This paper describes about the novel sodium test facility within the Sodium Technology Com- plex at IGCAR involving design, fabrication, erection and testing of interconnected piping sys- tem for vessels and various process equipment.

The sodium piping system of this facility presented distinctive challenges in layout design, construction, and erection owing to stringent requirements ensuring the integrity of a seismic-qualified piping system operating at elevated temperatures.

The ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section III subsection ND was employed as the construction code utilizing austenitic stainless steel SS 316 grade LN as the construction material to meet these demands.

The construction involved pipes of various sizes, ranging from NPS 1" to 5" Sch 40 pipes. All the piping joints were full penetration groove weld, welded by Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) process with 100% radiography.

Distortion during welding was controlled by adopting a qualified welding sequence and providing alignment clamps to the pipes. Additionally, specially improvised removable purge dams were incorporated on-site for terminal weld joints, complementing the use of masking tape and dams in purging.

The erected pipelines were provided with both rigid and flexible piping supports, and were given suitable slope towards the sodium storage tank to facilitate flow under gravity for sodium dumping in emergency situations.

Post the erection of the piping system, pneumatic testing and leak testing were comprehensively conducted to ensure integrity and leak tightness respectively.

This article is shared by Anant Kumar, R. Nirmalkumar, R. K. Mourya, A. Kolanjiappan, S.I. Sundar Raj and B. K. Sreedhar