A new layer to the PRA: Operational performance risk assessment

Askin Guler Yigitoglu, Michael D. Muhlheim, Sacit M. Cetiner, Richard S. Denning

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

Abstract

A supervisory control system (SCS) concept developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory provides automated risk-informed decision-making capabilities with the ultimate goal of significantly boosting plant availability while reducing dependency on human resources for multimodule advanced reactors. The decision-making process integrates online monitoring systems and the associated diagnostic and prognostics tools to continuously account for component health in an integrated probabilistic/deterministic metamodel to capture the system behavior during a select set of postulated anticipated operational occurrence scenarios. The operational performance risk assessment (OPRA) approach is introduced to probabilistically support SCS decisions so that unnecessary trips and challenges to plant safety systems are minimized or prevented. OPRA identifies and ranks the success paths, combinations of non-safety systems and components, with real-time failure data using an event tree/fault tree method. OPRA does not interfere with the safety systems and adds a buffer zone to the existing probabilistic risk assessment domain by minimizing possible transients. In this work, failure scenarios related to feedwater and turbine control valves are analyzed for the Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor Power Reactor Innovative Small Module design at full power. As an alternative to the default shutdown option, four and six success paths (full-power-operation and reduced-power-operation) are defined respectively for the two cases demonstrated within the OPRA framework.

Original languageEnglish
StatePublished - 2018
Event14th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management, PSAM 2018 - Los Angeles, United States
Duration: Sep 16 2018Sep 21 2018

Conference

Conference14th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management, PSAM 2018
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityLos Angeles
Period09/16/1809/21/18

Funding

This project is funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, udrntehe Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface technical area of the Advanced Reactor Technologies program. This project is funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, under the Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface technical area of the Advanced Reactor Technologies program.

Keywords

  • Decision-making
  • Operational PRA
  • Supervisory control system

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