System reliability analysis using dominant failure modes identified by selective searching technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Dong-Seok; Ok, Seung-Yong; Song, Junho; Koh, Hyun-Moo

2013-01-01

The failure of a redundant structural system is often described by innumerable system failure modes such as combinations or sequences of local failures. An efficient approach is proposed to identify dominant failure modes in the space of random variables, and then perform system reliability analysis to compute the system failure probability. To identify dominant failure modes in the decreasing order of their contributions to the system failure probability, a new simulation-based selective searching technique is developed using a genetic algorithm. The system failure probability is computed by a multi-scale matrix-based system reliability (MSR) method. Lower-scale MSR analyses evaluate the probabilities of the identified failure modes and their statistical dependence. A higher-scale MSR analysis evaluates the system failure probability based on the results of the lower-scale analyses. Three illustrative examples demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the approach through comparison with existing methods and Monte Carlo simulations. The results show that the proposed method skillfully identifies the dominant failure modes, including those neglected by existing approaches. The multi-scale MSR method accurately evaluates the system failure probability with statistical dependence fully considered. The decoupling between the failure mode identification and the system reliability evaluation allows for effective applications to larger structural systems

Probabilistic risk assessment course documentation. Volume 5. System reliability and analysis techniques Session D - quantification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lofgren, E.V.

1985-08-01

This course in System Reliability and Analysis Techniques focuses on the probabilistic quantification of accident sequences and the link between accident sequences and consequences. Other sessions in this series focus on the quantification of system reliability and the development of event trees and fault trees. This course takes the viewpoint that event tree sequences or combinations of system failures and success are available and that Boolean equations for system fault trees have been developed and are available. 93 figs., 11 tabs

Reliability analysis in intelligent machines

Science.gov (United States)

Mcinroy, John E.; Saridis, George N.

1990-01-01

Given an explicit task to be executed, an intelligent machine must be able to find the probability of success, or reliability, of alternative control and sensing strategies. By using concepts for information theory and reliability theory, new techniques for finding the reliability corresponding to alternative subsets of control and sensing strategies are proposed such that a desired set of specifications can be satisfied. The analysis is straightforward, provided that a set of Gaussian random state variables is available. An example problem illustrates the technique, and general reliability results are presented for visual servoing with a computed torque-control algorithm. Moreover, the example illustrates the principle of increasing precision with decreasing intelligence at the execution level of an intelligent machine.

Reliability analysis under epistemic uncertainty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nannapaneni, Saideep; Mahadevan, Sankaran

2016-01-01

This paper proposes a probabilistic framework to include both aleatory and epistemic uncertainty within model-based reliability estimation of engineering systems for individual limit states. Epistemic uncertainty is considered due to both data and model sources. Sparse point and/or interval data regarding the input random variables leads to uncertainty regarding their distribution types, distribution parameters, and correlations; this statistical uncertainty is included in the reliability analysis through a combination of likelihood-based representation, Bayesian hypothesis testing, and Bayesian model averaging techniques. Model errors, which include numerical solution errors and model form errors, are quantified through Gaussian process models and included in the reliability analysis. The probability integral transform is used to develop an auxiliary variable approach that facilitates a single-level representation of both aleatory and epistemic uncertainty. This strategy results in an efficient single-loop implementation of Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) and FORM/SORM techniques for reliability estimation under both aleatory and epistemic uncertainty. Two engineering examples are used to demonstrate the proposed methodology. - Highlights: • Epistemic uncertainty due to data and model included in reliability analysis. • A novel FORM-based approach proposed to include aleatory and epistemic uncertainty. • A single-loop Monte Carlo approach proposed to include both types of uncertainties. • Two engineering examples used for illustration.

Highly reliable TOFD UT Technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Acharya, G.D.; Trivedi, S.A.R.; Pai, K.B.

2003-01-01

The high performance of the time of flight diffraction technique (TOFD) with regard to the detection capabilities of weld defects such as crack, slag, lack of fusion has led to a rapidly increasing acceptance of the technique as a pre?service inspection tool. Since the early 1990s TOFD has been applied to several projects, where it replaced the commonly used radiographic testing. The use of TOM lead to major time savings during new build and replacement projects. At the same time the TOFD technique was used as base line inspection, which enables monitoring in the future for critical welds, but also provides documented evidence for life?time. The TOFD technique as the ability to detect and simultaneously size flows of nearly any orientation within the weld and heat affected zone. TOM is recognized as a reliable, proven technique for detection and sizing of defects and proven to be a time saver, resulting in shorter shutdown periods and construction project times. Thus even in cases where inspection price of TOFD per welds is higher, in the end it will result in significantly lower overall costs and improve quality. This paper deals with reliability, economy, acceptance criteria and field experience. It also covers comparative study between radiography technique Vs. TOFD. (Author)

Comparison of the THERP quantitative tables with the human reliability analysis techniques of second generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarenga, Marco Antonio Bayout; Fonseca, Renato Alves

2009-01-01

The methodology THERP is classified as a Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) technique of first generation and its emergence was an important initial step for the development of HRA techniques in the industry. Due to the fact of being a first generation technique, THERP quantification tables of human errors are based on a taxonomy that does not take into account the human errors mechanisms. Concerning the three cognitive levels in the Rasmussen framework for the cognitive information processing in human beings, THERP deals in most cases with errors that happen in the perceptual-motor level (stimulus-response). In the rules level, this technique can work better using the time dependent probabilities curves of diagnosis errors, obtained in nuclear power plants simulators. Nevertheless, this is done without processing any error mechanisms. Another deficiency is the fact that the performance shaping factors are in limited number. Furthermore, the influences (predictable or not) of operational context, arising from operational deviations of the most probable (in terms of occurrence probabilities) standard scenarios beside the consequent operational tendencies (operator actions) are not estimated. This work makes a critical analysis of these deficiencies and it points out possible solutions in order to modify the THERP tables, seeking a realistic quantification, that does not underestimate or overestimate the human errors probabilities when applying the HRA techniques to nuclear power plants. The critical analysis is accomplished through a qualitative comparison between THERP, a HRA technique of first generation, with CREAM, as well as ATHEANA, which are HRA techniques of second generation. (author)

Comparison of the THERP quantitative tables with the human reliability analysis techniques of second generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alvarenga, Marco Antonio Bayout; Fonseca, Renato Alves [Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)], e-mail: bayout@cnen.gov.br, e-mail: rfonseca@cnen.gov.br

2009-07-01

The methodology THERP is classified as a Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) technique of first generation and its emergence was an important initial step for the development of HRA techniques in the industry. Due to the fact of being a first generation technique, THERP quantification tables of human errors are based on a taxonomy that does not take into account the human errors mechanisms. Concerning the three cognitive levels in the Rasmussen framework for the cognitive information processing in human beings, THERP deals in most cases with errors that happen in the perceptual-motor level (stimulus-response). In the rules level, this technique can work better using the time dependent probabilities curves of diagnosis errors, obtained in nuclear power plants simulators. Nevertheless, this is done without processing any error mechanisms. Another deficiency is the fact that the performance shaping factors are in limited number. Furthermore, the influences (predictable or not) of operational context, arising from operational deviations of the most probable (in terms of occurrence probabilities) standard scenarios beside the consequent operational tendencies (operator actions) are not estimated. This work makes a critical analysis of these deficiencies and it points out possible solutions in order to modify the THERP tables, seeking a realistic quantification, that does not underestimate or overestimate the human errors probabilities when applying the HRA techniques to nuclear power plants. The critical analysis is accomplished through a qualitative comparison between THERP, a HRA technique of first generation, with CREAM, as well as ATHEANA, which are HRA techniques of second generation. (author)

A Novel Analytic Technique for the Service Station Reliability in a Discrete-Time Repairable Queue

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renbin Liu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a decomposition technique for the service station reliability in a discrete-time repairable GeomX/G/1 queueing system, in which the server takes exhaustive service and multiple adaptive delayed vacation discipline. Using such a novel analytic technique, some important reliability indices and reliability relation equations of the service station are derived. Furthermore, the structures of the service station indices are also found. Finally, special cases and numerical examples validate the derived results and show that our analytic technique is applicable to reliability analysis of some complex discrete-time repairable bulk arrival queueing systems.

Swimming pool reactor reliability and safety analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Zhaohuan

1997-01-01

A reliability and safety analysis of Swimming Pool Reactor in China Institute of Atomic Energy is done by use of event/fault tree technique. The paper briefly describes the analysis model, analysis code and main results. Meanwhile it also describes the impact of unassigned operation status on safety, the estimation of effectiveness of defense tactics in maintenance against common cause failure, the effectiveness of recovering actions on the system reliability, the comparison of occurrence frequencies of the core damage by use of generic and specific data

Application of modern reliability database techniques to military system data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bunea, Cornel; Mazzuchi, Thomas A.; Sarkani, Shahram; Chang, H.-C.

2008-01-01

This paper focuses on analysis techniques of modern reliability databases, with an application to military system data. The analysis of military system data base consists of the following steps: clean the data and perform operation on it in order to obtain good estimators; present simple plots of data; analyze the data with statistical and probabilistic methods. Each step is dealt with separately and the main results are presented. Competing risks theory is advocated as the mathematical support for the analysis. The general framework of competing risks theory is presented together with simple independent and dependent competing risks models available in literature. These models are used to identify the reliability and maintenance indicators required by the operating personnel. Model selection is based on graphical interpretation of plotted data

Interactive reliability analysis project. FY 80 progress report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rasmuson, D.M.; Shepherd, J.C.

1981-03-01

This report summarizes the progress to date in the interactive reliability analysis project. Purpose is to develop and demonstrate a reliability and safety technique that can be incorporated early in the design process. Details are illustrated in a simple example of a reactor safety system

RELIABILITY OF CERTAIN TESTS FOR EVALUATION OF JUDO TECHNIQUES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Slavko Obadov

2007-05-01

Full Text Available The sample included 106 judokas. Assessment of the level of mastership of judo techniques was carried out by evaluation of fi ve competent studies. Each subject performed a technique three times and each performance was evaluated by the judges. In order to evaluate measurement of each technique, Cronbach’s coeffi cient of reliability  was calculated. During the procedure the subjects's results were also transformed to factor scores i.e. the results of each performer at the main component of evaluation in the fi ve studies. These factor scores could be used in the subsequent procedure of multivariant statistical analysis.

SALP (Sensitivity Analysis by List Processing), a computer assisted technique for binary systems reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Astolfi, M.; Mancini, G.; Volta, G.; Van Den Muyzenberg, C.L.; Contini, S.; Garribba, S.

1978-01-01

A computerized technique which allows the modelling by AND, OR, NOT binary trees, of various complex situations encountered in safety and reliability assessment, is described. By the use of list-processing, numerical and non-numerical types of information are used together. By proper marking of gates and primary events, stand-by systems, common cause failure and multiphase systems can be analyzed. The basic algorithms used in this technique are shown in detail. Application to a stand-by and multiphase system is then illustrated

Human reliability analysis of control room operators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santos, Isaac J.A.L.; Carvalho, Paulo Victor R.; Grecco, Claudio H.S. [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2005-07-01

Human reliability is the probability that a person correctly performs some system required action in a required time period and performs no extraneous action that can degrade the system Human reliability analysis (HRA) is the analysis, prediction and evaluation of work-oriented human performance using some indices as human error likelihood and probability of task accomplishment. Significant progress has been made in the HRA field during the last years, mainly in nuclear area. Some first-generation HRA methods were developed, as THERP (Technique for human error rate prediction). Now, an array of called second-generation methods are emerging as alternatives, for instance ATHEANA (A Technique for human event analysis). The ergonomics approach has as tool the ergonomic work analysis. It focus on the study of operator's activities in physical and mental form, considering at the same time the observed characteristics of operator and the elements of the work environment as they are presented to and perceived by the operators. The aim of this paper is to propose a methodology to analyze the human reliability of the operators of industrial plant control room, using a framework that includes the approach used by ATHEANA, THERP and the work ergonomics analysis. (author)

Space Mission Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) Project

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The purpose of this project is to extend current ground-based Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) techniques to a long-duration, space-based tool to more effectively...

Security and reliability analysis of diversity combining techniques in SIMO mixed RF/FSO with multiple users

KAUST Repository

Abd El-Malek, Ahmed H.; Salhab, Anas M.; Zummo, Salam A.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2016-01-01

In this paper, we investigate the impact of different diversity combining techniques on the security and reliability analysis of a single-input-multiple-output (SIMO) mixed radio frequency (RF)/free space optical (FSO) relay network with opportunistic multiuser scheduling. In this model, the user of the best channel among multiple users communicates with a multiple antennas relay node over an RF link, and then, the relay node employs amplify-and-forward (AF) protocol in retransmitting the user data to the destination over an FSO link. Moreover, the authorized transmission is assumed to be attacked by a single passive RF eavesdropper equipped with multiple antennas. Therefore, the system security reliability trade-off analysis is investigated. Closed-form expressions for the system outage probability and the system intercept probability are derived. Then, the newly derived expressions are simplified to their asymptotic formulas at the high signal-to-noise- ratio (SNR) region. Numerical results are presented to validate the achieved exact and asymptotic results and to illustrate the impact of various system parameters on the system performance. © 2016 IEEE.

Security and reliability analysis of diversity combining techniques in SIMO mixed RF/FSO with multiple users

KAUST Repository

Abd El-Malek, Ahmed H.

2016-07-26

In this paper, we investigate the impact of different diversity combining techniques on the security and reliability analysis of a single-input-multiple-output (SIMO) mixed radio frequency (RF)/free space optical (FSO) relay network with opportunistic multiuser scheduling. In this model, the user of the best channel among multiple users communicates with a multiple antennas relay node over an RF link, and then, the relay node employs amplify-and-forward (AF) protocol in retransmitting the user data to the destination over an FSO link. Moreover, the authorized transmission is assumed to be attacked by a single passive RF eavesdropper equipped with multiple antennas. Therefore, the system security reliability trade-off analysis is investigated. Closed-form expressions for the system outage probability and the system intercept probability are derived. Then, the newly derived expressions are simplified to their asymptotic formulas at the high signal-to-noise- ratio (SNR) region. Numerical results are presented to validate the achieved exact and asymptotic results and to illustrate the impact of various system parameters on the system performance. © 2016 IEEE.

Precision of lumbar intervertebral measurements: does a computer-assisted technique improve reliability?

Science.gov (United States)

Pearson, Adam M; Spratt, Kevin F; Genuario, James; McGough, William; Kosman, Katherine; Lurie, Jon; Sengupta, Dilip K

2011-04-01

Comparison of intra- and interobserver reliability of digitized manual and computer-assisted intervertebral motion measurements and classification of "instability." To determine if computer-assisted measurement of lumbar intervertebral motion on flexion-extension radiographs improves reliability compared with digitized manual measurements. Many studies have questioned the reliability of manual intervertebral measurements, although few have compared the reliability of computer-assisted and manual measurements on lumbar flexion-extension radiographs. Intervertebral rotation, anterior-posterior (AP) translation, and change in anterior and posterior disc height were measured with a digitized manual technique by three physicians and by three other observers using computer-assisted quantitative motion analysis (QMA) software. Each observer measured 30 sets of digital flexion-extension radiographs (L1-S1) twice. Shrout-Fleiss intraclass correlation coefficients for intra- and interobserver reliabilities were computed. The stability of each level was also classified (instability defined as >4 mm AP translation or 10° rotation), and the intra- and interobserver reliabilities of the two methods were compared using adjusted percent agreement (APA). Intraobserver reliability intraclass correlation coefficients were substantially higher for the QMA technique THAN the digitized manual technique across all measurements: rotation 0.997 versus 0.870, AP translation 0.959 versus 0.557, change in anterior disc height 0.962 versus 0.770, and change in posterior disc height 0.951 versus 0.283. The same pattern was observed for interobserver reliability (rotation 0.962 vs. 0.693, AP translation 0.862 vs. 0.151, change in anterior disc height 0.862 vs. 0.373, and change in posterior disc height 0.730 vs. 0.300). The QMA technique was also more reliable for the classification of "instability." Intraobserver APAs ranged from 87 to 97% for QMA versus 60% to 73% for digitized manual

Reliability analysis of Angra I safety systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliveira, L.F.S. de; Soto, J.B.; Maciel, C.C.; Gibelli, S.M.O.; Fleming, P.V.; Arrieta, L.A.

1980-07-01

An extensive reliability analysis of some safety systems of Angra I, are presented. The fault tree technique, which has been successfully used in most reliability studies of nuclear safety systems performed to date is employed. Results of a quantitative determination of the unvailability of the accumulator and the containment spray injection systems are presented. These results are also compared to those reported in WASH-1400. (E.G.) [pt

Preliminary Analysis of LORAN-C System Reliability for Civil Aviation.

Science.gov (United States)

1981-09-01

overviev of the analysis technique. Section 3 describes the computerized LORAN-C coverage model which is used extensively in the reliability analysis...Xth Plenary Assembly, Geneva, 1963, published by International Telecomunications Union. S. Braff, R., Computer program to calculate a Karkov Chain Reliability Model, unpublished york, MITRE Corporation. A-1 I.° , 44J Ili *Y 0E 00 ...F i8 1110 Prelim inary Analysis of Program Engineering & LORAN’C System ReliabilityMaintenance Service i ~Washington. D.C.

Reliability of horizontal and vertical tube shift techniques in the localisation of supernumerary teeth.

Science.gov (United States)

Mallineni, S K; Anthonappa, R P; King, N M

2016-12-01

To assess the reliability of the vertical tube shift technique (VTST) and horizontal tube shift technique (HTST) for the localisation of unerupted supernumerary teeth (ST) in the anterior region of the maxilla. A convenience sample of 83 patients who attended a major teaching hospital because of unerupted ST was selected. Only non-syndromic patients with ST and who had complete clinical and radiographic and surgical records were included in the study. Ten examiners independently rated the paired set of radiographs for each technique. Chi-square test, paired t test and kappa statistics were employed to assess the intra- and inter-examiner reliability. Paired sets of 1660 radiographs (830 pairs for each technique) were available for the analysis. The overall sensitivity for VTST and HTST was 80.6 and 72.1% respectively, with slight inter-examiner and good intra-examiner reliability. Statistically significant differences were evident between the two localisation techniques (p HTST in the anterior region of the maxilla.

DATMAN: A reliability data analysis program using Bayesian updating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becker, M.; Feltus, M.A.

