The Method of Calculating the Frequency of the Initiating Event in a Dual-Unit Site with the Example of LOOP Events

Wanxin Feng, Ming Wang, Zhixin Xu and Yu Yu ()
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Wanxin Feng: State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Power Safety Monitoring Technology and Equipment, China Nuclear Engineering Co., Ltd., Shenzhen 518172, China
Ming Wang: State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Power Safety Monitoring Technology and Equipment, China Nuclear Engineering Co., Ltd., Shenzhen 518172, China
Zhixin Xu: State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Power Safety Monitoring Technology and Equipment, China Nuclear Engineering Co., Ltd., Shenzhen 518172, China
Yu Yu: Beijing Key Laboratory of Passive Safety Technology for Nuclear Energy, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 2, 1-8

Abstract: In a nuclear power plant, the consequences of a multi-unit event occurring concurrently are more serious than those of a single-unit event. The first step in the probabilistic safety analysis of multi-units is to analyze the initiating events and calculate the frequency of initiating events for simultaneous events of multiple units. The difficulty in using the fault tree model is that the known data are all frequency data from a single unit and cannot be logically multiplied. In this paper, taking a dual unit as an example, we used the formula to convert the probability of failure of the second unit within 72 h and then build a fault tree model. After analyzing the results of the dual unit, the most frequent cut set was the common cause of failure of the main transformer and of the switching failure of the main and auxiliary external power. The final calculation of the frequency of simultaneous loss of off-site power events for the dual units within 72 h was 3.22 × 10 −4 /year. After comparing with the single-unit results, it was found that the common cause failure of each unit’s independent equipment was the main reason for the occurrence of a loss of off-site power. Shared equipment in a single unit was ranked low in all the cut sets (such as the stability of the external grid for the main and auxiliary power systems) but was ranked high in multiple units. The calculation results of the frequency of initiating events of double units were two orders of magnitude lower than those of a single unit. However, the consequences of simultaneous events of multiple units were higher than those of single reactors. Therefore, attention should be paid to the risk of a simultaneous loss of off-site power event of multiple units.

Keywords: multi-unit risk; initiating event; loss of off-site power; nuclear safety; PSA; fault tree (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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