TWL Safety Pump – for Improved Nuclear Power Plant Safety

Based on a well-proven design, the pump has been developed and tested to run for prolonged periods without power and under completely flooded conditions for a minimum of eight hours. It addresses many of the safety concerns raised by reviews and reports following the Fukushima disaster and is being well received by the nuclear industry.

SPX has a clear focus on supporting the nuclear power industry and is continuously developing products that improve safety, reliability and efficiency. The TWL safety pump is a steam turbine driven pump set that extends the operation of auxiliary feedwater (AFW) or reactor core isolation cooling (RCIC) pump systems during a station blackout (SBO). It requires no external power, lubrication or other additional support systems to continue providing reliable pumping of cooling water for core cooling and decay heat removal.

As a completely self-contained solution, including governor and controls, the TWL safety pump enhances a nuclear plant’s ability to cope with the potential consequences of extreme external events that could include earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and hurricanes for example. It can start and operate while fully submerged with no adverse effects or detrimental changes to performance and has been designed and tested to withstand seismic events.

Assured reliability

SPX manufactures Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 pumps and has ASME ‘N’ Stamp, 10CFR50 Appendix B Program, RCC-M, RCC-MX and HAF604 accreditation. The design of the TWL safety pump has over 30 years of proven operation and reliability in global nuclear plants. It has full nuclear quality assurance and has also been approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for use in RCIC system on advanced BWR (ABWR) plants.

The TWL cooling water safety pump can be used within AFW or RCIC systems for new or upgrade applications to bring further safety assurance to nuclear power plant operation. Its ability to operate reliably under extreme conditions helps to protect the future of nuclear energy as a safe, sustainable, secure power supply for future generations.

SPX provides a wide range of solutions to the power generation industry, including the capability to customise to specific requirements and engineer complete, turnkey systems.