Westinghouse Electric Co. and ClydeUnion Pumps have signed a teaming agreement to market jointly the ClydeUnion Pumps Turbine Water Lubricated (CUP-TWL) pump for new plant applications and operating nuclear power plants worldwide.
The CUP-TWL is employed as a turbine-driven auxiliary feed water pump in pressurized water reactors (PWRs), and in boiling water reactors (BWRs) it is used as the reactor core isolation cooling pump. The CUP-TWL can pump process fluids above 100 deg C, does not use AC or DC power, and does not utilize flammable lubrication.
ClydeUnion Pumps’ Turbine Water Lubricated (TWL) turbine/pump set
The agreement with ClydeUnion Pumps allows Westinghouse’s PWR and BWR customers to have more safety pump options, according to Doug Holderbaum, director of Westinghouse’s Post-Fukushima Safety Products and Services. “The CUP-TWL extended [station blackout] coping package is part of Westinghouse’s larger effort to provide its global customers with products and services that enhance safety,” Holderbaum said.
According to Westinghouse, the most safety-significant systems in a complete electrical power loss at a nuclear power station, known as a station blackout (SBO) event, are the reactor core isolation cooling system for the BWRs and the auxiliary feedwater (AFW) system for the PWRs. The CUP-TWL enables continued AFW system operation without electrical power.
The CUP-TWL has “undergone full nuclear quality assurance,” since it is considered a safety-related pump for both PWRs and BWRs, according to Westinghouse. It has the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ “N” stamp. The company says more than 400 CUP-TWLs are in use in nuclear and non-nuclear applications worldwide (it was originally developed for maritime applications).
Westinghouse is part of Toshiba Corp.
