A DIFFERENTIAL MODEL FOR EQUIVALENT PARAMETERS - APPLICATION TO 2 RESIDUAL HEAT REMOVAL SYSTEMS PARAMETERIZATION AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS

The work presented in this paper has been carried out in the frame wor k of the innovation and future reactors R&D activities in the CEA-Fran ce. It consists of the comparison of two residual heal removal systems (RHRS's) with regard to their respective reliability and maintainabil ity. High parameterization capability was required in order to enable the identification of the relative weight of different sub-systems and principal components in each RHRS. An exhaustive parametric analysis was carried out using the Differential Model for Equivalent Parameters (DMEP). Parameters like components repairability, human failures and common mode effects could be analysed for both RHRS candidates. Some i ntuitive designer choices have also been assessed. (C) 1997 Elsevier S cience S.A.