1996-01-01

Preventive maintenance (PM) techniques focus on the prevention of failures, in particular, system components that are important to plant functions. Reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) improves on the PM techniques by introducing a set of guidelines by which to evaluate the system functions. It also minimizes intrusive maintenance, labor, and equipment downtime without sacrificing system performance when its function is essential for plant safety. Both the PM and RCM approaches require that system reliability data be updated as more component failures and operation time are acquired. Systems reliability and the likelihood of component failures can be calculated by Bayesian statistical methods, which can update these data. The DATMAN computer code has been developed at Penn State to simplify the Bayesian analysis by performing tedious calculations needed for RCM reliability analysis. DATMAN reads data for updating, fits a distribution that best fits the data, and calculates component reliability. DATMAN provides a user-friendly interface menu that allows the user to choose from several common prior and posterior distributions, insert new failure data, and visually select the distribution that matches the data most accurately

Time-dependent reliability sensitivity analysis of motion mechanisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei, Pengfei; Song, Jingwen; Lu, Zhenzhou; Yue, Zhufeng

2016-01-01

Reliability sensitivity analysis aims at identifying the source of structure/mechanism failure, and quantifying the effects of each random source or their distribution parameters on failure probability or reliability. In this paper, the time-dependent parametric reliability sensitivity (PRS) analysis as well as the global reliability sensitivity (GRS) analysis is introduced for the motion mechanisms. The PRS indices are defined as the partial derivatives of the time-dependent reliability w.r.t. the distribution parameters of each random input variable, and they quantify the effect of the small change of each distribution parameter on the time-dependent reliability. The GRS indices are defined for quantifying the individual, interaction and total contributions of the uncertainty in each random input variable to the time-dependent reliability. The envelope function method combined with the first order approximation of the motion error function is introduced for efficiently estimating the time-dependent PRS and GRS indices. Both the time-dependent PRS and GRS analysis techniques can be especially useful for reliability-based design. This significance of the proposed methods as well as the effectiveness of the envelope function method for estimating the time-dependent PRS and GRS indices are demonstrated with a four-bar mechanism and a car rack-and-pinion steering linkage. - Highlights: • Time-dependent parametric reliability sensitivity analysis is presented. • Time-dependent global reliability sensitivity analysis is presented for mechanisms. • The proposed method is especially useful for enhancing the kinematic reliability. • An envelope method is introduced for efficiently implementing the proposed methods. • The proposed method is demonstrated by two real planar mechanisms.

Reliability analysis framework for computer-assisted medical decision systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Habas, Piotr A.; Zurada, Jacek M.; Elmaghraby, Adel S.; Tourassi, Georgia D.

2007-01-01

We present a technique that enhances computer-assisted decision (CAD) systems with the ability to assess the reliability of each individual decision they make. Reliability assessment is achieved by measuring the accuracy of a CAD system with known cases similar to the one in question. The proposed technique analyzes the feature space neighborhood of the query case to dynamically select an input-dependent set of known cases relevant to the query. This set is used to assess the local (query-specific) accuracy of the CAD system. The estimated local accuracy is utilized as a reliability measure of the CAD response to the query case. The underlying hypothesis of the study is that CAD decisions with higher reliability are more accurate. The above hypothesis was tested using a mammographic database of 1337 regions of interest (ROIs) with biopsy-proven ground truth (681 with masses, 656 with normal parenchyma). Three types of decision models, (i) a back-propagation neural network (BPNN), (ii) a generalized regression neural network (GRNN), and (iii) a support vector machine (SVM), were developed to detect masses based on eight morphological features automatically extracted from each ROI. The performance of all decision models was evaluated using the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis. The study showed that the proposed reliability measure is a strong predictor of the CAD system's case-specific accuracy. Specifically, the ROC area index for CAD predictions with high reliability was significantly better than for those with low reliability values. This result was consistent across all decision models investigated in the study. The proposed case-specific reliability analysis technique could be used to alert the CAD user when an opinion that is unlikely to be reliable is offered. The technique can be easily deployed in the clinical environment because it is applicable with a wide range of classifiers regardless of their structure and it requires neither additional

Prediction of Software Reliability using Bio Inspired Soft Computing Techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Diwaker, Chander; Tomar, Pradeep; Poonia, Ramesh C; Singh, Vijander

2018-04-10

A lot of models have been made for predicting software reliability. The reliability models are restricted to using particular types of methodologies and restricted number of parameters. There are a number of techniques and methodologies that may be used for reliability prediction. There is need to focus on parameters consideration while estimating reliability. The reliability of a system may increase or decreases depending on the selection of different parameters used. Thus there is need to identify factors that heavily affecting the reliability of the system. In present days, reusability is mostly used in the various area of research. Reusability is the basis of Component-Based System (CBS). The cost, time and human skill can be saved using Component-Based Software Engineering (CBSE) concepts. CBSE metrics may be used to assess those techniques which are more suitable for estimating system reliability. Soft computing is used for small as well as large-scale problems where it is difficult to find accurate results due to uncertainty or randomness. Several possibilities are available to apply soft computing techniques in medicine related problems. Clinical science of medicine using fuzzy-logic, neural network methodology significantly while basic science of medicine using neural-networks-genetic algorithm most frequently and preferably. There is unavoidable interest shown by medical scientists to use the various soft computing methodologies in genetics, physiology, radiology, cardiology and neurology discipline. CBSE boost users to reuse the past and existing software for making new products to provide quality with a saving of time, memory space, and money. This paper focused on assessment of commonly used soft computing technique like Genetic Algorithm (GA), Neural-Network (NN), Fuzzy Logic, Support Vector Machine (SVM), Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), and Artificial Bee Colony (ABC). This paper presents working of soft computing

Reliability and comparison of acromion assessment techniques on x-ray and magnetic resonance imaging (reliability of acromion assessment techniques)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viskontas, D.G.; MacDermid, J.C.; Drosdowech, D.S.; Garvin, G.J.; Romano, W.M.; Faber, K.J.

2005-01-01

To determine the reliability and correlation of plain radiography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the assessment of acromion morphology. Materials and Methods: Acromion morphology was assessed using the lateral acromion angle (LAA) and the acromion-humeral interval (AHI). Thirty patients who had x-rays and MRI for impingement syndrome were included. Six blinded observers assessed the acromion morphology subjectively and objectively. Results: Neither acromion assessment technique demonstrated a positive correlation (kappa and intraclass coefficient 0.55) when measured objectively by experienced observers. Conclusion: The LAA and the AHI are both reliable acromion assessment techniques on X-ray and MRI when measured objectively and by experienced observers. (author)

Human reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dougherty, E.M.; Fragola, J.R.

1988-01-01

The authors present a treatment of human reliability analysis incorporating an introduction to probabilistic risk assessment for nuclear power generating stations. They treat the subject according to the framework established for general systems theory. Draws upon reliability analysis, psychology, human factors engineering, and statistics, integrating elements of these fields within a systems framework. Provides a history of human reliability analysis, and includes examples of the application of the systems approach

Reliability modeling of digital component in plant protection system with various fault-tolerant techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Bo Gyung; Kang, Hyun Gook; Kim, Hee Eun; Lee, Seung Jun; Seong, Poong Hyun

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Integrated fault coverage is introduced for reflecting characteristics of fault-tolerant techniques in the reliability model of digital protection system in NPPs. • The integrated fault coverage considers the process of fault-tolerant techniques from detection to fail-safe generation process. • With integrated fault coverage, the unavailability of repairable component of DPS can be estimated. • The new developed reliability model can reveal the effects of fault-tolerant techniques explicitly for risk analysis. • The reliability model makes it possible to confirm changes of unavailability according to variation of diverse factors. - Abstract: With the improvement of digital technologies, digital protection system (DPS) has more multiple sophisticated fault-tolerant techniques (FTTs), in order to increase fault detection and to help the system safely perform the required functions in spite of the possible presence of faults. Fault detection coverage is vital factor of FTT in reliability. However, the fault detection coverage is insufficient to reflect the effects of various FTTs in reliability model. To reflect characteristics of FTTs in the reliability model, integrated fault coverage is introduced. The integrated fault coverage considers the process of FTT from detection to fail-safe generation process. A model has been developed to estimate the unavailability of repairable component of DPS using the integrated fault coverage. The new developed model can quantify unavailability according to a diversity of conditions. Sensitivity studies are performed to ascertain important variables which affect the integrated fault coverage and unavailability

Analysis and Application of Reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Hae Seong; Park, Dong Ho; Kim, Jae Ju

1999-05-01

This book tells of analysis and application of reliability, which includes definition, importance and historical background of reliability, function of reliability and failure rate, life distribution and assumption of reliability, reliability of unrepaired system, reliability of repairable system, sampling test of reliability, failure analysis like failure analysis by FEMA and FTA, and cases, accelerated life testing such as basic conception, acceleration and acceleration factor, and analysis of accelerated life testing data, maintenance policy about alternation and inspection.

Advances in methods and applications of reliability and safety analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fieandt, J.; Hossi, H.; Laakso, K.; Lyytikaeinen, A.; Niemelae, I.; Pulkkinen, U.; Pulli, T.

1986-01-01

The know-how of the reliability and safety design and analysis techniques of Vtt has been established over several years in analyzing the reliability in the Finnish nuclear power plants Loviisa and Olkiluoto. This experience has been later on applied and developed to be used in the process industry, conventional power industry, automation and electronics. VTT develops and transfers methods and tools for reliability and safety analysis to the private and public sectors. The technology transfer takes place in joint development projects with potential users. Several computer-aided methods, such as RELVEC for reliability modelling and analysis, have been developed. The tool developed are today used by major Finnish companies in the fields of automation, nuclear power, shipbuilding and electronics. Development of computer-aided and other methods needed in analysis of operating experience, reliability or safety is further going on in a number of research and development projects

Reliability Worth Analysis of Distribution Systems Using Cascade Correlation Neural Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heidari, Alireza; Agelidis, Vassilios; Pou, Josep

2018-01-01

Reliability worth analysis is of great importance in the area of distribution network planning and operation. The reliability worth's precision can be affected greatly by the customer interruption cost model used. The choice of the cost models can change system and load point reliability indices....... In this study, a cascade correlation neural network is adopted to further develop two cost models comprising a probabilistic distribution model and an average or aggregate model. A contingency-based analytical technique is adopted to conduct the reliability worth analysis. Furthermore, the possible effects...

Reliability techniques and Coupled BEM/FEM for interaction pile-soil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed SAHLI

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the development of a computational code for the modelling and verification of safety in relation to limit states of piles found in foundations of current structures. To this end, it makes use of reliability techniques for the probabilistic analysis of piles modelled with the finite element method (FEM coupled to the boundary element method (BEM. The soil is modelled with the BEM employing Mindlin's fundamental solutions, suitable for the consideration of a three-dimensional infinite half-space. The piles are modelled as bar elements with the MEF, each of which is represented in the BEM as a loading line. The finite element of the employed bar has four nodes and fourteen nodal parameters, three of which are displacements for each node plus two rotations for the top node. The slipping of the piles in relation to the mass is carried out using adhesion models to define the evolution of the shaft tensions during the transfer of load to the soil. The reliability analysis is based on three methods: first order second moment (FOSM, first order reliability method and Monte Carlo method.

Research on application of technique for analyzing system reliability, GO-FLOW

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuoka, Takeshi; Fukuto, Junji; Sugasawa, Shinobu; Mitomo, Nobuo; Miyazaki, Keiko; Hirao, Yoshihiro; Kobayashi, Michiyuki

1997-01-01

As the method of evaluation, probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) has been introduced in nuclear power field, and began to play important role in plant design and safety examination. In the Ship Research Institute, as the technique for analyzing system reliability which takes the main part of PSA, the research on developing the GO-FLOW technique which has various advanced functions has been carried out. In this research, the functions of the GO-FLOW technique are improved, and the function of the dynamic behavior analysis for systems and the analysis function for the combination of the physical behavior of systems and the change of probabilistic events are developed, further, the function of extracting main accident sequence by utilizing the GO-FLOW technique is prepared. As for the analysis of dynamic behavior, the sample problem on hold-up tank was investigated. As to the extraction of main accident sequence, the fundamental part of the function of event tree analysis was consolidated, and the function of setting branching probability was given. As to the indication of plant behavior, the simulator for improved marine reactor MRX was developed. (K.I.)

Power electronics reliability analysis.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, Mark A.; Atcitty, Stanley

2009-12-01

This report provides the DOE and industry with a general process for analyzing power electronics reliability. The analysis can help with understanding the main causes of failures, downtime, and cost and how to reduce them. One approach is to collect field maintenance data and use it directly to calculate reliability metrics related to each cause. Another approach is to model the functional structure of the equipment using a fault tree to derive system reliability from component reliability. Analysis of a fictitious device demonstrates the latter process. Optimization can use the resulting baseline model to decide how to improve reliability and/or lower costs. It is recommended that both electric utilities and equipment manufacturers make provisions to collect and share data in order to lay the groundwork for improving reliability into the future. Reliability analysis helps guide reliability improvements in hardware and software technology including condition monitoring and prognostics and health management.

Statistical models and methods for reliability and survival analysis

CERN Document Server

Couallier, Vincent; Huber-Carol, Catherine; Mesbah, Mounir; Huber -Carol, Catherine; Limnios, Nikolaos; Gerville-Reache, Leo

2013-01-01

Statistical Models and Methods for Reliability and Survival Analysis brings together contributions by specialists in statistical theory as they discuss their applications providing up-to-date developments in methods used in survival analysis, statistical goodness of fit, stochastic processes for system reliability, amongst others. Many of these are related to the work of Professor M. Nikulin in statistics over the past 30 years. The authors gather together various contributions with a broad array of techniques and results, divided into three parts - Statistical Models and Methods, Statistical

Comparative measurement of collagen bundle orientation by Fourier analysis and semiquantitative evaluation: reliability and agreement in Masson's trichrome, Picrosirius red and confocal microscopy techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Marcos-Garcés, V; Harvat, M; Molina Aguilar, P; Ferrández Izquierdo, A; Ruiz-Saurí, A

2017-08-01

Measurement of collagen bundle orientation in histopathological samples is a widely used and useful technique in many research and clinical scenarios. Fourier analysis is the preferred method for performing this measurement, but the most appropriate staining and microscopy technique remains unclear. Some authors advocate the use of Haematoxylin-Eosin (H&E) and confocal microscopy, but there are no studies comparing this technique with other classical collagen stainings. In our study, 46 human skin samples were collected, processed for histological analysis and stained with Masson's trichrome, Picrosirius red and H&E. Five microphotographs of the reticular dermis were taken with a 200× magnification with light microscopy, polarized microscopy and confocal microscopy, respectively. Two independent observers measured collagen bundle orientation with semiautomated Fourier analysis with the Image-Pro Plus 7.0 software and three independent observers performed a semiquantitative evaluation of the same parameter. The average orientation for each case was calculated with the values of the five pictures. We analyzed the interrater reliability, the consistency between Fourier analysis and average semiquantitative evaluation and the consistency between measurements in Masson's trichrome, Picrosirius red and H&E-confocal. Statistical analysis for reliability and agreement was performed with the SPSS 22.0 software and consisted of intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), Bland-Altman plots and limits of agreement and coefficient of variation. Interrater reliability was almost perfect (ICC > 0.8) with all three histological and microscopy techniques and always superior in Fourier analysis than in average semiquantitative evaluation. Measurements were consistent between Fourier analysis by one observer and average semiquantitative evaluation by three observers, with an almost perfect agreement with Masson's trichrome and Picrosirius red techniques (ICC > 0.8) and a strong

Bayesian Inference for NASA Probabilistic Risk and Reliability Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Dezfuli, Homayoon; Kelly, Dana; Smith, Curtis; Vedros, Kurt; Galyean, William

2009-01-01

This document, Bayesian Inference for NASA Probabilistic Risk and Reliability Analysis, is intended to provide guidelines for the collection and evaluation of risk and reliability-related data. It is aimed at scientists and engineers familiar with risk and reliability methods and provides a hands-on approach to the investigation and application of a variety of risk and reliability data assessment methods, tools, and techniques. This document provides both: A broad perspective on data analysis collection and evaluation issues. A narrow focus on the methods to implement a comprehensive information repository. The topics addressed herein cover the fundamentals of how data and information are to be used in risk and reliability analysis models and their potential role in decision making. Understanding these topics is essential to attaining a risk informed decision making environment that is being sought by NASA requirements and procedures such as 8000.4 (Agency Risk Management Procedural Requirements), NPR 8705.05 (Probabilistic Risk Assessment Procedures for NASA Programs and Projects), and the System Safety requirements of NPR 8715.3 (NASA General Safety Program Requirements).

IEEE guide for the analysis of human reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dougherty, E.M. Jr.

1987-01-01

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) working group 7.4 of the Human Factors and Control Facilities Subcommittee of the Nuclear Power Engineering Committee (NPEC) has released its fifth draft of a Guide for General Principles of Human Action Reliability Analysis for Nuclear Power Generating Stations, for approval of NPEC. A guide is the least mandating in the IEEE hierarchy of standards. The purpose is to enhance the performance of an human reliability analysis (HRA) as a part of a probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), to assure reproducible results, and to standardize documentation. The guide does not recommend or even discuss specific techniques, which are too rapidly evolving today. Considerable maturation in the analysis of human reliability in a PRA context has taken place in recent years. The IEEE guide on this subject is an initial step toward bringing HRA out of the research and development arena into the toolbox of standard engineering practices

Reliability analysis and assessment of structural systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yao, J.T.P.; Anderson, C.A.

