcoal filters and two paral- The radioactive emissions into the air from the
lel coolers to reduce humidity in the off-gas. The active Olkiluoto power plant units are well below the maximum
charcoal absorbs radioactive substances, which are peri- allowable limits set by the authorities, being no more
odically flushed back into the condenser. Two of the three than a few tenths of one per cent of those maximums.
filters are in use at any given time, one being connected

The air flow in the ventilation stack is sampled and

measured for the rates of radioactive releases into the atmosphere.

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 39

 WASTE TREATMENT SYSTEMS
Waste treatment systems

Liquid waste treatment

T11 T12 T13 T14 T21 T31 T41 T42

C11 C13 C12 T51

A31/A32

T11/T12, T13 Process leakage storage tanks

T14 Contaminated water storage tank T64 T61 T65 T62
C11–C13 Ion exchange filters
T21 Laundry water storage tank
T31 Floor drainage storage tank
A31/A32 Decanter and separator equipment
T41/T42 Ion exchange resin storage tanks
T51 Evaporator
T61–T65 Storage tanks for water to be pumped out

40 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Waste treatment systems
Process waste treatment systems tive waste and for solidifying intermediate-level radioac-
The process waste treatment systems include equipment tive waste.
for handling both liquid and solid process waste. The low-level radioactive waste includes the protec-
Liquid process waste is collected in a number of sys- tive material, cleaning rags, etc., used in maintenance
tems at the power plant and pumped into dedicated re- and repair procedures. The low-level radioactive waste
ception tanks in the waste treatment plant. Chemically is sorted and packed into steel drums for final deposit.
pure water is filtered and passed through ion exchangers Before being transported to the repository, the drums are
and then reintroduced into the power plant processes. compacted to about one half of their original volume.
Water from floor drainage and the ‘active laundry’ The intermediate-level radioactive waste includes
and other water with particle impurities are cleaned by the ion exchange resin created in cleaning process water
spinning, filtering, ion exchange or evaporation and then and process waste water, and the evaporator concentrate.
pumped into the sea. These are dried and mixed into bitumen before being
The solid waste treatment system includes equipment packed into steel drums.
for handling, sorting and compacting low-level radioac-

The ion exchange resins and evaporator concentrate created in the cleaning
of process water and process waste water are mixed into bitumen and poured
into steel drums. The photo shows the bituminization process.

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 41

 ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION
Electricity transmission

42 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Electricity transmission
Main transformer Power transmission
The main transformer in each of the power plant units has The Finnish power system consists of power plants, the
a nominal output of 1,000 MVA (mega-volt-amperes). The national grid, local power networks, distribution networks
transformers are three-phase, forced oil/forced air cooled and consumers. Most of the electrical power used in Fin-
units. The 20 kV voltage produced by the generator is land is transmitted through the national grid maintained
transformed by the main transformers to 400 kV before by Fingrid Plc. The national grid includes some 4,100 km
supplying into the national grid. A line conveys the power of 400 kV power lines, some 2,350 km of 220 kV power
from the transformers to the Fingrid 400 kV sub-station, lines, and some 7,500 km of 110 kV power lines.
which is further connected to the national grid.
The power generated by TVO is distributed by the
owners, about half to industry and the other half to ser-
vices, agriculture and households.

Electrical power is transmitted from the power plant units to the Fingrid
400 kV sub-station and from there to the national grid.

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 43

 TRAINING SIMULATOR
Training simulator

44 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

 Training simulator
In-house training for TVO personnel is mainly given at For each simulator exercise, a program is devised
the company training centre at Olkiluoto. The most im- which contains different situations that may occur. The
portant single element in the training centre is the plant- trainees must know how to respond in these situations.
identical training simulator, which includes a full-sized If necessary, the exercise can be repeated to correct mis-
copy of the OL1 control room together with a computer takes. The simulator also enables personnel to practice
system which simulates the power plant processes. The exceptional situations such as disruptions and accidents.
computers and models simulate all control room func- All shift supervisors and operators take at least two weeks
tions and are identical with real plant behaviour. of simulator training every year.
The simulator is a vital tool in the training of new op- The simulator can also be used to develop, test and
erators, because it enables them to practise controlling train new control room functions before they are intro-
and monitoring the power plant without interfering with duced in the power plant units themselves.
its actual normal operations.

Turbine control displays. Using the simulator, operators can practise controlling
the power plant without interfering with its actual normal operations.

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 45

 Technical data

General Control rods

Reactor thermal power MWth 2,500 Number of control rods 121
Electrical output, net MWe 860 Absorber length mm 3,650
Electrical output, gross MWe 890 Total length mm 6,380
Reactor steam flow kg/s 1,260 Absorber material B4C and Hf
Reactor operating pressure bar 70
Feedwater temperature °C 185 Reactor pressure vessel
Inner diameter mm 5,540
Core Inner height mm 20,593
Number of fuel assemblies 500 Wall thickness, carbon steel mm 134
Total fuel weight tnU 85–90 (ASME A533B, A508Gr2)
Core diameter (equiv.) mm 3,880 Thickness of stainless steel liner mm 5
Core height mm 3,680 Design pressure bar 85
Operation pressure bar 70
Fuel Design temperature °C 300
Fuel rods per assembly 91–96 Operation temperature °C 286
Fuel rod outer diameter mm approx. 10 Weight of vessel ton 524
Cladding material Zry-2 Weight of cover ton 107
Weight of fuel assembly (incl. channels) kg approx. 300
Uranium fuel per assembly kgU 175 Recirculation pump (Normal power operation, 6 pumps)
Rated speed rpm approx. 1,350
Head m approx. 25
Motor power kW 740

46 Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2

Turbine plant Power supply
TURBINE MAIN TRANSFORMER
Nominal rating MW 890 Nominal rating MVA 1,000
Live steam pressure bar 67 Rated voltage kV 412/20
Live steam temperature °C 283 Cooling form OFAF
Live steam flow kg/s 1,260 PLANT TRANSFORMERS (2)
Rated speed rpm 3,000 Nominal rating MVA 30/16/16
High pressure turbine Axial, 2-flow Rated voltage kV 20/6.9/6.9
High pressure control valves 4 STARTUP TRANSFORMERS (2)
Low pressure turbine Axial, 2-flow Nominal rating MVA 40/25/25
Low pressure intercept valves 8 Rated voltage kV 115/6.9/6.9
Exhaust area m2 8 x 7.7 AUXILIARY POWER SUPPLY
Last stage General systems kV ac 6.9/0.69
blade length mm 930 Diesel-backed kV 0.69
overall diameter mm 3,570 Diesel generators (4) MVA 2
GENERATOR Battery-backed V dc 24–400
Nominal rating MVA OL1 950, OL2 905
Power factor, nominal cos 0.9
Rated voltage kV 20
Voltage range % 95–108
Frequency Hz 50
Cooling, rotor/stator water/air
Exciter brushless
CONDENSER
Cooling surface m2 27,700
Cooling medium sea water
Cooling water flow kg/s 29,200
Vacuum at full load bar 0.05
Temperature rise °C 13
FEEDWATER
Preheating stages 5
Final feedwater temperature °C 185

Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 47

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