REactor Safety Analysis ToolboX RESA-TX

Abstract

The REactor Safety Analysis ToolboX RESA-TX is a software and data package in development that combines the automatisation of all established procedures for deterministic safety analysis (DSA), the integration of expert know-how and a large database including the most relevant information required for conducting a DSA. In the current state of the art, DSA is a complex and thus error-prone process that is highly time-consuming and repetitive. The reliability of the result is strongly dependent on the availability of plant data and expert know-how. The idea of developing the RESA-TX toolbox arose at GRS to cope with these conditions. The innovative approach proposes an automated and standardised procedure, supported by a large database of plant design characteristics, plant behaviour, regulatory rules and DSA expert knowledge incorporated within the tool. Its application allows the end user to automatically generate and verify an input deck, as well as conduct design basis accident (DBA) calculations for a certain design with highly reduced manual intervention. The databases can be extended depending on available information or other boundary conditions. A heuristic approach is integrated into the model generation process, where users often suffer from a lack of information about the facility under consideration. These heuristics can be replaced when higher information quality is available or enhanced over time, which can lead to more reliable results with increasing usage of the tool. As a result, the application of RESA-TX could highly increase the efficiency of the DSA process, reducing both repetitiveness as well as user-induced errors. This in return will lead to an improvement in the quality of the analysis and reliability of the results. In consequence, RESA-TX will allow for a DSA to be conducted more frequently in situations where time or budget was a limitation before, thereby contributing to an increase in reactor safety.