1977-01-01

The study of structural reliability deals with the probability of having satisfactory performance of the structure under consideration within any specific time period. To pursue this study, it is necessary to apply available knowledge and methodology in structural analysis (including dynamics) and design, behavior of materials and structures, experimental mechanics, and the theory of probability and statistics. In addition, various severe loading phenomena such as strong motion earthquakes and wind storms are important considerations. For three decades now, much work has been done on reliability analysis of structures, and during this past decade, certain so-called 'Level I' reliability-based design codes have been proposed and are in various stages of implementation. These contributions will be critically reviewed and summarized in this paper. Because of the undesirable consequences resulting from the failure of nuclear structures, it is important and desirable to consider the structural reliability in the analysis and design of these structures. Moreover, after these nuclear structures are constructed, it is desirable for engineers to be able to assess the structural reliability periodically as well as immediately following the occurrence of severe loading conditions such as a strong-motion earthquake. During this past decade, increasing use has been made of techniques of system identification in structural engineering. On the basis of non-destructive test results, various methods have been developed to obtain an adequate mathematical model (such as the equations of motion with more realistic parameters) to represent the structural system

Reliability Evaluation Methodologies of Fault Tolerant Techniques of Digital I and C Systems in Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Bo Gyung; Kang, Hyun Gook; Seong, Poong Hyun; Lee, Seung Jun

2011-01-01

Since the reactor protection system was replaced from analog to digital, digital reactor protection system has 4 redundant channels and each channel has several modules. It is necessary for various fault tolerant techniques to improve availability and reliability due to using complex components in DPPS. To use the digital system, it is necessary to improve the reliability and availability of a system through fault-tolerant techniques. Several researches make an effort to effects of fault tolerant techniques. However, the effects of fault tolerant techniques have not been properly considered yet in most fault tree models. Various fault-tolerant techniques, which used in digital system in NPPs, should reflect in fault tree analysis for getting lower system unavailability and more reliable PSA. When fault-tolerant techniques are modeled in fault tree, categorizing the module to detect by each fault tolerant techniques, fault coverage, detection period and the fault recovery should be considered. Further work will concentrate on various aspects for fault tree modeling. We will find other important factors, and found a new theory to construct the fault tree model

Setting Component Priorities in Protecting NPPs against Cyber-Attacks Using Reliability Analysis Techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Moon Kyoung; Seong, Poong Hyun; Son, Han Seong

2017-01-01

The digitalization of infrastructure makes systems vulnerable to cyber threats and hybrid attacks. According to ICS-CERT report, as time goes by, the number of vulnerabilities in ICS industries increases rapidly. Digital I and C systems have been developed and installed in nuclear power plants, and due to installation of the digital I and C systems, cyber security concerns are increasing in nuclear industry. However, there are too many critical digital assets to be inspected in digitalized NPPs. In order to reduce the inefficiency of regulation in nuclear facilities, the critical components that are directly related to an accident are elicited by using the reliability analysis techniques. Target initial events are selected, and their headings are analyzed through event tree analysis about whether the headings can be affected by cyber-attacks or not. Among the headings, the headings that can be proceeded directly to the core damage by the cyber-attack when they are fail are finally selected as the target of deriving the minimum cut-sets. We analyze the fault trees and derive the minimum set-cuts. In terms of original PSA, the value of probability for the cut-sets is important but the probability is not important in terms of cyber security of NPPs. The important factors is the number of basic events consisting of the minimal cut-sets that is proportional to vulnerability.

Signal Quality Outage Analysis for Ultra-Reliable Communications in Cellular Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gerardino, Guillermo Andrés Pocovi; Alvarez, Beatriz Soret; Lauridsen, Mads

2015-01-01

Ultra-reliable communications over wireless will open the possibility for a wide range of novel use cases and applications. In cellular networks, achieving reliable communication is challenging due to many factors, particularly the fading of the desired signal and the interference. In this regard......, we investigate the potential of several techniques to combat these main threats. The analysis shows that traditional microscopic multiple-input multiple-output schemes with 2x2 or 4x4 antenna configurations are not enough to fulfil stringent reliability requirements. It is revealed how such antenna...... schemes must be complemented with macroscopic diversity as well as interference management techniques in order to ensure the necessary SINR outage performance. Based on the obtained performance results, it is discussed which of the feasible options fulfilling the ultra-reliable criteria are most promising...

Using a Hybrid Cost-FMEA Analysis for Wind Turbine Reliability Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nacef Tazi

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA has been proven to be an effective methodology to improve system design reliability. However, the standard approach reveals some weaknesses when applied to wind turbine systems. The conventional criticality assessment method has been criticized as having many limitations such as the weighting of severity and detection factors. In this paper, we aim to overcome these drawbacks and develop a hybrid cost-FMEA by integrating cost factors to assess the criticality, these costs vary from replacement costs to expected failure costs. Then, a quantitative comparative study is carried out to point out average failure rate, main cause of failure, expected failure costs and failure detection techniques. A special reliability analysis of gearbox and rotor-blades are presented.

Techniques, processes, and measures for software safety and reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sparkman, D.

1992-01-01

The purpose of this report is to provide a detailed survey of current recommended practices and measurement techniques for the development of reliable and safe software-based systems. This report is intended to assist the United States Nuclear Reaction Regulation (NRR) in determining the importance and maturity of the available techniques and in assessing the relevance of individual standards for application to instrumentation and control systems in nuclear power generating stations. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) provides technical support for the Instrumentation and Control System Branch (ICSB) of NRRin advanced instrumentation and control systems, distributed digital systems, software reliability, and the application of verificafion and validafion for the development of software

Reliability calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petersen, K.E.

1986-03-01

Risk and reliability analysis is increasingly being used in evaluations of plant safety and plant reliability. The analysis can be performed either during the design process or during the operation time, with the purpose to improve the safety or the reliability. Due to plant complexity and safety and availability requirements, sophisticated tools, which are flexible and efficient, are needed. Such tools have been developed in the last 20 years and they have to be continuously refined to meet the growing requirements. Two different areas of application were analysed. In structural reliability probabilistic approaches have been introduced in some cases for the calculation of the reliability of structures or components. A new computer program has been developed based upon numerical integration in several variables. In systems reliability Monte Carlo simulation programs are used especially in analysis of very complex systems. In order to increase the applicability of the programs variance reduction techniques can be applied to speed up the calculation process. Variance reduction techniques have been studied and procedures for implementation of importance sampling are suggested. (author)

Reliability Assessment of Wind Farm Electrical System Based on a Probability Transfer Technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hejun Yang

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The electrical system of a wind farm has a significant influence on the wind farm reliability and electrical energy yield. The disconnect switch installed in an electrical system cannot only improve the operating flexibility, but also enhance the reliability for a wind farm. Therefore, this paper develops a probabilistic transfer technique for integrating the electrical topology structure, the isolation operation of disconnect switch, and stochastic failure of electrical equipment into the reliability assessment of wind farm electrical system. Firstly, as the traditional two-state reliability model of electrical equipment cannot consider the isolation operation, so the paper develops a three-state reliability model to replace the two-state model for incorporating the isolation operation. In addition, a proportion apportion technique is presented to evaluate the state probability. Secondly, this paper develops a probabilistic transfer technique based on the thoughts that through transfer the unreliability of electrical system to the energy transmission interruption of wind turbine generators (WTGs. Finally, some novel indices for describing the reliability of wind farm electrical system are designed, and the variance coefficient of the designed indices is used as a convergence criterion to determine the termination of the assessment process. The proposed technique is applied to the reliability assessment of a wind farm with the different topologies. The simulation results show that the proposed techniques are effective in practical applications.

Using wavefront coding technique as an optical encryption system: reliability analysis and vulnerabilities assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Konnik, Mikhail V.

2012-04-01

Wavefront coding paradigm can be used not only for compensation of aberrations and depth-of-field improvement but also for an optical encryption. An optical convolution of the image with the PSF occurs when a diffractive optical element (DOE) with a known point spread function (PSF) is placed in the optical path. In this case, an optically encoded image is registered instead of the true image. Decoding of the registered image can be performed using standard digital deconvolution methods. In such class of optical-digital systems, the PSF of the DOE is used as an encryption key. Therefore, a reliability and cryptographic resistance of such an encryption method depends on the size and complexity of the PSF used for optical encoding. This paper gives a preliminary analysis on reliability and possible vulnerabilities of such an encryption method. Experimental results on brute-force attack on the optically encrypted images are presented. Reliability estimation of optical coding based on wavefront coding paradigm is evaluated. An analysis of possible vulnerabilities is provided.

Sensitivity analysis in a structural reliability context

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lemaitre, Paul

2014-01-01

This thesis' subject is sensitivity analysis in a structural reliability context. The general framework is the study of a deterministic numerical model that allows to reproduce a complex physical phenomenon. The aim of a reliability study is to estimate the failure probability of the system from the numerical model and the uncertainties of the inputs. In this context, the quantification of the impact of the uncertainty of each input parameter on the output might be of interest. This step is called sensitivity analysis. Many scientific works deal with this topic but not in the reliability scope. This thesis' aim is to test existing sensitivity analysis methods, and to propose more efficient original methods. A bibliographical step on sensitivity analysis on one hand and on the estimation of small failure probabilities on the other hand is first proposed. This step raises the need to develop appropriate techniques. Two variables ranking methods are then explored. The first one proposes to make use of binary classifiers (random forests). The second one measures the departure, at each step of a subset method, between each input original density and the density given the subset reached. A more general and original methodology reflecting the impact of the input density modification on the failure probability is then explored. The proposed methods are then applied on the CWNR case, which motivates this thesis. (author)

Circuit design for reliability

CERN Document Server

Cao, Yu; Wirth, Gilson

2015-01-01

This book presents physical understanding, modeling and simulation, on-chip characterization, layout solutions, and design techniques that are effective to enhance the reliability of various circuit units.  The authors provide readers with techniques for state of the art and future technologies, ranging from technology modeling, fault detection and analysis, circuit hardening, and reliability management. Provides comprehensive review on various reliability mechanisms at sub-45nm nodes; Describes practical modeling and characterization techniques for reliability; Includes thorough presentation of robust design techniques for major VLSI design units; Promotes physical understanding with first-principle simulations.

Application of a digital technique in evaluating the reliability of shade guides.

Science.gov (United States)

Cal, E; Sonugelen, M; Guneri, P; Kesercioglu, A; Kose, T

2004-05-01

There appears to be a need for a reliable method for quantification of tooth colour and analysis of shade. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to show the applicability of graphic software in colour analysis and secondly to investigate the reliability of commercial shade guides produced by the same manufacturer, using this digital technique. After confirming the reliability and reproducibility of the digital method by using self-assessed coloured images, three shade guides of the same manufacturer were photographed in daylight and in studio environments with a digital camera and saved in tagged image file format (TIFF) format. Colour analysis of each photograph was performed using the Adobe Photoshop 4.0 graphic program. Luminosity, and red, green, blue (L and RGB) values of each shade tab of each shade guide were measured and the data were subjected to statistical analysis using the repeated measure Anova test. The L and RGB values of the images taken in daylight differed significantly from those of the images taken in studio environment (P < 0.05). In both environments, the luminosity and red values of the shade tabs were significantly different from each other (P < 0.05). It was concluded that, when the environmental conditions were kept constant, the Adobe Photoshop 4.0 colour analysis program could be used to analyse the colour of images. On the other hand, the results revealed that the accuracy of shade tabs widely being used in colour matching should be readdressed.

Risk and reliability analyses (LURI) and expert judgement techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pyy, P.; Pulkkinen, U.

1998-01-01

Probabilistic safety analysis (PSA) is currently used as a regulatory licensing tool in risk informed and plant performance based regulation. More often also utility safety improvements are based on PSA calculations as one criterion. PSA attempts to comprehensively identify all important risk contributors, compare them with each other, assess the safety level and suggest improvements based on its findings. The strength of PSA is that it is capable to provide decision makers with numerical estimates of risks. This makes decision making easier than the comparison of purely qualitative results. PSA is the only comprehensive tool that compactly attempts to include all the important risk contributors in its scope. Despite the demonstrated strengths of PSA, there are some features that have reduced its uses. For example, the PSA scope has been limited to the power operation and process internal events (transients and LOCAs). Only lately, areas such as shutdown, external events and severe accidents have been included in PSA models in many countries. Problems related to modelling are, e.g., that rather static fault and event tree models are commonly used in PSA to model dynamic event sequences. Even if a valid model may be generated, there may not be any other data sources to be used than expert judgement. Furthermore, there are a variety of different techniques for human reliability assessment (HRA) giving varying results. In the project Reliability and Risk Analyses (LURI) these limitations and shortcomings have been studied. In the decision making area, case studies on the application of decision analysis and a doctoral thesis have been published. Further, practical aid has been given to utilities and regulatory decision making. Model uncertainty effect on PSA results has been demonstrated by two case studies. Human reliability has been studied both in the integrated safety analysis study and in the study of maintenance originated NPP component faults based on the

HUMAN RELIABILITY ANALYSIS DENGAN PENDEKATAN COGNITIVE RELIABILITY AND ERROR ANALYSIS METHOD (CREAM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zahirah Alifia Maulida

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Kecelakaan kerja pada bidang grinding dan welding menempati urutan tertinggi selama lima tahun terakhir di PT. X. Kecelakaan ini disebabkan oleh human error. Human error terjadi karena pengaruh lingkungan kerja fisik dan non fisik.Penelitian kali menggunakan skenario untuk memprediksi serta mengurangi kemungkinan terjadinya error pada manusia dengan pendekatan CREAM (Cognitive Reliability and Error Analysis Method. CREAM adalah salah satu metode human reliability analysis yang berfungsi untuk mendapatkan nilai Cognitive Failure Probability (CFP yang dapat dilakukan dengan dua cara yaitu basic method dan extended method. Pada basic method hanya akan didapatkan nilai failure probabailty secara umum, sedangkan untuk extended method akan didapatkan CFP untuk setiap task. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan faktor- faktor yang mempengaruhi timbulnya error pada pekerjaan grinding dan welding adalah kecukupan organisasi, kecukupan dari Man Machine Interface (MMI & dukungan operasional, ketersediaan prosedur/ perencanaan, serta kecukupan pelatihan dan pengalaman. Aspek kognitif pada pekerjaan grinding yang memiliki nilai error paling tinggi adalah planning dengan nilai CFP 0.3 dan pada pekerjaan welding yaitu aspek kognitif execution dengan nilai CFP 0.18. Sebagai upaya untuk mengurangi nilai error kognitif pada pekerjaan grinding dan welding rekomendasi yang diberikan adalah memberikan training secara rutin, work instrucstion yang lebih rinci dan memberikan sosialisasi alat. Kata kunci: CREAM (cognitive reliability and error analysis method, HRA (human reliability analysis, cognitive error Abstract The accidents in grinding and welding sectors were the highest cases over the last five years in PT. X and it caused by human error. Human error occurs due to the influence of working environment both physically and non-physically. This study will implement an approaching scenario called CREAM (Cognitive Reliability and Error Analysis Method. CREAM is one of human

Improvement of AC motor reliability from technique standardization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muniz, P.R.; Faria, M.D.R.; Mendes, M.P.; Silva, J.N.; Dos Santos, J.D.

2005-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to explain the increase of reliability of motors serviced in the Electrical Maintenance Shop of Companhia Siderurgica de Tubarao by standardization of the technique based on Brazilian and International Standards, manufacturer's recommendations and the experience of the maintenance staff. (author)

Interrater reliability of videotaped observational gait-analysis assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Eastlack, M E; Arvidson, J; Snyder-Mackler, L; Danoff, J V; McGarvey, C L

1991-06-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the interrater reliability of videotaped observational gait-analysis (VOGA) assessments. Fifty-four licensed physical therapists with varying amounts of clinical experience served as raters. Three patients with rheumatoid arthritis who demonstrated an abnormal gait pattern served as subjects for the videotape. The raters analyzed each patient's most severely involved knee during the four subphases of stance for the kinematic variables of knee flexion and genu valgum. Raters were asked to determine whether these variables were inadequate, normal, or excessive. The temporospatial variables analyzed throughout the entire gait cycle were cadence, step length, stride length, stance time, and step width. Generalized kappa coefficients ranged from .11 to .52. Intraclass correlation coefficients (2,1) and (3,1) were slightly higher. Our results indicate that physical therapists' VOGA assessments are only slightly to moderately reliable and that improved interrater reliability of the assessments of physical therapists utilizing this technique is needed. Our data suggest that there is a need for greater standardization of gait-analysis training.

A new approach for reliability analysis with time-variant performance characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Zequn; Wang, Pingfeng

2013-01-01

Reliability represents safety level in industry practice and may variant due to time-variant operation condition and components deterioration throughout a product life-cycle. Thus, the capability to perform time-variant reliability analysis is of vital importance in practical engineering applications. This paper presents a new approach, referred to as nested extreme response surface (NERS), that can efficiently tackle time dependency issue in time-variant reliability analysis and enable to solve such problem by easily integrating with advanced time-independent tools. The key of the NERS approach is to build a nested response surface of time corresponding to the extreme value of the limit state function by employing Kriging model. To obtain the data for the Kriging model, the efficient global optimization technique is integrated with the NERS to extract the extreme time responses of the limit state function for any given system input. An adaptive response prediction and model maturation mechanism is developed based on mean square error (MSE) to concurrently improve the accuracy and computational efficiency of the proposed approach. With the nested response surface of time, the time-variant reliability analysis can be converted into the time-independent reliability analysis and existing advanced reliability analysis methods can be used. Three case studies are used to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of NERS approach

RELIABILITY ANALYSIS OF BENDING ELIABILITY ANALYSIS OF ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

eobe

Reliability analysis of the safety levels of the criteria slabs, have been .... was also noted [2] that if the risk level or β < 3.1), the ... reliability analysis. A study [6] has shown that all geometric variables, ..... Germany, 1988. 12. Hasofer, A. M and ...

Application of Fault Tree Analysis for Estimating Temperature Alarm Circuit Reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Shanshoury, A.I.; El-Shanshoury, G.I.

2011-01-01

Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) is one of the most widely-used methods in system reliability analysis. It is a graphical technique that provides a systematic description of the combinations of possible occurrences in a system, which can result in an undesirable outcome. The presented paper deals with the application of FTA method in analyzing temperature alarm circuit. The criticality failure of this circuit comes from failing to alarm when temperature exceeds a certain limit. In order for a circuit to be safe, a detailed analysis of the faults causing circuit failure is performed by configuring fault tree diagram (qualitative analysis). Calculations of circuit quantitative reliability parameters such as Failure Rate (FR) and Mean Time between Failures (MTBF) are also done by using Relex 2009 computer program. Benefits of FTA are assessing system reliability or safety during operation, improving understanding of the system, and identifying root causes of equipment failures

Systems reliability/structural reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, A.E.

1980-01-01

The question of reliability technology using quantified techniques is considered for systems and structures. Systems reliability analysis has progressed to a viable and proven methodology whereas this has yet to be fully achieved for large scale structures. Structural loading variants over the half-time of the plant are considered to be more difficult to analyse than for systems, even though a relatively crude model may be a necessary starting point. Various reliability characteristics and environmental conditions are considered which enter this problem. The rare event situation is briefly mentioned together with aspects of proof testing and normal and upset loading conditions. (orig.)

Reliability analysis of shutdown system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, C. Senthil; John Arul, A.; Pal Singh, Om; Suryaprakasa Rao, K.

2005-01-01

This paper presents the results of reliability analysis of Shutdown System (SDS) of Indian Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor. Reliability analysis carried out using Fault Tree Analysis predicts a value of 3.5 x 10 -8 /de for failure of shutdown function in case of global faults and 4.4 x 10 -8 /de for local faults. Based on 20 de/y, the frequency of shutdown function failure is 0.7 x 10 -6 /ry, which meets the reliability target, set by the Indian Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. The reliability is limited by Common Cause Failure (CCF) of actuation part of SDS and to a lesser extent CCF of electronic components. The failure frequency of individual systems is -3 /ry, which also meets the safety criteria. Uncertainty analysis indicates a maximum error factor of 5 for the top event unavailability

Integrating reliability analysis and design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rasmuson, D.M.

