• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.2047-2052
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• 2023

Risk-informed approach has been widely applied in the safety design, regulation, and operation of nuclear reactors. It has been commonly accepted that risk-informed design optimization should be used in the innovative reactor designs to make nuclear system highly safe and reliable. In spite of the risk-informed approach has been used in some advanced nuclear reactors designs, such as Westinghouse IRIS, Gen-IV sodium fast reactors and lead-based fast reactors, the process of risk-informed design of nuclear reactors is hardly to carry out when passive system reliability should be integrated in the framework. A practical method for new passive safety reactors based on probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) and passive system reliability analyze linking is proposed in this paper. New three-dimension frequency-consequence curve based on risk concept with three variables is used in this method. The proposed method has been applied to the determination optimization of design options selection in a 10 MWth lead-based research reactor(LR) to obtain one optimized system design in conceptual design stage, using the integrated reliability and probabilistic safety assessment program RiskA, and the computation resources and time consumption in this process was demonstrated reasonable and acceptable.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.12
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• pp.4601-4619
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• 2022

The classical Probabilistic Safety Analysis (PSA) does not include any time dependence explicitly. However, the success criteria (SC) could evolve during the cycle for some initiating events. In that sense, there is a type of sequence in which this time-dependency is quite important, the family of Anticipated Transient without Scram (ATWS) sequences in Pressurized Water Reactors. Therefore, a new risk-informed approach is proposed in this paper, which makes it possible to obtain the time-dependent SC evolution of the safety functions affected by the Moderator Temperature Coefficient (MTC) value. Then, the evolution of the ATWS conditional core damage probability (CCDP) could be obtained using a PSA model. To quantify the CCDP, the average values of the time-dependent failure probabilities must be computed. Finally, the comparison between the CCDP obtained through the application of the classical PSA approach and the new one makes it possible to quantify the impact of time-dependence on the SC of the headers that this new risk-informed ATWS approach can provide.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.327-348
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• 2008

A risk-informed regulatory approach implies that risk insights be used as supplement of deterministic information for safety decision-making purposes. In this view, the use of risk assessment techniques is expected to lead to improved safety and a more rational allocation of the limited resources available. On the other hand, it is recognized that uncertainties affect both the deterministic safety analyses and the risk assessments. In order for the risk-informed decision making process to be effective, the adequate representation and treatment of such uncertainties is mandatory. In this paper, the risk-informed regulatory framework is considered under the focus of the uncertainty issue. Traditionally, probability theory has provided the language and mathematics for the representation and treatment of uncertainty. More recently, other mathematical structures have been introduced. In particular, the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence is here illustrated as a generalized framework encompassing probability theory and possibility theory. The special case of probability theory is only addressed as term of comparison, given that it is a well known subject. On the other hand, the special case of possibility theory is amply illustrated. An example of the combination of probability and possibility for treating the uncertainty in the parameters of an event tree is illustrated.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.231-244
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• 2005

In recent decades, significant effort has led to risk-informed improvements to regulation. Performance-based approaches also promise significant gains in efficiency (level of safety versus effort). However, significant work remains to be done before performance-based approaches realize their full potential in regulation of nuclear power plants. This paper reviews key concepts related to performance-based regulation, discusses some applications of performance-based approaches, and identifies issues that still need to be addressed. Realistic, experience-based models of licensee performance are still lacking; this makes it difficult to assess the prospective effectiveness of any given regulatory approach, in light of the performance issues that it will actually face. Also, while 'compliance' is an intuitively straightforward concept to apply within a prescriptive implementation, its analog in a performance-based approach remains unclear. An overarching theme of the paper is that formal methods of decision analysis are very helpful in developing appropriate regulatory approaches, especially performance-based ones; this theme is illustrated at several points.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.136.1-136.1
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• 2003

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.136.2-136.2
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• 2003

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2019.05a
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• pp.21-22
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• 2019

• KEPCO Journal on Electric Power and Energy
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.321-322
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• 2020

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1998.05a
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• pp.887-892
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• 1998

A risk informed approach to relax AOTs and STIs of RPS/ESPAS in technical specifications of kori units 3, 4 was performed in this paper. With the proposed AOTs and STIs, system unavailabilities and core damage frequency were quantified using PSA model. The results shoe that core damage frequency is slightly increased by extending AOTs and STIs but negligible. As considering the benefits such as reduction of plant transients and man power for test and maintenance, the relaxation of AOTs/STIs of RPS/ESFAS is justified

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.764-775
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• 2020

Periodic safety reviews (PSRs) are conducted on operating nuclear power plants (NPPs) and have been mandated also for research reactors in Korea, in response to the Fukushima accident. One safety review tool, the probabilistic safety assessment (PSA), aims to identify weaknesses in the design and operation of the research reactor, and to evaluate and compare possible safety improvements. However, the PSA for research reactors is difficult due to scarce data availability. An important element in the analysis of research reactors is the reactor protection system (RPS), with its functionality and importance. In this view, we consider that of the AGN-201K, a zero-power reactor without forced decay heat removal systems, to demonstrate a risk-informed safety improvement study. By incorporating risk- and safety-significance importance measures, and sensitivity and uncertainty analyses, the proposed method identifies critical components in the RPS reliability model, systematically proposes potential safety improvements and ranks them to assist in the decision-making process.