Reliability and availability simulation for vessel cooling system of the high temperature engineering test reactor

The article deals with the problem of risk analysis for new and unique nuclear facilities where safety-related systems are continuously operated during normal exploitation. A non-standard approach to system modeling was applied which goes beyond traditional method suitable for on-demand safety systems with a fixed mission time. As an example, the Vessel Cooling System (VCS) of the Japanese High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) has been analyzed in terms of life-cycle reliability and availability. Normal operation and emergency conditions have been considered, differing in the requirements for the system performance. In the former, the VCS reliability for cooling the biological shield around the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) has been examined. In the latter, the VCS availability to remove the residual heat from the reactor core and RPV has been simulated. The results are of high importance for the safety and profitability of the HTTR-based electricity hydrogen cogeneration plant (HTTR-GT/H2). The high reliability of the VCS under emergency conditions has been confirmed, thus contributing to the probabilistic safety assessment (PSA). Moreover, the fraction of the Forced Outage Rate (FOR) caused by VCS failures has been determined, thus contributing to the plant profitability studies.

Automated summary

This article addresses the issue of risk analysis for new nuclear facilities with continuously operated safety-related systems. A non-standard approach to system modeling was applied, and the Vessel Cooling System of the HTTR was analyzed in terms of reliability and availability. The results are crucial for the safety and profitability of the HTTR-based electricity hydrogen cogeneration plant. The high reliability of the VCS under emergency conditions has been confirmed, contributing to the probabilistic safety assessment.