1980-10-01

This report describes the Interactive Reliability Analysis Project and demonstrates the advantages of using computer-aided design systems (CADS) in reliability analysis. Common cause failure problems require presentations of systems, analysis of fault trees, and evaluation of solutions to these. Results have to be communicated between the reliability analyst and the system designer. Using a computer-aided design system saves time and money in the analysis of design. Computer-aided design systems lend themselves to cable routing, valve and switch lists, pipe routing, and other component studies. At EG and G Idaho, Inc., the Applicon CADS is being applied to the study of water reactor safety systems

Fundamentals and applications of systems reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boesebeck, K.; Heuser, F.W.; Kotthoff, K.

1976-01-01

The lecture gives a survey on the application of methods of reliability analysis to assess the safety of nuclear power plants. Possible statements of reliability analysis in connection with specifications of the atomic licensing procedure are especially dealt with. Existing specifications of safety criteria are additionally discussed with the help of reliability analysis by the example of the reliability analysis of a reactor protection system. Beyond the limited application to single safety systems, the significance of reliability analysis for a closed risk concept is explained in the last part of the lecture. (orig./LH) [de

Reliability analysis of software based safety functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pulkkinen, U.

1993-05-01

The methods applicable in the reliability analysis of software based safety functions are described in the report. Although the safety functions also include other components, the main emphasis in the report is on the reliability analysis of software. The check list type qualitative reliability analysis methods, such as failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), are described, as well as the software fault tree analysis. The safety analysis based on the Petri nets is discussed. The most essential concepts and models of quantitative software reliability analysis are described. The most common software metrics and their combined use with software reliability models are discussed. The application of software reliability models in PSA is evaluated; it is observed that the recent software reliability models do not produce the estimates needed in PSA directly. As a result from the study some recommendations and conclusions are drawn. The need of formal methods in the analysis and development of software based systems, the applicability of qualitative reliability engineering methods in connection to PSA and the need to make more precise the requirements for software based systems and their analyses in the regulatory guides should be mentioned. (orig.). (46 refs., 13 figs., 1 tab.)

Design reliability engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buden, D.; Hunt, R.N.M.

1989-01-01

Improved design techniques are needed to achieve high reliability at minimum cost. This is especially true of space systems where lifetimes of many years without maintenance are needed and severe mass limitations exist. Reliability must be designed into these systems from the start. Techniques are now being explored to structure a formal design process that will be more complete and less expensive. The intent is to integrate the best features of design, reliability analysis, and expert systems to design highly reliable systems to meet stressing needs. Taken into account are the large uncertainties that exist in materials, design models, and fabrication techniques. Expert systems are a convenient method to integrate into the design process a complete definition of all elements that should be considered and an opportunity to integrate the design process with reliability, safety, test engineering, maintenance and operator training. 1 fig

Reliability of System Identification Techniques to Assess Standing Balance in Healthy Elderly.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jantsje H Pasma

Full Text Available System identification techniques have the potential to assess the contribution of the underlying systems involved in standing balance by applying well-known disturbances. We investigated the reliability of standing balance parameters obtained with multivariate closed loop system identification techniques.In twelve healthy elderly balance tests were performed twice a day during three days. Body sway was measured during two minutes of standing with eyes closed and the Balance test Room (BalRoom was used to apply four disturbances simultaneously: two sensory disturbances, to the proprioceptive and the visual system, and two mechanical disturbances applied at the leg and trunk segment. Using system identification techniques, sensitivity functions of the sensory disturbances and the neuromuscular controller were estimated. Based on the generalizability theory (G theory, systematic errors and sources of variability were assessed using linear mixed models and reliability was assessed by computing indexes of dependability (ID, standard error of measurement (SEM and minimal detectable change (MDC.A systematic error was found between the first and second trial in the sensitivity functions. No systematic error was found in the neuromuscular controller and body sway. The reliability of 15 of 25 parameters and body sway were moderate to excellent when the results of two trials on three days were averaged. To reach an excellent reliability on one day in 7 out of 25 parameters, it was predicted that at least seven trials must be averaged.This study shows that system identification techniques are a promising method to assess the underlying systems involved in standing balance in elderly. However, most of the parameters do not appear to be reliable unless a large number of trials are collected across multiple days. To reach an excellent reliability in one third of the parameters, a training session for participants is needed and at least seven trials of two

Risk and reliability analysis theory and applications : in honor of Prof. Armen Der Kiureghian

CERN Document Server

2017-01-01

This book presents a unique collection of contributions from some of the foremost scholars in the field of risk and reliability analysis. Combining the most advanced analysis techniques with practical applications, it is one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date books available on risk-based engineering. All the fundamental concepts needed to conduct risk and reliability assessments are covered in detail, providing readers with a sound understanding of the field and making the book a powerful tool for students and researchers alike. This book was prepared in honor of Professor Armen Der Kiureghian, one of the fathers of modern risk and reliability analysis.

Validity and reliability of acoustic analysis of respiratory sounds in infants

Science.gov (United States)

Elphick, H; Lancaster, G; Solis, A; Majumdar, A; Gupta, R; Smyth, R

2004-01-01

Objective: To investigate the validity and reliability of computerised acoustic analysis in the detection of abnormal respiratory noises in infants. Methods: Blinded, prospective comparison of acoustic analysis with stethoscope examination. Validity and reliability of acoustic analysis were assessed by calculating the degree of observer agreement using the κ statistic with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: 102 infants under 18 months were recruited. Convergent validity for agreement between stethoscope examination and acoustic analysis was poor for wheeze (κ = 0.07 (95% CI, –0.13 to 0.26)) and rattles (κ = 0.11 (–0.05 to 0.27)) and fair for crackles (κ = 0.36 (0.18 to 0.54)). Both the stethoscope and acoustic analysis distinguished well between sounds (discriminant validity). Agreement between observers for the presence of wheeze was poor for both stethoscope examination and acoustic analysis. Agreement for rattles was moderate for the stethoscope but poor for acoustic analysis. Agreement for crackles was moderate using both techniques. Within-observer reliability for all sounds using acoustic analysis was moderate to good. Conclusions: The stethoscope is unreliable for assessing respiratory sounds in infants. This has important implications for its use as a diagnostic tool for lung disorders in infants, and confirms that it cannot be used as a gold standard. Because of the unreliability of the stethoscope, the validity of acoustic analysis could not be demonstrated, although it could discriminate between sounds well and showed good within-observer reliability. For acoustic analysis, targeted training and the development of computerised pattern recognition systems may improve reliability so that it can be used in clinical practice. PMID:15499065

The Monte Carlo Simulation Method for System Reliability and Risk Analysis

CERN Document Server

Zio, Enrico

2013-01-01

Monte Carlo simulation is one of the best tools for performing realistic analysis of complex systems as it allows most of the limiting assumptions on system behavior to be relaxed. The Monte Carlo Simulation Method for System Reliability and Risk Analysis comprehensively illustrates the Monte Carlo simulation method and its application to reliability and system engineering. Readers are given a sound understanding of the fundamentals of Monte Carlo sampling and simulation and its application for realistic system modeling.   Whilst many of the topics rely on a high-level understanding of calculus, probability and statistics, simple academic examples will be provided in support to the explanation of the theoretical foundations to facilitate comprehension of the subject matter. Case studies will be introduced to provide the practical value of the most advanced techniques.   This detailed approach makes The Monte Carlo Simulation Method for System Reliability and Risk Analysis a key reference for senior undergra...

ZERBERUS - the code for reliability analysis of crack containing structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cizelj, L.; Riesch-Oppermann, H.

1992-04-01

Brief description of the First- and Second Order Reliability Methods, being the theoretical background of the code, is given. The code structure is described in detail, with special emphasis to the new application fields. The numerical example investigates failure probability of steam generator tubing affected by stress corrosion cracking. The changes necessary to accommodate this analysis within the ZERBERUS code are explained. Analysis results are compared to different Monte Carlo techniques. (orig./HP) [de

Reliability of capturing foot parameters using digital scanning and the neutral suspension casting technique

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background A clinical study was conducted to determine the intra and inter-rater reliability of digital scanning and the neutral suspension casting technique to measure six foot parameters. The neutral suspension casting technique is a commonly utilised method for obtaining a negative impression of the foot prior to orthotic fabrication. Digital scanning offers an alternative to the traditional plaster of Paris techniques. Methods Twenty one healthy participants volunteered to take part in the study. Six casts and six digital scans were obtained from each participant by two raters of differing clinical experience. The foot parameters chosen for investigation were cast length (mm), forefoot width (mm), rearfoot width (mm), medial arch height (mm), lateral arch height (mm) and forefoot to rearfoot alignment (degrees). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to determine the intra and inter-rater reliability. Measurement error was assessed through the calculation of the standard error of the measurement (SEM) and smallest real difference (SRD). Results ICC values for all foot parameters using digital scanning ranged between 0.81-0.99 for both intra and inter-rater reliability. For neutral suspension casting technique inter-rater reliability values ranged from 0.57-0.99 and intra-rater reliability values ranging from 0.36-0.99 for rater 1 and 0.49-0.99 for rater 2. Conclusions The findings of this study indicate that digital scanning is a reliable technique, irrespective of clinical experience, with reduced measurement variability in all foot parameters investigated when compared to neutral suspension casting. PMID:21375757

Power system reliability analysis using fault trees

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volkanovski, A.; Cepin, M.; Mavko, B.

2006-01-01

The power system reliability analysis method is developed from the aspect of reliable delivery of electrical energy to customers. The method is developed based on the fault tree analysis, which is widely applied in the Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA). The method is adapted for the power system reliability analysis. The method is developed in a way that only the basic reliability parameters of the analysed power system are necessary as an input for the calculation of reliability indices of the system. The modeling and analysis was performed on an example power system consisting of eight substations. The results include the level of reliability of current power system configuration, the combinations of component failures resulting in a failed power delivery to loads, and the importance factors for components and subsystems. (author)

Development of the GO-FLOW reliability analysis methodology for nuclear reactor system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuoka, Takeshi; Kobayashi, Michiyuki

1994-01-01

Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) is important in the safety analysis of technological systems and processes, such as, nuclear plants, chemical and petroleum facilities, aerospace systems. Event trees and fault trees are the basic analytical tools that have been most frequently used for PSAs. Several system analysis methods can be used in addition to, or in support of, the event- and fault-tree analysis. The need for more advanced methods of system reliability analysis has grown with the increased complexity of engineered systems. The Ship Research Institute has been developing a new reliability analysis methodology, GO-FLOW, which is a success-oriented system analysis technique, and is capable of evaluating a large system with complex operational sequences. The research has been supported by the special research fund for Nuclear Technology, Science and Technology Agency, from 1989 to 1994. This paper describes the concept of the Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA), an overview of various system analysis techniques, an overview of the GO-FLOW methodology, the GO-FLOW analysis support system, procedure of treating a phased mission problem, a function of common cause failure analysis, a function of uncertainty analysis, a function of common cause failure analysis with uncertainty, and printing out system of the results of GO-FLOW analysis in the form of figure or table. Above functions are explained by analyzing sample systems, such as PWR AFWS, BWR ECCS. In the appendices, the structure of the GO-FLOW analysis programs and the meaning of the main variables defined in the GO-FLOW programs are described. The GO-FLOW methodology is a valuable and useful tool for system reliability analysis, and has a wide range of applications. With the development of the total system of the GO-FLOW, this methodology has became a powerful tool in a living PSA. (author) 54 refs

Fault tree technique: advances in probabilistic and logical analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clarotti, C.A.; Amendola, A.; Contini, S.; Squellati, G.

1982-01-01

Fault tree reliability analysis is used for assessing the risk associated to systems of increasing complexity (phased mission systems, systems with multistate components, systems with non-monotonic structure functions). Much care must be taken to make sure that fault tree technique is not used beyond its correct validity range. To this end a critical review of mathematical foundations of reliability fault tree analysis is carried out. Limitations are enlightened and potential solutions to open problems are suggested. Moreover an overview is given on the most recent developments in the implementation of an integrated software (SALP-MP, SALP-NOT, SALP-CAFT Codes) for the analysis of a wide class of systems

Human Factors Reliability Analysis for Assuring Nuclear Safety Using Fuzzy Fault Tree

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eisawy, E.A.-F. I.; Sallam, H.

2016-01-01

In order to ensure effective prevention of harmful events, the risk assessment process cannot ignore the role of humans in the dynamics of accidental events and thus the seriousness of the consequences that may derive from them. Human reliability analysis (HRA) involves the use of qualitative and quantitative methods to assess the human contribution to risk. HRA techniques have been developed in order to provide human error probability values associated with operators’ tasks to be included within the broader context of system risk assessment, and are aimed at reducing the probability of accidental events. Fault tree analysis (FTA) is a graphical model that displays the various combinations of equipment failures and human errors that can result in the main system failure of interest. FTA is a risk analysis technique to assess likelihood (in a probabilistic context) of an event. The objective data available to estimate the likelihood is often missing, and even if available, is subject to incompleteness and imprecision or vagueness. Without addressing incompleteness and imprecision in the available data, FTA and subsequent risk analysis give a false impression of precision and correctness that undermines the overall credibility of the process. To solve this problem, qualitative justification in the context of failure possibilities can be used as alternative for quantitative justification. In this paper, we introduce the approach of fuzzy reliability as solution for fault tree analysis drawbacks. A new fuzzy fault tree method is proposed for the analysis of human reliability based on fuzzy sets and fuzzy operations t-norms, co-norms, defuzzification, and fuzzy failure probability. (author)

A comparative evaluation of five human reliability assessment techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirwan, B.

1988-01-01

A field experiment was undertaken to evaluate the accuracy, usefulness, and resources requirements of five human reliability quantification techniques (Techniques for Human Error Rate Prediction (THERP); Paired Comparisons, Human Error Assessment and Reduction Technique (HEART), Success Liklihood Index Method (SLIM)-Multi Attribute Utility Decomposition (MAUD), and Absolute Probability Judgement). This was achieved by assessing technique predictions against a set of known human error probabilities, and by comparing their predictions on a set of five realistic Probabilisitc Risk Assessment (PRA) human error. On a combined measure of accuracy THERP and Absolute Probability Judgement performed best, whilst HEART showed indications of accuracy and was lower in resources usage than other techniques. HEART and THERP both appear to benefit from using trained assessors in order to obtain the best results. SLIM and Paired Comparisons require further research on achieving a robust calibration relationship between their scale values and absolute probabilities. (author)

A reliability analysis tool for SpaceWire network

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Qiang; Zhu, Longjiang; Fei, Haidong; Wang, Xingyou

2017-04-01

A SpaceWire is a standard for on-board satellite networks as the basis for future data-handling architectures. It is becoming more and more popular in space applications due to its technical advantages, including reliability, low power and fault protection, etc. High reliability is the vital issue for spacecraft. Therefore, it is very important to analyze and improve the reliability performance of the SpaceWire network. This paper deals with the problem of reliability modeling and analysis with SpaceWire network. According to the function division of distributed network, a reliability analysis method based on a task is proposed, the reliability analysis of every task can lead to the system reliability matrix, the reliability result of the network system can be deduced by integrating these entire reliability indexes in the matrix. With the method, we develop a reliability analysis tool for SpaceWire Network based on VC, where the computation schemes for reliability matrix and the multi-path-task reliability are also implemented. By using this tool, we analyze several cases on typical architectures. And the analytic results indicate that redundancy architecture has better reliability performance than basic one. In practical, the dual redundancy scheme has been adopted for some key unit, to improve the reliability index of the system or task. Finally, this reliability analysis tool will has a directive influence on both task division and topology selection in the phase of SpaceWire network system design.

Analysis of information security reliability: A tutorial

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kondakci, Suleyman

2015-01-01

This article presents a concise reliability analysis of network security abstracted from stochastic modeling, reliability, and queuing theories. Network security analysis is composed of threats, their impacts, and recovery of the failed systems. A unique framework with a collection of the key reliability models is presented here to guide the determination of the system reliability based on the strength of malicious acts and performance of the recovery processes. A unique model, called Attack-obstacle model, is also proposed here for analyzing systems with immunity growth features. Most computer science curricula do not contain courses in reliability modeling applicable to different areas of computer engineering. Hence, the topic of reliability analysis is often too diffuse to most computer engineers and researchers dealing with network security. This work is thus aimed at shedding some light on this issue, which can be useful in identifying models, their assumptions and practical parameters for estimating the reliability of threatened systems and for assessing the performance of recovery facilities. It can also be useful for the classification of processes and states regarding the reliability of information systems. Systems with stochastic behaviors undergoing queue operations and random state transitions can also benefit from the approaches presented here. - Highlights: • A concise survey and tutorial in model-based reliability analysis applicable to information security. • A framework of key modeling approaches for assessing reliability of networked systems. • The framework facilitates quantitative risk assessment tasks guided by stochastic modeling and queuing theory. • Evaluation of approaches and models for modeling threats, failures, impacts, and recovery analysis of information systems

Reliability and criterion validity of an observation protocol for working technique assessments in cash register work.

Science.gov (United States)

Palm, Peter; Josephson, Malin; Mathiassen, Svend Erik; Kjellberg, Katarina

2016-06-01

We evaluated the intra- and inter-observer reliability and criterion validity of an observation protocol, developed in an iterative process involving practicing ergonomists, for assessment of working technique during cash register work for the purpose of preventing upper extremity symptoms. Two ergonomists independently assessed 17 15-min videos of cash register work on two occasions each, as a basis for examining reliability. Criterion validity was assessed by comparing these assessments with meticulous video-based analyses by researchers. Intra-observer reliability was acceptable (i.e. proportional agreement >0.7 and kappa >0.4) for 10/10 questions. Inter-observer reliability was acceptable for only 3/10 questions. An acceptable inter-observer reliability combined with an acceptable criterion validity was obtained only for one working technique aspect, 'Quality of movements'. Thus, major elements of the cashiers' working technique could not be assessed with an acceptable accuracy from short periods of observations by one observer, such as often desired by practitioners. Practitioner Summary: We examined an observation protocol for assessing working technique in cash register work. It was feasible in use, but inter-observer reliability and criterion validity were generally not acceptable when working technique aspects were assessed from short periods of work. We recommend the protocol to be used for educational purposes only.

