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Title: Nuclear power plant digital system PRA pilot study with the dynamic flow-graph methodology

Conference ·
OSTI ID:22030179
; ;  [1]
  1. ASCA, Inc., 1720 South Catalina Avenue, Redondo Beach, CA 90277 (United States)

Current Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) methodology is well established in analyzing hardware and some of the key human interactions. However processes for analyzing the software functions of digital systems within a plant PRA framework, and accounting for the digital system contribution to the overall risk are not generally available nor are they well understood and established. A recent study reviewed a number of methodologies that have potential applicability to modeling and analyzing digital systems within a PRA framework. This study identified the Dynamic Flow-graph Methodology (DFM) and the Markov Methodology as the most promising tools. As a result of this study, a task was defined under the framework of a collaborative agreement between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Ohio State Univ. (OSU). The objective of this task is to set up benchmark systems representative of digital systems used in nuclear power plants and to evaluate DFM and the Markov methodology with these benchmark systems. The first benchmark system is a typical Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) Steam Generator (SG) Feedwater System (FWS) level control system based on an earlier ASCA work with the U.S. NRC 2, upgraded with modern control laws. ASCA, Inc. is currently under contract to OSU to apply DFM to this benchmark system. The goal is to investigate the feasibility of using DFM to analyze and quantify digital system risk, and to integrate the DFM analytical results back into the plant event tree/fault tree PRA model. (authors)

Research Organization:
American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
OSTI ID:
22030179
Resource Relation:
Conference: NPIC and HMIT 2006: 5. International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Plant Instrumentation Controls, and Human Machine Interface Technology, Albuquerque, NM (United States), 12-16 Nov 2006; Other Information: Country of input: France; 5 refs.; Related Information: In: Proceedings of the 5. International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Plant Instrumentation Controls, and Human Machine Interface Technology| 1430 p.
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English