Physics-Based Multi-State Models of Passive Component Degradation for the R7 Reactor Simulation Environment
Abstract: The Next Generation Systems Analysis Code - referred to as R7 - is reactor systems simulation software being developed to support the Risk-Informed Safety Margin Characterization Pathway of the U.S. Department of Energy's Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program. It will provide an integrated multi-physics environment, implemented in an uncertainty quantification (UQ) framework that can produce risk and other performance insights on long-term reactor operations. An element of this simulation environment will be the performance of passive components and materials. Conventional models of component reliability are largely parametric, relying on plant service data to estimate component lifetimes and failure rates. This type of model has limited usefulness in the R7 environment where the intent is to explicitly determine the influence of physical stressors on component degradation. In this paper, we describe a new class of multi-state physics-based component models designed to be R7-compatible. These models capture the physics of materials degradation while also incorporating the effects of interventions and component rejuvenation. The models are implemented in a cumulative damage framework that allows the impact of an evolving physical environment to be addressed without recourse to resampling within the Monte Carlo-based UQ framework. The paper describes an application to stress corrosion cracking in dissimilar metal welds - a principal contributor to potential loss of coolant accidents. So while R7 will have the more conventional capability of reactor simulation codes to model the impact of degraded components and systems on plant performance, the methodology described here allows R7 to model the inverse effect; the impact of the physical environment on component degradation and performance.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1113620
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-85623; 830403000
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 11th International Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management Conference and the Annual European Safety and Reliability Conference (PSAM11 ESREL 2012), June 25-29, 3012, Helsinki, Finland, 3:1761-1770
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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