Verification and Validation Strategy for LWRS Tools
One intension of the Department of Energy (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program is to create advanced computational tools for safety assessment that enable more accurate representation of a nuclear power plant safety margin. These tools are to be used to study the unique issues posed by lifetime extension and relicensing of the existing operating fleet of nuclear power plants well beyond their first license extension period. The extent to which new computational models / codes such as RELAP-7 can be used for reactor licensing / relicensing activities depends mainly upon the thoroughness with which they have been verified and validated (V&V). This document outlines the LWRS program strategy by which RELAP-7 code V&V planning is to be accomplished. From the perspective of developing and applying thermal-hydraulic and reactivity-specific models to reactor systems, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Regulatory Guide 1.203 gives key guidance to numeric model developers and those tasked with the validation of numeric models. By creating Regulatory Guide 1.203 the NRC defined a framework for development, assessment, and approval of transient and accident analysis methods. As a result, this methodology is very relevant and is recommended as the path forward for RELAP-7 V&V. However, the unique issues posed by lifetime extension will require considerations in addition to those addressed in Regulatory Guide 1.203. Some of these include prioritization of which plants / designs should be studied first, coupling modern supporting experiments to the stringent needs of new high fidelity models / codes, and scaling of aging effects.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE - NE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC07-05ID14517
- OSTI ID:
- 1058091
- Report Number(s):
- INL/EXT-12-27066
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Best-Estimate-Plus-Uncertainty-Informed Deterministic Safety Evaluation
Development of a Consensus Standard for Verification and Validation of Nuclear System Thermal-Fluids Software