ASAMPSA2 Project

• a transverse group of End-Users constituted of representatives of plant operators, plant designers, TSOs, safety authorities, R&D organizations, L2 PSA developers. The objectives of this group are:
  • at the beginning of the coordination action, to define and/or validate the initial needs for practical L2 PSA guidelines for both ‘limited’ and ‘full-scope’ methodologies according to the different potential applications, and specific End-User needs,
  • to provide a continuous oversight of the work of the Technical Group,
  • to verify that any proposed  L2 PSA guidelines can fulfill the initial and evolving, if there is any, End User needs at the end of the coordination action,
  • to define any proposed follow-up actions, in collaboration with theTechnical Group.
  This End User Group will benefit from the public domain outcome of the current the SARNET L2 PSA work package, concerning for instance the synthesis of existing practices and the existing guidelines on L2 PSA. Activities of this End User Group correspond to the first work package of the coordination action.

  Nota : this transverse End-User group will be constituted by some of the Consortium Partners, that are supposed to contact all European L2 PSA “End-Users” whatever their position (plant operators, plant designers, Technical Safety Organizations (TSO), Safety Authorities). This group is supposed to provide a general opinion from European countries stakeholders and not only the opinion of Consortium partners.

• a Technical Group of L2 PSA developers: this group includes representatives of organizations which have already performed a level 2 PSA, with either limited-scope or full scope methods. The objective of this group is to produce best practice guidelines for level 2 PSA performance, for both proposed methodologies. A secondary objective is to provide a commentary, in term of general rules and specific needs, for certain Gen IV reactor concepts. The group will also identify what types of data sets (including severe accident codes and physical knowledge) are needed for performing the different level 2 PSAs.

  This group will start, like the first group, from the public domain knowledge generated by the current SARNET project and other international organizations concerning the methodologies to build event trees, consideration of the different physical phenomena and performance of the uncertainty analyses.

  To make the coordination easier, this technical activity is separated in 3 work packages:
  

  • WP2 : elaboration of guidelines for a limited scope methodology L2 PSA,
  • WP3 : elaboration of guidelines for a full scope methodology L2 PSA,
  • WP4 : commentary on adaptation for GEN IV reactor concepts.
  WP2 and WP3 will proceed in parallel and will strong interfaces and common guidance to ensure that they do not produce divergent conclusions. Common topics between WP2 and WP3 will be identified at the beginning of the project to avoid non useful duplication of tasks. WP4 will consider more prospective actions and is a rather small part of the coordination action. Nevertheless, some interesting follows up can be expected from this group.

Phase 1 : determination and synthesis of End Users needs (WP1)

This phase will be realized through a questionnaire and a synthesis of End-Users needs, according to the existing requirements (if any) or more general safety objectives and the different potential applications. The questionnaire will distinguish between operating plants (Gen II), advanced reactor (Gen III) and future reactor (Gen IV) designs. A workshop will facilitate sharing the outcome from the questionnaire and incorporating the final suggestions and needs from the End-Users into an input for the Technical Group.
The synthesis of End Users needs will be quite general, to be valid in all countries and for all End-Users, but should also include consideration of some important specific issues like LERF definition, mission time, quality of the study or interaction between level 1 / level 2 PSA. If a complete consensus cannot be reached, the majority viewpoints and reasons for remaining differences will be explained.

Phase 2 : elaboration of technical guidelines (PSA scope, content and methods, results presentation) (WP2 & WP3)

This phase consists firstly of preparation of the objectives and scope of the limited-scope methodology and full-scope methodology L2 PSAs, based on the outcome of the synthesis of the End-User needs. This will be followed by the development, in parallel, of two sets of guidelines for both types of L2 PSA. A joint workshop with the End User Group will be held to present and incorporate any additional needs and suggestions of the End-Users. This task will constitute the main effort of the coordination action.
The Technical Group should also identify what types of data sets are needed for performing both types of level 2 PSA methodology: The results of this element will include suggestions for future R&D programs (severe accident codes development and benchmarking and specific experimental needs).
The existing information database, e.g.,  CSNI/WGRISK synthesis, German guidelines, output of current  SARNET PSA L2 project, guidelines of US-NRC for Individual Plant Examinations, IAEA guidelines (including the ones in preparation), ASME guidelines, will ensure high quality deliverables suitable acknowledgement and acceptance by the European End-Users.

Phase 2b : adaptation for GEN IV reactor (WP4)

The technical commentary on adaptation to  GEN IV reactor concepts will be performed in parallel to the activity on existing plants, but with a close connection. The objective is to determine how far the level 2 PSA methodology guidelines being developed in WP2 and WP3 are relevant for Gen IV reactor concepts and what analytical models have to be newly developed or extended to describe the new features of Gen IV reactor concepts in terms of performing a level 2 PSA.
The project will be limited to Sodium Fast Reactors (SFR), Gas Fast cooled Reactor (GFR), (Very) High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) concepts and Lead Fast reactor (LFR).

Phase 3 – validation by End Users (WP1)

• In this phase, the End Users will have the opportunity to express their opinion on the technical activities (WP2, 3 and 4) and take part in the workshops to openly discuss the WP findings and further make proposals, if any, to improve the quality of the deliverables. The final comments and suggestions will be incorporated in the final versions of both technical guidelines and the commentary for advanced designs.
• End Users will also participate in developing the recommendations for follow-up actions at this stage.