The DYLAM approach for the dynamic reliability analysis of systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cojazzi, Giacomo

1996-01-01

In many real systems, failures occurring to the components, control failures and human interventions often interact with the physical system evolution in such a way that a simple reliability analysis, de-coupled from process dynamics, is very difficult or even impossible. In the last ten years many dynamic reliability approaches have been proposed to properly assess the reliability of these systems characterized by dynamic interactions. The DYLAM methodology, now implemented in its latest version, DYLAM-3, offers a powerful tool for integrating deterministic and failure events. This paper describes the main features of the DYLAM-3 code with reference to the classic fault-tree and event-tree techniques. Some aspects connected to the practical problems underlying dynamic event-trees are also discussed. A simple system, already analyzed with other dynamic methods is used as a reference for the numerical applications. The same system is also studied with a time-dependent fault-tree approach in order to show some features of dynamic methods vs classical techniques. Examples including stochastic failures, without and with repair, failures on demand and time dependent failure rates give an extensive overview of DYLAM-3 capabilities

Quality of the Critical Incident Technique in practice: Interrater reliability and users' acceptance under real conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ANNA KOCH

2009-03-01

Full Text Available The Critical Incident Technique (CIT is a widely used task analysis method in personnel psychology. While studies on psychometric properties of the CIT so far primarily took into account relevance ratings of task-lists or attributes, and hence, only a smaller or adapted part of the CIT, little is known about the psychometric properties of the complete CIT in its most meaningful and fruitful way. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess interrater reliability and the participants’ view of the CIT under real conditions and especially to provide data for the key step of the CIT: the classification of behavior descriptions into requirements. Additionally, the cost-benefit-ratio and practicability were rated from the participants’ views as an important indicator for the acceptance of the task analysis approach in practice. Instructors of German Institutions for Statutory Accidents Insurance and Prevention as well as their supervisors took part in a job analysis with the CIT. Moderate interrater reliability for the relevance rating was found while the classification step yielded unexpectedly low coefficients for interrater reliability. The cost-benefit-ratio and practicability of the complete CIT were rated very positive. The results are discussed in relation to determinants that facilitate or impede the application of task analysis procedures.

Reliability analysis and initial requirements for FC systems and stacks

Science.gov (United States)

Åström, K.; Fontell, E.; Virtanen, S.

In the year 2000 Wärtsilä Corporation started an R&D program to develop SOFC systems for CHP applications. The program aims to bring to the market highly efficient, clean and cost competitive fuel cell systems with rated power output in the range of 50-250 kW for distributed generation and marine applications. In the program Wärtsilä focuses on system integration and development. System reliability and availability are key issues determining the competitiveness of the SOFC technology. In Wärtsilä, methods have been implemented for analysing the system in respect to reliability and safety as well as for defining reliability requirements for system components. A fault tree representation is used as the basis for reliability prediction analysis. A dynamic simulation technique has been developed to allow for non-static properties in the fault tree logic modelling. Special emphasis has been placed on reliability analysis of the fuel cell stacks in the system. A method for assessing reliability and critical failure predictability requirements for fuel cell stacks in a system consisting of several stacks has been developed. The method is based on a qualitative model of the stack configuration where each stack can be in a functional, partially failed or critically failed state, each of the states having different failure rates and effects on the system behaviour. The main purpose of the method is to understand the effect of stack reliability, critical failure predictability and operating strategy on the system reliability and availability. An example configuration, consisting of 5 × 5 stacks (series of 5 sets of 5 parallel stacks) is analysed in respect to stack reliability requirements as a function of predictability of critical failures and Weibull shape factor of failure rate distributions.

Reliability Analysis of Adhesive Bonded Scarf Joints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kimiaeifar, Amin; Toft, Henrik Stensgaard; Lund, Erik

2012-01-01

element analysis (FEA). For the reliability analysis a design equation is considered which is related to a deterministic code-based design equation where reliability is secured by partial safety factors together with characteristic values for the material properties and loads. The failure criteria......A probabilistic model for the reliability analysis of adhesive bonded scarfed lap joints subjected to static loading is developed. It is representative for the main laminate in a wind turbine blade subjected to flapwise bending. The structural analysis is based on a three dimensional (3D) finite...... are formulated using a von Mises, a modified von Mises and a maximum stress failure criterion. The reliability level is estimated for the scarfed lap joint and this is compared with the target reliability level implicitly used in the wind turbine standard IEC 61400-1. A convergence study is performed to validate...

Reliability analysis and operator modelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hollnagel, Erik

1996-01-01

The paper considers the state of operator modelling in reliability analysis. Operator models are needed in reliability analysis because operators are needed in process control systems. HRA methods must therefore be able to account both for human performance variability and for the dynamics of the interaction. A selected set of first generation HRA approaches is briefly described in terms of the operator model they use, their classification principle, and the actual method they propose. In addition, two examples of second generation methods are also considered. It is concluded that first generation HRA methods generally have very simplistic operator models, either referring to the time-reliability relationship or to elementary information processing concepts. It is argued that second generation HRA methods must recognise that cognition is embedded in a context, and be able to account for that in the way human reliability is analysed and assessed

Human Reliability Analysis: session summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, R.E.

1985-01-01

The use of Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) to identify and resolve human factors issues has significantly increased over the past two years. Today, utilities, research institutions, consulting firms, and the regulatory agency have found a common application of HRA tools and Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA). The ''1985 IEEE Third Conference on Human Factors and Power Plants'' devoted three sessions to the discussion of these applications and a review of the insights so gained. This paper summarizes the three sessions and presents those common conclusions that were discussed during the meeting. The paper concludes that session participants supported the use of an adequately documented ''living PRA'' to address human factors issues in design and procedural changes, regulatory compliance, and training and that the techniques can produce cost effective qualitative results that are complementary to more classical human factors methods

A framework for intelligent reliability centered maintenance analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng Zhonghua; Jia Xisheng; Gao Ping; Wu Su; Wang Jianzhao

2008-01-01

To improve the efficiency of reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) analysis, case-based reasoning (CBR), as a kind of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, was successfully introduced into RCM analysis process, and a framework for intelligent RCM analysis (IRCMA) was studied. The idea for IRCMA is based on the fact that the historical records of RCM analysis on similar items can be referenced and used for the current RCM analysis of a new item. Because many common or similar items may exist in the analyzed equipment, the repeated tasks of RCM analysis can be considerably simplified or avoided by revising the similar cases in conducting RCM analysis. Based on the previous theory studies, an intelligent RCM analysis system (IRCMAS) prototype was developed. This research has focused on the description of the definition, basic principles as well as a framework of IRCMA, and discussion of critical techniques in the IRCMA. Finally, IRCMAS prototype is presented based on a case study

Reliability of the Superimposed-Burst Technique in Patients With Patellofemoral Pain: A Technical Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Norte, Grant E; Frye, Jamie L; Hart, Joseph M

2015-11-01

The superimposed-burst (SIB) technique is commonly used to quantify central activation failure after knee-joint injury, but its reliability has not been established in pathologic cohorts. To assess within-session and between-sessions reliability of the SIB technique in patients with patellofemoral pain. Descriptive laboratory study. University laboratory. A total of 10 patients with self-reported patellofemoral pain (1 man, 9 women; age = 24.1 ± 3.8 years, height = 167.8 ± 15.2 cm, mass = 71.6 ± 17.5 kg) and 10 healthy control participants (3 men, 7 women; age = 27.4 ± 5.0 years, height = 173.5 ± 9.9 cm, mass = 78.2 ± 16.5 kg) volunteered. Participants were assessed at 6 intervals spanning 21 days. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs [3,3]) were used to assess reliability. Quadriceps central activation ratio, knee-extension maximal voluntary isometric contraction force, and SIB force. The quadriceps central activation ratio was highly reliable within session (ICC [3,3] = 0.97) and between sessions through day 21 (ICC [3,3] = 0.90-0.95). Acceptable reliability of knee extension (ICC [3,3] = 0.75-0.91) and SIB force (ICC [3,3] = 0.77-0.89) was observed through day 21. The SIB technique was reliable for clinical research up to 21 days in patients with patellofemoral pain.

Software safety analysis techniques for developing safety critical software in the digital protection system of the LMR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Jang Soo; Cheon, Se Woo; Kim, Chang Hoi; Sim, Yun Sub

2001-02-01

This report has described the software safety analysis techniques and the engineering guidelines for developing safety critical software to identify the state of the art in this field and to give the software safety engineer a trail map between the code and standards layer and the design methodology and documents layer. We have surveyed the management aspects of software safety activities during the software lifecycle in order to improve the safety. After identifying the conventional safety analysis techniques for systems, we have surveyed in details the software safety analysis techniques, software FMEA(Failure Mode and Effects Analysis), software HAZOP(Hazard and Operability Analysis), and software FTA(Fault Tree Analysis). We have also surveyed the state of the art in the software reliability assessment techniques. The most important results from the reliability techniques are not the specific probability numbers generated, but the insights into the risk importance of software features. To defend against potential common-mode failures, high quality, defense-in-depth, and diversity are considered to be key elements in digital I and C system design. To minimize the possibility of CMFs and thus increase the plant reliability, we have provided D-in-D and D analysis guidelines.

Software safety analysis techniques for developing safety critical software in the digital protection system of the LMR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jang Soo; Cheon, Se Woo; Kim, Chang Hoi; Sim, Yun Sub

2001-02-01

This report has described the software safety analysis techniques and the engineering guidelines for developing safety critical software to identify the state of the art in this field and to give the software safety engineer a trail map between the code and standards layer and the design methodology and documents layer. We have surveyed the management aspects of software safety activities during the software lifecycle in order to improve the safety. After identifying the conventional safety analysis techniques for systems, we have surveyed in details the software safety analysis techniques, software FMEA(Failure Mode and Effects Analysis), software HAZOP(Hazard and Operability Analysis), and software FTA(Fault Tree Analysis). We have also surveyed the state of the art in the software reliability assessment techniques. The most important results from the reliability techniques are not the specific probability numbers generated, but the insights into the risk importance of software features. To defend against potential common-mode failures, high quality, defense-in-depth, and diversity are considered to be key elements in digital I and C system design. To minimize the possibility of CMFs and thus increase the plant reliability, we have provided D-in-D and D analysis guidelines

Techniques to maximize software reliability in radiation fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eichhorn, G.; Piercey, R.B.

1986-01-01

Microprocessor system failures due to memory corruption by single event upsets (SEUs) and/or latch-up in RAM or ROM memory are common in environments where there is high radiation flux. Traditional methods to harden microcomputer systems against SEUs and memory latch-up have usually involved expensive large scale hardware redundancy. Such systems offer higher reliability, but they tend to be more complex and non-standard. At the Space Astronomy Laboratory the authors have developed general programming techniques for producing software which is resistant to such memory failures. These techniques, which may be applied to standard off-the-shelf hardware, as well as custom designs, include an implementation of Maximally Redundant Software (MRS) model, error detection algorithms and memory verification and management

Culture Representation in Human Reliability Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

David Gertman; Julie Marble; Steven Novack

2006-12-01

Understanding human-system response is critical to being able to plan and predict mission success in the modern battlespace. Commonly, human reliability analysis has been used to predict failures of human performance in complex, critical systems. However, most human reliability methods fail to take culture into account. This paper takes an easily understood state of the art human reliability analysis method and extends that method to account for the influence of culture, including acceptance of new technology, upon performance. The cultural parameters used to modify the human reliability analysis were determined from two standard industry approaches to cultural assessment: Hofstede’s (1991) cultural factors and Davis’ (1989) technology acceptance model (TAM). The result is called the Culture Adjustment Method (CAM). An example is presented that (1) reviews human reliability assessment with and without cultural attributes for a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system attack, (2) demonstrates how country specific information can be used to increase the realism of HRA modeling, and (3) discusses the differences in human error probability estimates arising from cultural differences.

Inclusion of task dependence in human reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Su, Xiaoyan; Mahadevan, Sankaran; Xu, Peida; Deng, Yong

2014-01-01

Dependence assessment among human errors in human reliability analysis (HRA) is an important issue, which includes the evaluation of the dependence among human tasks and the effect of the dependence on the final human error probability (HEP). This paper represents a computational model to handle dependence in human reliability analysis. The aim of the study is to automatically provide conclusions on the overall degree of dependence and calculate the conditional human error probability (CHEP) once the judgments of the input factors are given. The dependence influencing factors are first identified by the experts and the priorities of these factors are also taken into consideration. Anchors and qualitative labels are provided as guidance for the HRA analyst's judgment of the input factors. The overall degree of dependence between human failure events is calculated based on the input values and the weights of the input factors. Finally, the CHEP is obtained according to a computing formula derived from the technique for human error rate prediction (THERP) method. The proposed method is able to quantify the subjective judgment from the experts and improve the transparency in the HEP evaluation process. Two examples are illustrated to show the effectiveness and the flexibility of the proposed method. - Highlights: • We propose a computational model to handle dependence in human reliability analysis. • The priorities of the dependence influencing factors are taken into consideration. • The overall dependence degree is determined by input judgments and the weights of factors. • The CHEP is obtained according to a computing formula derived from THERP

Reliability analysis of steel-containment strength

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greimann, L.G.; Fanous, F.; Wold-Tinsae, A.; Ketalaar, D.; Lin, T.; Bluhm, D.

1982-06-01

A best estimate and uncertainty assessment of the resistance of the St. Lucie, Cherokee, Perry, WPPSS and Browns Ferry containment vessels was performed. The Monte Carlo simulation technique and second moment approach were compared as a means of calculating the probability distribution of the containment resistance. A uniform static internal pressure was used and strain ductility was taken as the failure criterion. Approximate methods were developed and calibrated with finite element analysis. Both approximate and finite element analyses were performed on the axisymmetric containment structure. An uncertainty assessment of the containment strength was then performed by the second moment reliability method. Based upon the approximate methods, the cumulative distribution for the resistance of each of the five containments (shell modes only) is presented

A Closed-Form Technique for the Reliability and Risk Assessment of Wind Turbine Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonardo Dueñas-Osorio

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a closed-form method to evaluate wind turbine system reliability and associated failure consequences. Monte Carlo simulation, a widely used approach for system reliability assessment, usually requires large numbers of computational experiments, while existing analytical methods are limited to simple system event configurations with a focus on average values of reliability metrics. By analyzing a wind turbine system and its components in a combinatorial yet computationally efficient form, the proposed approach provides an entire probability distribution of system failure that contains all possible configurations of component failure and survival events. The approach is also capable of handling unique component attributes such as downtime and repair cost needed for risk estimations, and enables sensitivity analysis for quantifying the criticality of individual components to wind turbine system reliability. Applications of the technique are illustrated by assessing the reliability of a 12-subassembly turbine system. In addition, component downtimes and repair costs of components are embedded in the formulation to compute expected annual wind turbine unavailability and repair cost probabilities, and component importance metrics useful for maintenance planning and research prioritization. Furthermore, this paper introduces a recursive solution to closed-form method and applies this to a 45-component turbine system. The proposed approach proves to be computationally efficient and yields vital reliability information that could be readily used by wind farm stakeholders for decision making and risk management.

Reliability Analysis of a Steel Frame

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Sýkora

2002-01-01

Full Text Available A steel frame with haunches is designed according to Eurocodes. The frame is exposed to self-weight, snow, and wind actions. Lateral-torsional buckling appears to represent the most critical criterion, which is considered as a basis for the limit state function. In the reliability analysis, the probabilistic models proposed by the Joint Committee for Structural Safety (JCSS are used for basic variables. The uncertainty model coefficients take into account the inaccuracy of the resistance model for the haunched girder and the inaccuracy of the action effect model. The time invariant reliability analysis is based on Turkstra's rule for combinations of snow and wind actions. The time variant analysis describes snow and wind actions by jump processes with intermittencies. Assuming a 50-year lifetime, the obtained values of the reliability index b vary within the range from 3.95 up to 5.56. The cross-profile IPE 330 designed according to Eurocodes seems to be adequate. It appears that the time invariant reliability analysis based on Turkstra's rule provides considerably lower values of b than those obtained by the time variant analysis.

An integrated approach to human reliability analysis -- decision analytic dynamic reliability model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holmberg, J.; Hukki, K.; Norros, L.; Pulkkinen, U.; Pyy, P.

1999-01-01

The reliability of human operators in process control is sensitive to the context. In many contemporary human reliability analysis (HRA) methods, this is not sufficiently taken into account. The aim of this article is that integration between probabilistic and psychological approaches in human reliability should be attempted. This is achieved first, by adopting such methods that adequately reflect the essential features of the process control activity, and secondly, by carrying out an interactive HRA process. Description of the activity context, probabilistic modeling, and psychological analysis form an iterative interdisciplinary sequence of analysis in which the results of one sub-task maybe input to another. The analysis of the context is carried out first with the help of a common set of conceptual tools. The resulting descriptions of the context promote the probabilistic modeling, through which new results regarding the probabilistic dynamics can be achieved. These can be incorporated in the context descriptions used as reference in the psychological analysis of actual performance. The results also provide new knowledge of the constraints of activity, by providing information of the premises of the operator's actions. Finally, the stochastic marked point process model gives a tool, by which psychological methodology may be interpreted and utilized for reliability analysis

Reliability and validity of risk analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aven, Terje; Heide, Bjornar

2009-01-01

In this paper we investigate to what extent risk analysis meets the scientific quality requirements of reliability and validity. We distinguish between two types of approaches within risk analysis, relative frequency-based approaches and Bayesian approaches. The former category includes both traditional statistical inference methods and the so-called probability of frequency approach. Depending on the risk analysis approach, the aim of the analysis is different, the results are presented in different ways and consequently the meaning of the concepts reliability and validity are not the same.

Cut set-based risk and reliability analysis for arbitrarily interconnected networks

Science.gov (United States)

Wyss, Gregory D.

2000-01-01

Method for computing all-terminal reliability for arbitrarily interconnected networks such as the United States public switched telephone network. The method includes an efficient search algorithm to generate minimal cut sets for nonhierarchical networks directly from the network connectivity diagram. Efficiency of the search algorithm stems in part from its basis on only link failures. The method also includes a novel quantification scheme that likewise reduces computational effort associated with assessing network reliability based on traditional risk importance measures. Vast reductions in computational effort are realized since combinatorial expansion and subsequent Boolean reduction steps are eliminated through analysis of network segmentations using a technique of assuming node failures to occur on only one side of a break in the network, and repeating the technique for all minimal cut sets generated with the search algorithm. The method functions equally well for planar and non-planar networks.

Tailored Cloze: Improved with Classical Item Analysis Techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, James Dean

1988-01-01

The reliability and validity of a cloze procedure used as an English-as-a-second-language (ESL) test in China were improved by applying traditional item analysis and selection techniques. The 'best' test items were chosen on the basis of item facility and discrimination indices, and were administered as a 'tailored cloze.' 29 references listed.…

Structural Reliability Analysis of Wind Turbines: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhiyu Jiang

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The paper presents a detailed review of the state-of-the-art research activities on structural reliability analysis of wind turbines between the 1990s and 2017. We describe the reliability methods including the first- and second-order reliability methods and the simulation reliability methods and show the procedure for and application areas of structural reliability analysis of wind turbines. Further, we critically review the various structural reliability studies on rotor blades, bottom-fixed support structures, floating systems and mechanical and electrical components. Finally, future applications of structural reliability methods to wind turbine designs are discussed.

