Nuclear plant safety evaluation system

Patent · Tue Dec 30 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:7124539

Herbst, J J; Sider, R G; Jaquith, R E; Meijer, C H

This patent describes a nuclear power plant having a reactor core, a multiplicity of plant components for providing reactor safety functions including reactor shutdown, reactor coolant inventory control, reactor coolant pressure control, reactor core heat removal, and reactor coolant heat removal. It also has a plant control room including means for generating a status signal indicative of the availability of at least some of the components. An improved safety evaluation system is described comprising: means for storing a plant-specific data base including component level core damage logic paths and the failure probability of each component, the logic paths being in the form of constituent cutsets. Each of the cutsets consists of a representation of an initiating event and the necessary component failures that would prevent an adequate plant response to avoid core damage; means for selecting plant condition scenarios by modifying at least one of the component failure probabilities to represent plant components actually or potentially unavailable; means responsive to the means for storing a plant-specific data base and the means for selecting plant condition scenarios, for associating a risk figure of merit with the change in the core damage occurrence rate resulting from the unavailable components. The means for associating a risk figure of merit includes a computer implemented program for determining the core damage occurrence rate.

• Assignee: Combustion Engineering, Inc., Windsor, CT
• Patent Number(s): US 4632802
• OSTI ID: 7124539
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220900* -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Reactor Safety
ACCIDENTS
AFTER-HEAT REMOVAL
COMPUTER GRAPHICS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
CONSOLES
CONTROL
CONTROL ROOMS
COOLANTS
COOLING SYSTEMS
DAMAGE
DATA BASE MANAGEMENT
ENERGY SYSTEMS
EQUATIONS
FAILURES
MANAGEMENT
MEMORY DEVICES
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
POWER PLANTS
PRESSURE CONTROL
PROBABILITY
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTOR COOLING SYSTEMS
REACTOR CORE DISRUPTION
REACTOR CORES
REACTOR SAFETY
REACTOR SHUTDOWN
REMOVAL
RISK ASSESSMENT
SAFETY
SHUTDOWNS
SIGNALS
SIMULATION
THERMAL POWER PLANTS