Construction last year at the Barakah nuclear station in the UAE (file photo). Courtesy Enec.

14 Aug (NucNet): The steam generators and reactor pressure vessel (RPV) have been installed at Unit 4 of the Barakah nuclear station under construction in the United Arab Emirates, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) said on 14 August 2017.

Steam Generators, which are about the length of a tennis court, play a key role in the conversion of the energy generated by the nuclear fission reaction in the RPV into electricity.



The heat generated in the RPV is transferred to the steam generator and turns water into steam, which is then used to spin a turbine and generate electricity.



The RPV, which weighs over 500 tonnes and measures almost 15 metres in height, is one of the most important and largest components in a nuclear plant.



It will contain the controlled nuclear reaction that will generate electricity and is also one of the many defence-in-depth barriers that ensure the safety of the plant.



There are four South Korean APR-1400 units under construction at Barakah.



Enec said Unit 4 at Barakah is more than 52% complete. Unit 1 is around 96% complete, while Unit 2 is around 85% and Unit 3 around 75%.



Overall, construction of the four units is now more than 82% complete.