Reliability analysis of reactor pressure vessel intensity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Liangang; Lu Yongbo

2012-01-01

This paper performs the reliability analysis of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) with ANSYS. The analysis method include direct Monte Carlo Simulation method, Latin Hypercube Sampling, central composite design and Box-Behnken Matrix design. The RPV integrity reliability under given input condition is proposed. The result shows that the effects on the RPV base material reliability are internal press, allowable basic stress and elasticity modulus of base material in descending order, and the effects on the bolt reliability are allowable basic stress of bolt material, preload of bolt and internal press in descending order. (authors)

A task analysis-linked approach for integrating the human factor in reliability assessments of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryan, T.G.

1988-01-01

This paper describes an emerging Task Analysis-Linked Evaluation Technique (TALENT) for assessing the contributions of human error to nuclear power plant systems unreliability and risk. Techniques such as TALENT are emerging as a recognition that human error is a primary contributor to plant safety, however, it has been a peripheral consideration to data in plant reliability evaluations. TALENT also recognizes that involvement of persons with behavioral science expertise is required to support plant reliability and risk analyses. A number of state-of-knowledge human reliability analysis tools are also discussed which support the TALENT process. The core of TALENT is comprised of task, timeline and interface analysis data which provide the technology base for event and fault tree development, serve as criteria for selecting and evaluating performance shaping factors, and which provide a basis for auditing TALENT results. Finally, programs and case studies used to refine the TALENT process are described along with future research needs in the area. (author)

System reliability analysis with natural language and expert's subjectivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onisawa, T.

1996-01-01

This paper introduces natural language expressions and expert's subjectivity to system reliability analysis. To this end, this paper defines a subjective measure of reliability and presents the method of the system reliability analysis using the measure. The subjective measure of reliability corresponds to natural language expressions of reliability estimation, which is represented by a fuzzy set defined on [0,1]. The presented method deals with the dependence among subsystems and employs parametrized operations of subjective measures of reliability which can reflect expert 's subjectivity towards the analyzed system. The analysis results are also expressed by linguistic terms. Finally this paper gives an example of the system reliability analysis by the presented method

A critique of reliability prediction techniques for avionics applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guru Prasad PANDIAN

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Avionics (aeronautics and aerospace industries must rely on components and systems of demonstrated high reliability. For this, handbook-based methods have been traditionally used to design for reliability, develop test plans, and define maintenance requirements and sustainment logistics. However, these methods have been criticized as flawed and leading to inaccurate and misleading results. In its recent report on enhancing defense system reliability, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences has recently discredited these methods, judging the Military Handbook (MIL-HDBK-217 and its progeny as invalid and inaccurate. This paper discusses the issues that arise with the use of handbook-based methods in commercial and military avionics applications. Alternative approaches to reliability design (and its demonstration are also discussed, including similarity analysis, testing, physics-of-failure, and data analytics for prognostics and systems health management.

Application of objective clinical human reliability analysis (OCHRA) in assessment of technical performance in laparoscopic rectal cancer surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, J D; Miskovic, D; Allison, A S; Conti, J A; Ockrim, J; Cooper, E J; Hanna, G B; Francis, N K

2016-06-01

Laparoscopic rectal resection is technically challenging, with outcomes dependent upon technical performance. No robust objective assessment tool exists for laparoscopic rectal resection surgery. This study aimed to investigate the application of the objective clinical human reliability analysis (OCHRA) technique for assessing technical performance of laparoscopic rectal surgery and explore the validity and reliability of this technique. Laparoscopic rectal cancer resection operations were described in the format of a hierarchical task analysis. Potential technical errors were defined. The OCHRA technique was used to identify technical errors enacted in videos of twenty consecutive laparoscopic rectal cancer resection operations from a single site. The procedural task, spatial location, and circumstances of all identified errors were logged. Clinical validity was assessed through correlation with clinical outcomes; reliability was assessed by test-retest. A total of 335 execution errors identified, with a median 15 per operation. More errors were observed during pelvic tasks compared with abdominal tasks (p technical performance of laparoscopic rectal surgery.

STARS software tool for analysis of reliability and safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poucet, A.; Guagnini, E.

1989-01-01

This paper reports on the STARS (Software Tool for the Analysis of Reliability and Safety) project aims at developing an integrated set of Computer Aided Reliability Analysis tools for the various tasks involved in systems safety and reliability analysis including hazard identification, qualitative analysis, logic model construction and evaluation. The expert system technology offers the most promising perspective for developing a Computer Aided Reliability Analysis tool. Combined with graphics and analysis capabilities, it can provide a natural engineering oriented environment for computer assisted reliability and safety modelling and analysis. For hazard identification and fault tree construction, a frame/rule based expert system is used, in which the deductive (goal driven) reasoning and the heuristic, applied during manual fault tree construction, is modelled. Expert system can explain their reasoning so that the analyst can become aware of the why and the how results are being obtained. Hence, the learning aspect involved in manual reliability and safety analysis can be maintained and improved

Reliability analysis of offshore structures using OMA based fatigue stresses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Silva Nabuco, Bruna; Aissani, Amina; Glindtvad Tarpø, Marius

2017-01-01

focus is on the uncertainty observed on the different stresses used to predict the damage. This uncertainty can be reduced by Modal Based Fatigue Monitoring which is a technique based on continuously measuring of the accelerations in few points of the structure with the use of accelerometers known...... points of the structure, the stress history can be calculated in any arbitrary point of the structure. The accuracy of the estimated actual stress is analyzed by experimental tests on a scale model where the obtained stresses are compared to strain gauges measurements. After evaluating the fatigue...... stresses directly from the operational response of the structure, a reliability analysis is performed in order to estimate the reliability of using Modal Based Fatigue Monitoring for long term fatigue studies....

Ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry. A reliable technique for the analysis of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs in food and feed samples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santos, F J; Malavia, J; Galceran, M T [Barcelona Univ. (Spain). Dept. of Analytical Chemistry; Abalos, M; Abad, E; Rivera, J [Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Dept. of Ecotechnologies, IIQAB-CSIC, Barcelona (Spain)

2004-09-15

The recent establishment of maximum residue limits for polychlorodibenzo-pdioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in food and feed samples by the European Community and the future inclusion of dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) in these values at the end of 2006, has led to an important increase on the routine analysis of these compounds. Therefore, there is a clear need to have powerful sensitive and selective methods for the analysis of these compounds at low concentration levels. Actually, gas chromatography coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS) is the technique of reference for the determination of these analytes in environmental and food samples due to its high sensitivity and selectivity. Nevertheless, this technique is relatively expensive and requires qualifier personnel. Therefore, the development of more economical but reliable methods that can deliver results comparable to GC-HRMS is required. During the last years, gas chromatography coupled with ion trap mass spectrometry (GC-ITMS) working in MS/MS mode has become an interesting alternative technique to GC-HRMS for the analysis of PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs. The aim of the present work is to demonstrate the ability of the gas chromatography coupled with ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry (GC-ITMS/MS) for the analysis of PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs in food and feed samples. This work was performed on the framework of the European research project called DIFFERENCE (Dioxins in Food and Feed - Reference methods and New Certified Reference Materials) with the objective to validate the GC-ITMS/MS method as alternative to HRMS in order to reduce the cost of dioxin analysis. The results and conclusions of the evaluation study are presented here.

Photovoltaic power system reliability considerations

Science.gov (United States)

Lalli, V. R.

1980-01-01

This paper describes an example of how modern engineering and safety techniques can be used to assure the reliable and safe operation of photovoltaic power systems. This particular application was for a solar cell power system demonstration project in Tangaye, Upper Volta, Africa. The techniques involve a definition of the power system natural and operating environment, use of design criteria and analysis techniques, an awareness of potential problems via the inherent reliability and FMEA methods, and use of a fail-safe and planned spare parts engineering philosophy.

Use of eye tracking equipment for human reliability analysis applied to complex system operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinheiro, Andre Ricardo Mendonça; Prado, Eugenio Anselmo Pessoa do; Martins, Marcelo Ramos

2017-01-01

This article will discuss the preliminary results of an evaluation methodology for the analysis and quantification of manual character errors (human), by monitoring cognitive parameters and skill levels in the operation of a complex control system based on parameters provided by a eye monitoring equipment (Eye Tracker). The research was conducted using a simulator (game) that plays concepts of operation of a nuclear reactor with a split sample for evaluation of aspects of learning, knowledge and standard operating within the context addressed. bridge operators were monitored using the EYE TRACKING, eliminating the presence of the analyst in the evaluation of the operation, allowing the analysis of the results by means of multivariate statistical techniques within the scope of system reliability. The experiments aim to observe state change situations such as stops and scheduled departures, incidents assumptions and common operating characteristics. Preliminary results of this research object indicate that technical and cognitive aspects can contribute to improving the reliability of the available techniques in human reliability, making them more realistic both in the context of quantitative approaches to regulatory and training purposes, as well as reduced incidence of human error. (author)

Use of eye tracking equipment for human reliability analysis applied to complex system operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pinheiro, Andre Ricardo Mendonça; Prado, Eugenio Anselmo Pessoa do; Martins, Marcelo Ramos, E-mail: andrericardopinheiro@usp.br, E-mail: eugenio.prado@labrisco.usp.br, E-mail: mrmatins@usp.br [Universidade de Sao Paulo (LABRISCO/USP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil). Lab. de Análise, Avaliação e Gerenciamento de Risco

2017-07-01

This article will discuss the preliminary results of an evaluation methodology for the analysis and quantification of manual character errors (human), by monitoring cognitive parameters and skill levels in the operation of a complex control system based on parameters provided by a eye monitoring equipment (Eye Tracker). The research was conducted using a simulator (game) that plays concepts of operation of a nuclear reactor with a split sample for evaluation of aspects of learning, knowledge and standard operating within the context addressed. bridge operators were monitored using the EYE TRACKING, eliminating the presence of the analyst in the evaluation of the operation, allowing the analysis of the results by means of multivariate statistical techniques within the scope of system reliability. The experiments aim to observe state change situations such as stops and scheduled departures, incidents assumptions and common operating characteristics. Preliminary results of this research object indicate that technical and cognitive aspects can contribute to improving the reliability of the available techniques in human reliability, making them more realistic both in the context of quantitative approaches to regulatory and training purposes, as well as reduced incidence of human error. (author)

System safety and reliability using object-oriented programming techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patterson-Hine, F.A.; Koen, B.V.

1987-01-01

Direct evaluation fault tree codes have been written in recursive, list-processing computer languages such as PL/1 (PATREC-I) and LISP (PATREC-L). The pattern-matching strategy implemented in these codes has been used extensively in France to evaluate system reliability. Recent reviews of the risk management process suggest that a data base containing plant-specific information be integrated with a package of codes used for probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) to alleviate some of the difficulties that make a PRA so costly and time-intensive. A new programming paradigm, object-oriented programming, is uniquely suited for the development of such a software system. A knowledge base and fault tree evaluation algorithm, based on previous experience with PATREC-L, have been implemented using object-oriented techniques, resulting in a reliability assessment environment that is easy to develop, modify, and extend

Fifty Years of THERP and Human Reliability Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ronald L. Boring

2012-06-01

In 1962 at a Human Factors Society symposium, Alan Swain presented a paper introducing a Technique for Human Error Rate Prediction (THERP). This was followed in 1963 by a Sandia Laboratories monograph outlining basic human error quantification using THERP and, in 1964, by a special journal edition of Human Factors on quantification of human performance. Throughout the 1960s, Swain and his colleagues focused on collecting human performance data for the Sandia Human Error Rate Bank (SHERB), primarily in connection with supporting the reliability of nuclear weapons assembly in the US. In 1969, Swain met with Jens Rasmussen of Risø National Laboratory and discussed the applicability of THERP to nuclear power applications. By 1975, in WASH-1400, Swain had articulated the use of THERP for nuclear power applications, and the approach was finalized in the watershed publication of the NUREG/CR-1278 in 1983. THERP is now 50 years old, and remains the most well known and most widely used HRA method. In this paper, the author discusses the history of THERP, based on published reports and personal communication and interviews with Swain. The author also outlines the significance of THERP. The foundations of human reliability analysis are found in THERP: human failure events, task analysis, performance shaping factors, human error probabilities, dependence, event trees, recovery, and pre- and post-initiating events were all introduced in THERP. While THERP is not without its detractors, and it is showing signs of its age in the face of newer technological applications, the longevity of THERP is a testament of its tremendous significance. THERP started the field of human reliability analysis. This paper concludes with a discussion of THERP in the context of newer methods, which can be seen as extensions of or departures from Swain’s pioneering work.

Human Reliability Analysis for Design: Using Reliability Methods for Human Factors Issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ronald Laurids Boring

2010-11-01

This paper reviews the application of human reliability analysis methods to human factors design issues. An application framework is sketched in which aspects of modeling typically found in human reliability analysis are used in a complementary fashion to the existing human factors phases of design and testing. The paper provides best achievable practices for design, testing, and modeling. Such best achievable practices may be used to evaluate and human system interface in the context of design safety certifications.

Human Reliability Analysis for Design: Using Reliability Methods for Human Factors Issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boring, Ronald Laurids

2010-01-01

This paper reviews the application of human reliability analysis methods to human factors design issues. An application framework is sketched in which aspects of modeling typically found in human reliability analysis are used in a complementary fashion to the existing human factors phases of design and testing. The paper provides best achievable practices for design, testing, and modeling. Such best achievable practices may be used to evaluate and human system interface in the context of design safety certifications.

Improvement of the reliability on nondestructive inspection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Sung Jin; Kim, Young H.; Lee, Hyang Beom; Shin, Young Kil; Jung, Hyun Jo; Park, Ik Keun; Park, Eun Soo

2002-03-01

Retaining reliabilities of nondestructive testing is essential for the life-time maintenance of Nuclear Power Plant. The nondestructive testing methods which are frequently used in the Nuclear Power Plant are eddy current testing for the inspection of steam generator tubes and ultrasonic testing for the inspection of weldments. In order to improve reliabilities of ultrasonic testing and eddy current testing, the subjects carried out in this study are as follows : development of BEM analysis technique for ECT of SG tube, development of neural network technique for the intelligent analysis of ECT flaw signals of SG tubes, development of RFECT technology for the inspection of SG tube, FEM analysis of ultrasonic scattering field, evaluation of statistical reliability of PD-RR test of ultrasonic testing and development of multi-Gaussian beam modeling technique to predict accurate signal of signal beam ultrasonic testing with the efficiency in calculation time

Improvement of the reliability on nondestructive inspection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Sung Jin; Kim, Young H. [Sungkyunkwan Univ., Suwon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Hyang Beom [Soongsil Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Young Kil [Kunsan National Univ., Gunsan (Korea, Republic of); Jung, Hyun Jo [Wonkwang Univ., Iksan (Korea, Republic of); Park, Ik Keun; Park, Eun Soo [Seoul Nationl Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2002-03-15

Retaining reliabilities of nondestructive testing is essential for the life-time maintenance of Nuclear Power Plant. The nondestructive testing methods which are frequently used in the Nuclear Power Plant are eddy current testing for the inspection of steam generator tubes and ultrasonic testing for the inspection of weldments. In order to improve reliabilities of ultrasonic testing and eddy current testing, the subjects carried out in this study are as follows : development of BEM analysis technique for ECT of SG tube, development of neural network technique for the intelligent analysis of ECT flaw signals of SG tubes, development of RFECT technology for the inspection of SG tube, FEM analysis of ultrasonic scattering field, evaluation of statistical reliability of PD-RR test of ultrasonic testing and development of multi-Gaussian beam modeling technique to predict accurate signal of signal beam ultrasonic testing with the efficiency in calculation time.

Reliability of system identification techniques to assess standing balance in healthy elderly

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pasma, Jantsje H.; Engelhart, Denise; Maier, Andrea B.; Aarts, Ronald G.K.M.; Van Gerven, Joop M.A.; Arendzen, J. Hans; Schouten, Alfred C.; Meskers, Carel G.M.; Van Kooij, Herman Der

2016-01-01

Objectives System identification techniques have the potential to assess the contribution of the underlying systems involved in standing balance by applying well-known disturbances. We investigated the reliability of standing balance parameters obtained with multivariate closed loop system

Reliability of System Identification Techniques to Assess Standing Balance in Healthy Elderly

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pasma, J.H.; Engelhart, D.; Maier, A.B.; Aarts, R.G.K.M.; Van Gerven, J.M.A.; Arendzen, J.H.; Schouten, A.C.; Meskers, C.G.M.; Van der Kooij, H.

2016-01-01

Objectives System identification techniques have the potential to assess the contribution of the underlying systems involved in standing balance by applying well-known disturbances. We investigated the reliability of standing balance parameters obtained with multivariate closed loop system

Overview of system reliability analyses for PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuoka, Takeshi

2012-01-01

Overall explanations are given for many matters relating to system reliability analysis. Systems engineering, Operations research, Industrial engineering, Quality control are briefly explained. Many system reliability analysis methods including advanced methods are introduced. Discussions are given for FMEA, reliability block diagram, Markov model, Petri net, Bayesian network, goal tree success tree, dynamic flow graph methodology, cell-to-cell mapping technique, the GO-FLOW and others. (author)

Systems reliability analysis for the national ignition facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majumdar, K.C.; Annese, C.E.; MacIntyre, A.T.; Sicherman, A.

1996-01-01

A Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (RAM) analysis was initiated for the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The NIF is an inertial confinement fusion research facility designed to achieve controlled thermonuclear reaction; the preferred site for the NIF is the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The NIF RAM analysis has three purposes: (1) to allocate top level reliability and availability goals for the systems, (2) to develop an operability model for optimum maintainability, and (3) to determine the achievability of the allocated goals of the RAM parameters for the NIF systems and the facility operation as a whole. An allocation model assigns the reliability and availability goals for front line and support systems by a top-down approach; reliability analysis uses a bottom-up approach to determine the system reliability and availability from component level to system level

Mechanical reliability analysis of tubes intended for hydrocarbons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nahal, Mourad; Khelif, Rabia [Badji Mokhtar University, Annaba (Algeria)

2013-02-15

Reliability analysis constitutes an essential phase in any study concerning reliability. Many industrialists evaluate and improve the reliability of their products during the development cycle - from design to startup (design, manufacture, and exploitation) - to develop their knowledge on cost/reliability ratio and to control sources of failure. In this study, we obtain results for hardness, tensile, and hydrostatic tests carried out on steel tubes for transporting hydrocarbons followed by statistical analysis. Results obtained allow us to conduct a reliability study based on resistance request. Thus, index of reliability is calculated and the importance of the variables related to the tube is presented. Reliability-based assessment of residual stress effects is applied to underground pipelines under a roadway, with and without active corrosion. Residual stress has been found to greatly increase probability of failure, especially in the early stages of pipe lifetime.

