4.4 Design of Indian Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors

The Nuclear Power Program in India, at present, is based mainly on a series of Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs). Starting from Rajasthan Atomic Power Station, comprising of two units of 200 MWe Canadian-designed PHWRs in 1973, the program has come a long way with 17 PHWR units (which include two units of 540 MWe PHWRs) in operation and four units of 700 MWe PHWRs under construction. Narora Atomic Power Station commissioned in 1991 marked major indigenization and standardization of PHWR design. The current design plan includes 700 MWe capacity units. The choice of PHWRs in the current stage of India’s nuclear power program is based on long-term objectives to be achieved with the available uranium resources and industrial infrastructure. These reactors use natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as moderator and coolant. The nuclear power stations in India are planned as twin-unit modules, sharing common facilities such as service building, control building, turbine building, spent fuel storage bay, and so on.