Static and dynamic reliability studies of a fast reactor shutdown system using smart component method

Abstract

In this paper, two types of reliability studies, static and dynamic, are presented using a recently developed dynamic reliability analysis method – smart component method (SCM). The SCM was developed (Shukla and Arul, 2019) for addressing some of the problems in the current methods for modeling the reliability of dynamic systems. The SCM shifts the burden of proof responsibility to the algorithms in the method and provides an intuitive framework for modeling of a complex system. It uses object-oriented design for system representation and Monte Carlo simulation for reliability quantification. The ease of modeling aspect is required for acceptance of the method for routine use. The objectives of the study are: One, to demonstrate SCM for static reliability modeling of a practical system. Two, modeling of multiple common cause failures and simultaneous/non-simultaneous testing of repairable components that are often encountered in real systems. Three, dynamic reliability evaluation of a dynamically reconfigurable system. A fast reactor safety system, i.e., shutdown system (SDS), is selected as the practical system, and, a smart component model of the SDS is developed. From the developed models both static and dynamic reliability analysis are carried out. The results are compared with the well-established fault tree and approximate reliability evaluation for comparative validation. The study of a dynamically reconfigurable logic system using SCM, apart from demonstrating the application of SCM to a dynamic system, illustrates possible reliability improvement through the implementation of reconfigurable logic.