Issues in cognitive reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woods, D.D.; Hitchler, M.J.; Rumancik, J.A.

1984-01-01

This chapter examines some problems in current methods to assess reactor operator reliability at cognitive tasks and discusses new approaches to solve these problems. The two types of human failures are errors in the execution of an intention and errors in the formation/selection of an intention. Topics considered include the types of description, error correction, cognitive performance and response time, the speed-accuracy tradeoff function, function based task analysis, and cognitive task analysis. One problem of human reliability analysis (HRA) techniques in general is the question of what are the units of behavior whose reliability are to be determined. A second problem for HRA is that people often detect and correct their errors. The use of function based analysis, which maps the problem space for plant control, is recommended

Techniques for developing reliable and functional materials control and accounting software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barlich, G.

1988-01-01

The media has increasingly focused on failures of computer systems resulting in financial, material, and other losses and on systems failing to function as advertised. Unfortunately, such failures with equally disturbing losses are possible in computer systems providing materials control and accounting (MCandA) functions. Major improvements in the reliability and correctness of systems are possible with disciplined design and development techniques applied during software development. This paper describes some of the techniques used in the Safeguard Systems Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory for various MCandA systems

IEEE standard requirements for reliability analysis in the design and operation of safety systems for nuclear power generating stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1976-01-01

The purpose of this standard is to provide uniform, minimum acceptable requirements for the performance of reliability analyses for safety-related systems found in nuclear-power generating stations, but not to define the need for an analysis. The need for reliability analysis has been identified in other standards which expand the requirements of regulations (e.g., IEEE Std 379-1972 (ANSI N41.2-1972), ''Guide for the Application of the Single-Failure Criterion to Nuclear Power Generating Station Protection System,'' which describes the application of the single-failure criterion). IEEE Std 352-1975, ''Guide for General Principles of Reliability Analysis of Nuclear Power Generating Station Protection Systems,'' provides guidance in the application and use of reliability techniques referred to in this standard

An In vitro evaluation of the reliability of QR code denture labeling technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Poovannan, Sindhu; Jain, Ashish R; Krishnan, Cakku Jalliah Venkata; Chandran, Chitraa R

2016-01-01

Positive identification of the dead after accidents and disasters through labeled dentures plays a key role in forensic scenario. A number of denture labeling methods are available, and studies evaluating their reliability under drastic conditions are vital. This study was conducted to evaluate the reliability of QR (Quick Response) Code labeled at various depths in heat-cured acrylic blocks after acid treatment, heat treatment (burns), and fracture in forensics. It was an in vitro study. This study included 160 specimens of heat-cured acrylic blocks (1.8 cm × 1.8 cm) and these were divided into 4 groups (40 samples per group). QR Codes were incorporated in the samples using clear acrylic sheet and they were assessed for reliability under various depths, acid, heat, and fracture. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test, test of proportion. The QR Code inclusion technique was reliable under various depths of acrylic sheet, acid (sulfuric acid 99%, hydrochloric acid 40%) and heat (up to 370°C). Results were variable with fracture of QR Code labeled acrylic blocks. Within the limitations of the study, by analyzing the results, it was clearly indicated that the QR Code technique was reliable under various depths of acrylic sheet, acid, and heat (370°C). Effectiveness varied in fracture and depended on the level of distortion. This study thus suggests that QR Code is an effective and simpler denture labeling method.

Reliability Analysis of Wind Turbines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toft, Henrik Stensgaard; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

2008-01-01

In order to minimise the total expected life-cycle costs of a wind turbine it is important to estimate the reliability level for all components in the wind turbine. This paper deals with reliability analysis for the tower and blades of onshore wind turbines placed in a wind farm. The limit states...... consideres are in the ultimate limit state (ULS) extreme conditions in the standstill position and extreme conditions during operating. For wind turbines, where the magnitude of the loads is influenced by the control system, the ultimate limit state can occur in both cases. In the fatigue limit state (FLS......) the reliability level for a wind turbine placed in a wind farm is considered, and wake effects from neighbouring wind turbines is taken into account. An illustrative example with calculation of the reliability for mudline bending of the tower is considered. In the example the design is determined according...

Johnson Space Center's Risk and Reliability Analysis Group 2008 Annual Report

Science.gov (United States)

Valentine, Mark; Boyer, Roger; Cross, Bob; Hamlin, Teri; Roelant, Henk; Stewart, Mike; Bigler, Mark; Winter, Scott; Reistle, Bruce; Heydorn,Dick

2009-01-01

The Johnson Space Center (JSC) Safety & Mission Assurance (S&MA) Directorate s Risk and Reliability Analysis Group provides both mathematical and engineering analysis expertise in the areas of Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA), Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) analysis, and data collection and analysis. The fundamental goal of this group is to provide National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) decisionmakers with the necessary information to make informed decisions when evaluating personnel, flight hardware, and public safety concerns associated with current operating systems as well as with any future systems. The Analysis Group includes a staff of statistical and reliability experts with valuable backgrounds in the statistical, reliability, and engineering fields. This group includes JSC S&MA Analysis Branch personnel as well as S&MA support services contractors, such as Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and SoHaR. The Analysis Group s experience base includes nuclear power (both commercial and navy), manufacturing, Department of Defense, chemical, and shipping industries, as well as significant aerospace experience specifically in the Shuttle, International Space Station (ISS), and Constellation Programs. The Analysis Group partners with project and program offices, other NASA centers, NASA contractors, and universities to provide additional resources or information to the group when performing various analysis tasks. The JSC S&MA Analysis Group is recognized as a leader in risk and reliability analysis within the NASA community. Therefore, the Analysis Group is in high demand to help the Space Shuttle Program (SSP) continue to fly safely, assist in designing the next generation spacecraft for the Constellation Program (CxP), and promote advanced analytical techniques. The Analysis Section s tasks include teaching classes and instituting personnel qualification processes to enhance the professional abilities of our analysts

Interactive reliability assessment using an integrated reliability data bank

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allan, R.N.; Whitehead, A.M.

1986-01-01

The logical structure, techniques and practical application of a computer-aided technique based on a microcomputer using floppy disc Random Access Files is described. This interactive computational technique is efficient if the reliability prediction program is coupled directly to a relevant source of data to create an integrated reliability assessment/reliability data bank system. (DG)

Component reliability analysis for development of component reliability DB of Korean standard NPPs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, S. Y.; Han, S. H.; Kim, S. H.

2002-01-01

The reliability data of Korean NPP that reflects the plant specific characteristics is necessary for PSA and Risk Informed Application. We have performed a project to develop the component reliability DB and calculate the component reliability such as failure rate and unavailability. We have collected the component operation data and failure/repair data of Korean standard NPPs. We have analyzed failure data by developing a data analysis method which incorporates the domestic data situation. And then we have compared the reliability results with the generic data for the foreign NPPs

Reliability Analysis for Safety Grade PLC(POSAFE-Q)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Kyung Chul; Song, Seung Whan; Park, Gang Min; Hwang, Sung Jae

2012-01-01

Safety Grade PLC(Programmable Logic Controller), POSAFE-Q, was developed recently in accordance with nuclear regulatory and requirements. In this paper, describe reliability analysis for digital safety grade PLC (especially POSAFE-Q). Reliability analysis scope is Prediction, Calculation of MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure), FMEA (Failure Mode Effect Analysis), PFD (Probability of Failure on Demand). (author)

Parametric statistical techniques for the comparative analysis of censored reliability data: a review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bohoris, George A.

1995-01-01

This paper summarizes part of the work carried out to date on seeking analytical solutions to the two-sample problem with censored data in the context of reliability and maintenance optimization applications. For this purpose, parametric two-sample tests for failure and censored reliability data are introduced and their applicability/effectiveness in common engineering problems is reviewed

Weibull distribution in reliability data analysis in nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma Yingfei; Zhang Zhijian; Zhang Min; Zheng Gangyang

2015-01-01

Reliability is an important issue affecting each stage of the life cycle ranging from birth to death of a product or a system. The reliability engineering includes the equipment failure data processing, quantitative assessment of system reliability and maintenance, etc. Reliability data refers to the variety of data that describe the reliability of system or component during its operation. These data may be in the form of numbers, graphics, symbols, texts and curves. Quantitative reliability assessment is the task of the reliability data analysis. It provides the information related to preventing, detect, and correct the defects of the reliability design. Reliability data analysis under proceed with the various stages of product life cycle and reliability activities. Reliability data of Systems Structures and Components (SSCs) in Nuclear Power Plants is the key factor of probabilistic safety assessment (PSA); reliability centered maintenance and life cycle management. The Weibull distribution is widely used in reliability engineering, failure analysis, industrial engineering to represent manufacturing and delivery times. It is commonly used to model time to fail, time to repair and material strength. In this paper, an improved Weibull distribution is introduced to analyze the reliability data of the SSCs in Nuclear Power Plants. An example is given in the paper to present the result of the new method. The Weibull distribution of mechanical equipment for reliability data fitting ability is very strong in nuclear power plant. It's a widely used mathematical model for reliability analysis. The current commonly used methods are two-parameter and three-parameter Weibull distribution. Through comparison and analysis, the three-parameter Weibull distribution fits the data better. It can reflect the reliability characteristics of the equipment and it is more realistic to the actual situation. (author)

A Comparison of Three Methods for the Analysis of Skin Flap Viability: Reliability and Validity.

Science.gov (United States)

Tim, Carla Roberta; Martignago, Cintia Cristina Santi; da Silva, Viviane Ribeiro; Dos Santos, Estefany Camila Bonfim; Vieira, Fabiana Nascimento; Parizotto, Nivaldo Antonio; Liebano, Richard Eloin

2018-05-01

Objective: Technological advances have provided new alternatives to the analysis of skin flap viability in animal models; however, the interrater validity and reliability of these techniques have yet to be analyzed. The present study aimed to evaluate the interrater validity and reliability of three different methods: weight of paper template (WPT), paper template area (PTA), and photographic analysis. Approach: Sixteen male Wistar rats had their cranially based dorsal skin flap elevated. On the seventh postoperative day, the viable tissue area and the necrotic area of the skin flap were recorded using the paper template method and photo image. The evaluation of the percentage of viable tissue was performed using three methods, simultaneously and independently by two raters. The analysis of interrater reliability and viability was performed using the intraclass correlation coefficient and Bland Altman Plot Analysis was used to visualize the presence or absence of systematic bias in the evaluations of data validity. Results: The results showed that interrater reliability for WPT, measurement of PTA, and photographic analysis were 0.995, 0.990, and 0.982, respectively. For data validity, a correlation >0.90 was observed for all comparisons made between the three methods. In addition, Bland Altman Plot Analysis showed agreement between the comparisons of the methods and the presence of systematic bias was not observed. Innovation: Digital methods are an excellent choice for assessing skin flap viability; moreover, they make data use and storage easier. Conclusion: Independently from the method used, the interrater reliability and validity proved to be excellent for the analysis of skin flaps' viability.

Applying of Reliability Techniques and Expert Systems in Management of Radioactive Accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aldaihan, S.; Alhbaib, A.; Alrushudi, S.; Karazaitri, C.

1998-01-01

Accidents including radioactive exposure have variety of nature and size. This makes such accidents complex situations to be handled by radiation protection agencies or any responsible authority. The situations becomes worse with introducing advanced technology with high complexity that provide operator huge information about system working on. This paper discusses the application of reliability techniques in radioactive risk management. Event tree technique from nuclear field is described as well as two other techniques from nonnuclear fields, Hazard and Operability and Quality Function Deployment. The objective is to show the importance and the applicability of these techniques in radiation risk management. Finally, Expert Systems in the field of accidents management are explored and classified upon their applications

Modelling of nuclear power plant control and instrumentation elements for automatic disturbance and reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hollo, E.

1985-08-01

Present Final Report summarizes results of R/D work done within IAEA-VEIKI (Institute for Electrical Power Research, Budapest, Hungary) Research Contract No. 3210 during 3 years' period of 01.08.1982 - 31.08.1985. Chapter 1 lists main research objectives of the project. Main results obtained are summarized in Chapters 2 and 3. Outcomes from development of failure modelling methodologies and their application for C/I components of WWER-440 units are as follows (Chapter 2): improvement of available ''failure mode and effect analysis'' methods and mini-fault tree structures usable for automatic disturbance (DAS) and reliability (RAS) analysis; general classification and determination of functional failure modes of WWER-440 NPP C/I components; set up of logic models for motor operated control valves and rod control/drive mechanism. Results of development of methods and their application for reliability modelling of NPP components and systems cover (Chapter 3): development of an algorithm (computer code COMPREL) for component-related failure and reliability parameter calculation; reliability analysis of PAKS II NPP diesel system; definition of functional requirements for reliability data bank (RDB) in WWER-440 units. Determination of RDB input/output data structure and data manipulation services. Methods used are a-priori failure mode and effect analysis, combined fault tree/event tree modelling technique, structural computer programming, probability theory application to nuclear field

Reliability analysis based on a novel density estimation method for structures with correlations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baoyu LI

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Estimating the Probability Density Function (PDF of the performance function is a direct way for structural reliability analysis, and the failure probability can be easily obtained by integration in the failure domain. However, efficiently estimating the PDF is still an urgent problem to be solved. The existing fractional moment based maximum entropy has provided a very advanced method for the PDF estimation, whereas the main shortcoming is that it limits the application of the reliability analysis method only to structures with independent inputs. While in fact, structures with correlated inputs always exist in engineering, thus this paper improves the maximum entropy method, and applies the Unscented Transformation (UT technique to compute the fractional moments of the performance function for structures with correlations, which is a very efficient moment estimation method for models with any inputs. The proposed method can precisely estimate the probability distributions of performance functions for structures with correlations. Besides, the number of function evaluations of the proposed method in reliability analysis, which is determined by UT, is really small. Several examples are employed to illustrate the accuracy and advantages of the proposed method.

Reliability Analysis of Tubular Joints in Offshore Structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thoft-Christensen, Palle; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

1987-01-01

Reliability analysis of single tubular joints and offshore platforms with tubular joints is" presented. The failure modes considered are yielding, punching, buckling and fatigue failure. Element reliability as well as systems reliability approaches are used and illustrated by several examples....... Finally, optimal design of tubular.joints with reliability constraints is discussed and illustrated by an example....

Waste package reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pescatore, C.; Sastre, C.

1983-01-01

Proof of future performance of a complex system such as a high-level nuclear waste package over a period of hundreds to thousands of years cannot be had in the ordinary sense of the word. The general method of probabilistic reliability analysis could provide an acceptable framework to identify, organize, and convey the information necessary to satisfy the criterion of reasonable assurance of waste package performance according to the regulatory requirements set forth in 10 CFR 60. General principles which may be used to evaluate the qualitative and quantitative reliability of a waste package design are indicated and illustrated with a sample calculation of a repository concept in basalt. 8 references, 1 table

Human reliability in non-destructive inspections of nuclear power plant components: modeling and analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vasconcelos, Vanderley de; Soares, Wellington Antonio; Marques, Raíssa Oliveira; Silva Júnior, Silvério Ferreira da; Raso, Amanda Laureano, E-mail: vasconv@cdtn.br, E-mail: soaresw@cdtn.br, E-mail: raissaomarques@gmail.com, E-mail: silvasf@cdtn.br, E-mail: amandaraso@hotmail.com [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)

2017-07-01

Non-destructive inspection (NDI) is one of the key elements in ensuring quality of engineering systems and their safe use. NDI is a very complex task, during which the inspectors have to rely on their sensory, perceptual, cognitive, and motor skills. It requires high vigilance once it is often carried out on large components, over a long period of time, and in hostile environments and restriction of workplace. A successful NDI requires careful planning, choice of appropriate NDI methods and inspection procedures, as well as qualified and trained inspection personnel. A failure of NDI to detect critical defects in safety-related components of nuclear power plants, for instance, may lead to catastrophic consequences for workers, public and environment. Therefore, ensuring that NDI methods are reliable and capable of detecting all critical defects is of utmost importance. Despite increased use of automation in NDI, human inspectors, and thus human factors, still play an important role in NDI reliability. Human reliability is the probability of humans conducting specific tasks with satisfactory performance. Many techniques are suitable for modeling and analyzing human reliability in NDI of nuclear power plant components. Among these can be highlighted Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and THERP (Technique for Human Error Rate Prediction). The application of these techniques is illustrated in an example of qualitative and quantitative studies to improve typical NDI of pipe segments of a core cooling system of a nuclear power plant, through acting on human factors issues. (author)

Human reliability in non-destructive inspections of nuclear power plant components: modeling and analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasconcelos, Vanderley de; Soares, Wellington Antonio; Marques, Raíssa Oliveira; Silva Júnior, Silvério Ferreira da; Raso, Amanda Laureano

2017-01-01

Non-destructive inspection (NDI) is one of the key elements in ensuring quality of engineering systems and their safe use. NDI is a very complex task, during which the inspectors have to rely on their sensory, perceptual, cognitive, and motor skills. It requires high vigilance once it is often carried out on large components, over a long period of time, and in hostile environments and restriction of workplace. A successful NDI requires careful planning, choice of appropriate NDI methods and inspection procedures, as well as qualified and trained inspection personnel. A failure of NDI to detect critical defects in safety-related components of nuclear power plants, for instance, may lead to catastrophic consequences for workers, public and environment. Therefore, ensuring that NDI methods are reliable and capable of detecting all critical defects is of utmost importance. Despite increased use of automation in NDI, human inspectors, and thus human factors, still play an important role in NDI reliability. Human reliability is the probability of humans conducting specific tasks with satisfactory performance. Many techniques are suitable for modeling and analyzing human reliability in NDI of nuclear power plant components. Among these can be highlighted Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and THERP (Technique for Human Error Rate Prediction). The application of these techniques is illustrated in an example of qualitative and quantitative studies to improve typical NDI of pipe segments of a core cooling system of a nuclear power plant, through acting on human factors issues. (author)

Go-flow: a reliability analysis methodology applicable to piping system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuoka, T.; Kobayashi, M.

