Progress in Methodologies for the Assessment of Passive Safety System Reliability in Advanced Reactors

Book excerpt: This publication summarizes the results of an IAEA coordinated research project on the development of advanced methodologies for the assessment of passive safety system performance in advanced reactors. This includes discussions on various methodologies to assess the performance of passive engineered safety features in innovative small reactors, including the Indian AHWR 300 LEU and the Argentinian CAREM25. The publication focuses on the different reliability assessment approaches, methodologies, analysis and evaluation of the results and technical challenges. It provides the insights resulting from the analysis on the technical issues associated with assessing the reliability of passive systems in the context of nuclear safety and probabilistic safety analysis. A viable path towards the implementation of the research efforts in the related areas is also delineated.