Probabilistic Analysis Of Nuclear Reactor Safety

The book has been developed in conjunction with NERS 462, a course offered every year to seniors and graduate students in the University of Michigan NERS program. The first half of the book covers the principles of risk analysis, the techniques used to develop and update a reliability data base, the reliability of multi-component systems, Markov methods used to analyze the unavailability of systems with repairs, fault trees and event trees used in probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs), and failure modes of systems. All of this material is general enough that it could be used in non-nuclear applications, although there is an emphasis placed on the analysis of nuclear systems. The second half of the book covers the safety analysis of nuclear energy systems, an analysis of major accidents and incidents that occurred in commercial nuclear plants, applications of PRA techniques to the safety analysis of nuclear power plants (focusing on a major PRA study for five nuclear power plants), practical PRA examples, and emerging techniques in the structure of dynamic event trees and fault trees that can provide a more realistic representation of complex sequences of events. The book concludes with a discussion on passive safety features of advanced nuclear energy systems under development and approaches taken for risk-informed regulations for nuclear plants.

This book describes a number of the more important improvements in risk assessment methodology in the nuclear industry, developed over the last decade. It presents them in an instructive way so as to be suitable for those wishing to understand the techniques. The methodology of modern probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) is discussed in detail. This book is divided into six parts. Part I, Protecting the Public Health and Safety provides an overview of risk analysis including results presentation, safety goals, emergency planning, and public perception. Part II, the Mathematics, which is necessary to understand the text. Part III, safety Aspects of Light Water Reactors describes the types of plants and goes on to discuss accident initiator selection and frequencies. Part IV, PRA, describes system modelling, human factors analysis, data bases, codes, system interactions, external events, core melt physics, and the transport of radionuclides to the public. Part V discusses 34 types of applications of PRA. Part VI, Resources, provides a glossary, references, and an index. Problems are provided at the end of each part to both stimulate understanding and introduce additional material. This book would be a very valuable addition to the reference library of practitioners in the risk assessment business. It is also a useful instructional text for graduate and undergraduate nuclear engineering students as well as newcomers to the field.

In addition to presenting methodology, it shows how to identify accident vulnerability in the two industries. It reviews the causes of the two major nuclear accidents and many fatal accidents in the chemical industry, including Bhopal. Many examples of applications of PSA to both industries are presented."--BOOK JACKET. "Problems are included at the end of many chapters with answers at the back of the book."--Jacket.

Presents a practical approach for incorporating human reliability analysis (HRA) into probabilistic safety assessment (PSA). This document describes the steps needed and the documentation that should be provided both to support the PSA itself and to ensure effective communication of important information arising from the studies.

Probabilistic methods are increasingly being used to complement deterministic methods in assessing the safety and ensuring the reliability of research reactors. Addressing features specific to research reactors, this publication suggests a practical approach for the development and implementation of a project using probabilistic methods in terms of objective, scope, data and modelling, as well as the application of results to enhance safety and reliability. This publication is intended to be used by operating organizations, regulatory bodies and technical support organizations when performing or reviewing research reactor assessments in which probabilistic methods are applied. It will ideally be read in conjunction with relevant IAEA Safety Standards Series publications and technical guidelines for safety analysis, operation and maintenance, and component reliability data for research reactors.