Integrating Safety Critical Software System in Probabilistic Safety Assessment

Abstract

In the recent times, computer-based systems are frequently used for protection and control of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). In the conventional Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA), the contribution from software in these computer-based systems was not given necessary attention. However, from operating experience, it has been found failures in such systems can also result in initiating events that have the potential for leading into Core Damage in the event of unavailability of the respective Engineered Safety Features. The impact of a typical computer-based system on PSA of Indian Nuclear Power Plant is demonstrated.