REAL-TIME COLLECTION OF OPERATIONAL DATA TO SUPPORT RISK-BASED OPERATION REGULATION AND INSPECTIONS AT NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

COMPUTERIZED DATA COLLECTION DEVICES EXIST AND ARE BEING USED IN VARIOUS APPLICATIONS AT SOME NPPS FOR SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT NOT INSTRUMENTED IN THE CONTROL ROOM. HOWEVER, CURRENT APPLICATIONS IN THE NUCLEAR POWER INDUSTRY ARE RATHER SPORADIC AND NOT EXPLOITING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE TECHNOLOGY. FOR EXAMPLE, SEVERAL DIFFERENT NPPS USE SUCH SYSTEMS FOR SINGLE- PURPOSES SUCH AS TRENDS IN EQUIPMENT PERFORMANCE. IN THE PROPOSED RESEARCH, NEEDS AND SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS WILL BE DEFINED FOR AN INTEGRATED, REAL-TIME DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS SYSTEM FOR PLANT EQUIPMENT AND HUMAN ACTIONS THAT INCLUDE LINKS TO RISK MODELS OF THE PLANT AND KEY SYSTEMS. THE SYSTEM WILL SUPPORT MANY CONCURRENT REGULATORY AND COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS, INCLUDING: RISK-BASED DECISION MAKING AND INSPECTIONS; RISK-BASED TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS; SUPPORT OF THE MAINTENANCE RULE; AND PLANT AVAILABILITY IMPROVEMENT. IN THE PROPOSED RESEARCH,APG WOULD APPLY KNOWLEDGE OF PRA, HRA AND NPP SAFETY AND RELIABILITY TO DEFINE THE A) NEEDS ANDSCOPE OF THE DATA COLLECTION AN ANALYSES, B) VIABILITY OF AN INTEGRATED PROGRAM TO ACCOMPLISH VARIOUS RISK-BASED APPLICATIONS, C) SOFTWARE REQUIRED FOR THE APPLICATION(S) AND D) SUITABILITY OF USING A PERSONAL-COMPUTER (PC) ENVIRONMENT VERSUS LARGER SYSTEMS.