Microcomputer-based probabilistic risk assessment for nuclear power plant safety studies

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:5226258

Van Siclen, V S; Russell, K D; Sattison, M B; Stewart, H D

Probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) information in the analysis of safety issues pertaining to nuclear power plant systems has been underutilized in the past due to the large effort required to input the PRA data and to the large size of the computers needed to run PRA codes. The microcomputer-based Integrated Reliability and Risk Analysis System (IRRAS) and the System Analysis and Risk Assessment System (SARA), recently developed at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, have greatly enhanced the ability of nuclear power plant analysts to use PRA techniques in their decision-making and analysis of safety issues. IRRAS is a tool for modeling and analyzing systems reliability and risk that allows the analyst to create, modify, update, and reanalyze a plant PRA to keep the risk assessment current with the plant's configuration and operation. The PRA is created and edited using a graphical fault tree editor, which significantly enhances the speed and accuracy with which the PRA data can be manipulated. The SARA system, incorporating the PRA data input in IRRAS, is used to analyze safety issues in nuclear power plants. To simulate changes to plant systems, SARA users alter the failure rates of basic events of the plant system models. They then evaluate the significance of these changes through the calculation of the resultant core damage and accident sequence probabilities and importance measures. IRRAS and SARA demonstrate that reliability and risk analysis studies of nuclear power plants, as well as of any other complex systems such as chemical plants or the space shuttle, can be performed very effectively on microcomputers, providing powerful and flexible tools for the safety analyst.

• Research Organization: EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-76ID01570
• OSTI ID: 5226258
• Report Number(s): EGG-M-05387; CONF-870669-3; ON: DE88006804
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220200 -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Components & Accessories
220900* -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Reactor Safety
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
990220 -- Computers
Computerized Models
& Computer Programs-- (1987-1989)
AVAILABILITY
COMPUTER CODES
COMPUTERS
DECISION MAKING
ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
FAILURES
FAULT TREE ANALYSIS
I CODES
MAINTENANCE
MICROELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
MICROPROCESSORS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
POWER PLANTS
PROBABILITY
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTOR SAFETY
RELIABILITY
RISK ASSESSMENT
S CODES
SAFETY
SYSTEM FAILURE ANALYSIS
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
THERMAL POWER PLANTS