1985-01-01

Since the completion of the Reactor Safety Study, the use of probabilistic risk assessment technique has been becoming more widespread in the nuclear community. Several analytical methods are used for the reliability analysis of nuclear power plants. The GO methodology is one of these methods. Using the GO methodology, the authors performed a reliability analysis of the emergency decay heat removal system of the nuclear ship Mutsu, in order to examine its applicability to piping systems. By this analysis, the authors have found out some disadvantages of the GO methodology. In the GO methodology, the signal is on-to-off or off-to-on signal, therefore the GO finds out the time point at which the state of a system changes, and can not treat a system which state changes as off-on-off. Several computer runs are required to obtain the time dependent failure probability of a system. In order to overcome these disadvantages, the authors propose a new analytical methodology: GO-FLOW. In GO-FLOW, the modeling method (chart) and the calculation procedure are similar to those in the GO methodology, but the meaning of signal and time point, and the definitions of operators are essentially different. In the paper, the GO-FLOW methodology is explained and two examples of the analysis by GO-FLOW are given

Human reliability analysis using event trees

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heslinga, G.

1983-01-01

The shut-down procedure of a technologically complex installation as a nuclear power plant consists of a lot of human actions, some of which have to be performed several times. The procedure is regarded as a chain of modules of specific actions, some of which are analyzed separately. The analysis is carried out by making a Human Reliability Analysis event tree (HRA event tree) of each action, breaking down each action into small elementary steps. The application of event trees in human reliability analysis implies more difficulties than in the case of technical systems where event trees were mainly used until now. The most important reason is that the operator is able to recover a wrong performance; memory influences play a significant role. In this study these difficulties are dealt with theoretically. The following conclusions can be drawn: (1) in principle event trees may be used in human reliability analysis; (2) although in practice the operator will recover his fault partly, theoretically this can be described as starting the whole event tree again; (3) compact formulas have been derived, by which the probability of reaching a specific failure consequence on passing through the HRA event tree after several times of recovery is to be calculated. (orig.)

Application of Metric-based Software Reliability Analysis to Example Software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Man Cheol; Smidts, Carol

2008-07-01

The software reliability of TELLERFAST ATM software is analyzed by using two metric-based software reliability analysis methods, a state transition diagram-based method and a test coverage-based method. The procedures for the software reliability analysis by using the two methods and the analysis results are provided in this report. It is found that the two methods have a relation of complementary cooperation, and therefore further researches on combining the two methods to reflect the benefit of the complementary cooperative effect to the software reliability analysis are recommended

Fatigue Reliability Analysis of a Mono-Tower Platform

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kirkegaard, Poul Henning; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard; Brincker, Rune

1991-01-01

In this paper, a fatigue reliability analysis of a Mono-tower platform is presented. The failure mode, fatigue failure in the butt welds, is investigated with two different models. The one with the fatigue strength expressed through SN relations, the other with the fatigue strength expressed thro...... of the natural period, damping ratio, current, stress spectrum and parameters describing the fatigue strength. Further, soil damping is shown to be significant for the Mono-tower.......In this paper, a fatigue reliability analysis of a Mono-tower platform is presented. The failure mode, fatigue failure in the butt welds, is investigated with two different models. The one with the fatigue strength expressed through SN relations, the other with the fatigue strength expressed...... through linear-elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM). In determining the cumulative fatigue damage, Palmgren-Miner's rule is applied. Element reliability, as well as systems reliability, is estimated using first-order reliability methods (FORM). The sensitivity of the systems reliability to various parameters...

Advanced Reactor Passive System Reliability Demonstration Analysis for an External Event

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew Bucknor

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Many advanced reactor designs rely on passive systems to fulfill safety functions during accident sequences. These systems depend heavily on boundary conditions to induce a motive force, meaning the system can fail to operate as intended because of deviations in boundary conditions, rather than as the result of physical failures. Furthermore, passive systems may operate in intermediate or degraded modes. These factors make passive system operation difficult to characterize within a traditional probabilistic framework that only recognizes discrete operating modes and does not allow for the explicit consideration of time-dependent boundary conditions. Argonne National Laboratory has been examining various methodologies for assessing passive system reliability within a probabilistic risk assessment for a station blackout event at an advanced small modular reactor. This paper provides an overview of a passive system reliability demonstration analysis for an external event. Considering an earthquake with the possibility of site flooding, the analysis focuses on the behavior of the passive Reactor Cavity Cooling System following potential physical damage and system flooding. The assessment approach seeks to combine mechanistic and simulation-based methods to leverage the benefits of the simulation-based approach without the need to substantially deviate from conventional probabilistic risk assessment techniques. Although this study is presented as only an example analysis, the results appear to demonstrate a high level of reliability of the Reactor Cavity Cooling System (and the reactor system in general for the postulated transient event.

Advanced reactor passive system reliability demonstration analysis for an external event

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bucknor, Matthew; Grabaskas, David; Brunett, Acacia J.; Grelle, Austin [Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne (United States)

2017-03-15

Many advanced reactor designs rely on passive systems to fulfill safety functions during accident sequences. These systems depend heavily on boundary conditions to induce a motive force, meaning the system can fail to operate as intended because of deviations in boundary conditions, rather than as the result of physical failures. Furthermore, passive systems may operate in intermediate or degraded modes. These factors make passive system operation difficult to characterize within a traditional probabilistic framework that only recognizes discrete operating modes and does not allow for the explicit consideration of time-dependent boundary conditions. Argonne National Laboratory has been examining various methodologies for assessing passive system reliability within a probabilistic risk assessment for a station blackout event at an advanced small modular reactor. This paper provides an overview of a passive system reliability demonstration analysis for an external event. Considering an earthquake with the possibility of site flooding, the analysis focuses on the behavior of the passive Reactor Cavity Cooling System following potential physical damage and system flooding. The assessment approach seeks to combine mechanistic and simulation-based methods to leverage the benefits of the simulation-based approach without the need to substantially deviate from conventional probabilistic risk assessment techniques. Although this study is presented as only an example analysis, the results appear to demonstrate a high level of reliability of the Reactor Cavity Cooling System (and the reactor system in general) for the postulated transient event.

Advanced reactor passive system reliability demonstration analysis for an external event

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bucknor, Matthew; Grabaskas, David; Brunett, Acacia J.; Grelle, Austin

2017-01-01

Many advanced reactor designs rely on passive systems to fulfill safety functions during accident sequences. These systems depend heavily on boundary conditions to induce a motive force, meaning the system can fail to operate as intended because of deviations in boundary conditions, rather than as the result of physical failures. Furthermore, passive systems may operate in intermediate or degraded modes. These factors make passive system operation difficult to characterize within a traditional probabilistic framework that only recognizes discrete operating modes and does not allow for the explicit consideration of time-dependent boundary conditions. Argonne National Laboratory has been examining various methodologies for assessing passive system reliability within a probabilistic risk assessment for a station blackout event at an advanced small modular reactor. This paper provides an overview of a passive system reliability demonstration analysis for an external event. Considering an earthquake with the possibility of site flooding, the analysis focuses on the behavior of the passive Reactor Cavity Cooling System following potential physical damage and system flooding. The assessment approach seeks to combine mechanistic and simulation-based methods to leverage the benefits of the simulation-based approach without the need to substantially deviate from conventional probabilistic risk assessment techniques. Although this study is presented as only an example analysis, the results appear to demonstrate a high level of reliability of the Reactor Cavity Cooling System (and the reactor system in general) for the postulated transient event

Prime implicants in dynamic reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tyrväinen, Tero

2016-01-01

This paper develops an improved definition of a prime implicant for the needs of dynamic reliability analysis. Reliability analyses often aim to identify minimal cut sets or prime implicants, which are minimal conditions that cause an undesired top event, such as a system's failure. Dynamic reliability analysis methods take the time-dependent behaviour of a system into account. This means that the state of a component can change in the analysed time frame and prime implicants can include the failure of a component at different time points. There can also be dynamic constraints on a component's behaviour. For example, a component can be non-repairable in the given time frame. If a non-repairable component needs to be failed at a certain time point to cause the top event, we consider that the condition that it is failed at the latest possible time point is minimal, and the condition in which it fails earlier non-minimal. The traditional definition of a prime implicant does not account for this type of time-related minimality. In this paper, a new definition is introduced and illustrated using a dynamic flowgraph methodology model. - Highlights: • A new definition of a prime implicant is developed for dynamic reliability analysis. • The new definition takes time-related minimality into account. • The new definition is needed in dynamic flowgraph methodology. • Results can be represented by a smaller number of prime implicants.

Reliability-Based Stability Analysis of Rock Slopes Using Numerical Analysis and Response Surface Method

Science.gov (United States)

Dadashzadeh, N.; Duzgun, H. S. B.; Yesiloglu-Gultekin, N.

2017-08-01

While advanced numerical techniques in slope stability analysis are successfully used in deterministic studies, they have so far found limited use in probabilistic analyses due to their high computation cost. The first-order reliability method (FORM) is one of the most efficient probabilistic techniques to perform probabilistic stability analysis by considering the associated uncertainties in the analysis parameters. However, it is not possible to directly use FORM in numerical slope stability evaluations as it requires definition of a limit state performance function. In this study, an integrated methodology for probabilistic numerical modeling of rock slope stability is proposed. The methodology is based on response surface method, where FORM is used to develop an explicit performance function from the results of numerical simulations. The implementation of the proposed methodology is performed by considering a large potential rock wedge in Sumela Monastery, Turkey. The accuracy of the developed performance function to truly represent the limit state surface is evaluated by monitoring the slope behavior. The calculated probability of failure is compared with Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method. The proposed methodology is found to be 72% more efficient than MCS, while the accuracy is decreased with an error of 24%.

Korean round-robin result for new international program to assess the reliability of emerging nondestructive techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Kyung Cho; Kim, Jin Gyum; Kang, Sung Sik; Jhung, Myung Jo [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2017-04-15

The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, as a representative organization of Korea, in February 2012 participated in an international Program to Assess the Reliability of Emerging Nondestructive Techniques initiated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The goal of the Program to Assess the Reliability of Emerging Nondestructive Techniques is to investigate the performance of emerging and prospective novel nondestructive techniques to find flaws in nickel-alloy welds and base materials. In this article, Korean round-robin test results were evaluated with respect to the test blocks and various nondestructive examination techniques. The test blocks were prepared to simulate large-bore dissimilar metal welds, small-bore dissimilar metal welds, and bottom-mounted instrumentation penetration welds in nuclear power plants. Also, lessons learned from the Korean round-robin test were summarized and discussed.

Reliability Analysis of Elasto-Plastic Structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thoft-Christensen, Palle; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

1984-01-01

. Failure of this type of system is defined either as formation of a mechanism or by failure of a prescribed number of elements. In the first case failure is independent of the order in which the elements fail, but this is not so by the second definition. The reliability analysis consists of two parts...... are described and the two definitions of failure can be used by the first formulation, but only the failure definition based on formation of a mechanism by the second formulation. The second part of the reliability analysis is an estimate of the failure probability for the structure on the basis...

Approximate multi-state reliability expressions using a new machine learning technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rocco S, Claudio M.; Muselli, Marco

2005-01-01

The machine-learning-based methodology, previously proposed by the authors for approximating binary reliability expressions, is now extended to develop a new algorithm, based on the procedure of Hamming Clustering, which is capable to deal with multi-state systems and any success criterion. The proposed technique is presented in details and verified on literature cases: experiment results show that the new algorithm yields excellent predictions

Bearing Procurement Analysis Method by Total Cost of Ownership Analysis and Reliability Prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Trusaji, Wildan; Akbar, Muhammad; Sukoyo; Irianto, Dradjad

2018-03-01

In making bearing procurement analysis, price and its reliability must be considered as decision criteria, since price determines the direct cost as acquisition cost and reliability of bearing determine the indirect cost such as maintenance cost. Despite the indirect cost is hard to identify and measured, it has high contribution to overall cost that will be incurred. So, the indirect cost of reliability must be considered when making bearing procurement analysis. This paper tries to explain bearing evaluation method with the total cost of ownership analysis to consider price and maintenance cost as decision criteria. Furthermore, since there is a lack of failure data when bearing evaluation phase is conducted, reliability prediction method is used to predict bearing reliability from its dynamic load rating parameter. With this method, bearing with a higher price but has higher reliability is preferable for long-term planning. But for short-term planning the cheaper one but has lower reliability is preferable. This contextuality can give rise to conflict between stakeholders. Thus, the planning horizon needs to be agreed by all stakeholder before making a procurement decision.

Reliability analysis of grid connected small wind turbine power electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arifujjaman, Md.; Iqbal, M.T.; Quaicoe, J.E.

2009-01-01

Grid connection of small permanent magnet generator (PMG) based wind turbines requires a power conditioning system comprising a bridge rectifier, a dc-dc converter and a grid-tie inverter. This work presents a reliability analysis and an identification of the least reliable component of the power conditioning system of such grid connection arrangements. Reliability of the configuration is analyzed for the worst case scenario of maximum conversion losses at a particular wind speed. The analysis reveals that the reliability of the power conditioning system of such PMG based wind turbines is fairly low and it reduces to 84% of initial value within one year. The investigation is further enhanced by identifying the least reliable component within the power conditioning system and found that the inverter has the dominant effect on the system reliability, while the dc-dc converter has the least significant effect. The reliability analysis demonstrates that a permanent magnet generator based wind energy conversion system is not the best option from the point of view of power conditioning system reliability. The analysis also reveals that new research is required to determine a robust power electronics configuration for small wind turbine conversion systems.

Analysis of operating reliability of WWER-1000 unit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bortlik, J.

1985-01-01

The nuclear power unit was divided into 33 technological units. Input data for reliability analysis were surveys of operating results obtained from the IAEA information system and certain indexes of the reliability of technological equipment determined using the Bayes formula. The missing reliability data for technological equipment were used from the basic variant. The fault tree of the WWER-1000 unit was determined for the peak event defined as the impossibility of reaching 100%, 75% and 50% of rated power. The period was observed of the nuclear power plant operation with reduced output owing to defect and the respective time needed for a repair of the equipment. The calculation of the availability of the WWER-1000 unit was made for different variant situations. Certain indexes of the operating reliability of the WWER-1000 unit which are the result of a detailed reliability analysis are tabulated for selected variants. (E.S.)

User's manual of a support system for human reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yokobayashi, Masao; Tamura, Kazuo.

1995-10-01

Many kinds of human reliability analysis (HRA) methods have been developed. However, users are required to be skillful so as to use them, and also required complicated works such as drawing event tree (ET) and calculation of uncertainty bounds. Moreover, each method is not so complete that only one method of them is not enough to evaluate human reliability. Therefore, a personal computer (PC) based support system for HRA has been developed to execute HRA practically and efficiently. The system consists of two methods, namely, simple method and detailed one. The former uses ASEP that is a simplified THERP-technique, and combined method of OAT and HRA-ET/DeBDA is used for the latter. Users can select a suitable method for their purpose. Human error probability (HEP) data were collected and a database of them was built to use for the support system. This paper describes outline of the HRA methods, support functions and user's guide of the system. (author)

Safety and reliability analysis based on nonprobabilistic methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozin, I.O.; Petersen, K.E.

1996-01-01

Imprecise probabilities, being developed during the last two decades, offer a considerably more general theory having many advantages which make it very promising for reliability and safety analysis. The objective of the paper is to argue that imprecise probabilities are more appropriate tool for reliability and safety analysis, that they allow to model the behavior of nuclear industry objects more comprehensively and give a possibility to solve some problems unsolved in the framework of conventional approach. Furthermore, some specific examples are given from which we can see the usefulness of the tool for solving some reliability tasks

Tailoring a Human Reliability Analysis to Your Industry Needs

Science.gov (United States)

DeMott, D. L.

2016-01-01

Companies at risk of accidents caused by human error that result in catastrophic consequences include: airline industry mishaps, medical malpractice, medication mistakes, aerospace failures, major oil spills, transportation mishaps, power production failures and manufacturing facility incidents. Human Reliability Assessment (HRA) is used to analyze the inherent risk of human behavior or actions introducing errors into the operation of a system or process. These assessments can be used to identify where errors are most likely to arise and the potential risks involved if they do occur. Using the basic concepts of HRA, an evolving group of methodologies are used to meet various industry needs. Determining which methodology or combination of techniques will provide a quality human reliability assessment is a key element to developing effective strategies for understanding and dealing with risks caused by human errors. There are a number of concerns and difficulties in "tailoring" a Human Reliability Assessment (HRA) for different industries. Although a variety of HRA methodologies are available to analyze human error events, determining the most appropriate tools to provide the most useful results can depend on industry specific cultures and requirements. Methodology selection may be based on a variety of factors that include: 1) how people act and react in different industries, 2) expectations based on industry standards, 3) factors that influence how the human errors could occur such as tasks, tools, environment, workplace, support, training and procedure, 4) type and availability of data, 5) how the industry views risk & reliability, and 6) types of emergencies, contingencies and routine tasks. Other considerations for methodology selection should be based on what information is needed from the assessment. If the principal concern is determination of the primary risk factors contributing to the potential human error, a more detailed analysis method may be employed

Standardizing the practice of human reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hallbert, B.P.

1993-01-01

The practice of human reliability analysis (HRA) within the nuclear industry varies greatly in terms of posited mechanisms that shape human performance, methods of characterizing and analytically modeling human behavior, and the techniques that are employed to estimate the frequency with which human error occurs. This variation has been a source of contention among HRA practitioners regarding the validity of results obtained from different HRA methods. It has also resulted in attempts to develop standard methods and procedures for conducting HRAs. For many of the same reasons, the practice of HRA has not been standardized or has been standardized only to the extent that individual analysts have developed heuristics and consistent approaches in their practice of HRA. From the standpoint of consumers and regulators, this has resulted in a lack of clear acceptance criteria for the assumptions, modeling, and quantification of human errors in probabilistic risk assessments

System Reliability Analysis Considering Correlation of Performances

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Saekyeol; Lee, Tae Hee [Hanyang Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lim, Woochul [Mando Corporation, Seongnam (Korea, Republic of)

2017-04-15

Reliability analysis of a mechanical system has been developed in order to consider the uncertainties in the product design that may occur from the tolerance of design variables, uncertainties of noise, environmental factors, and material properties. In most of the previous studies, the reliability was calculated independently for each performance of the system. However, the conventional methods cannot consider the correlation between the performances of the system that may lead to a difference between the reliability of the entire system and the reliability of the individual performance. In this paper, the joint probability density function (PDF) of the performances is modeled using a copula which takes into account the correlation between performances of the system. The system reliability is proposed as the integral of joint PDF of performances and is compared with the individual reliability of each performance by mathematical examples and two-bar truss example.

System Reliability Analysis Considering Correlation of Performances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Saekyeol; Lee, Tae Hee; Lim, Woochul

2017-01-01

Reliability analysis of a mechanical system has been developed in order to consider the uncertainties in the product design that may occur from the tolerance of design variables, uncertainties of noise, environmental factors, and material properties. In most of the previous studies, the reliability was calculated independently for each performance of the system. However, the conventional methods cannot consider the correlation between the performances of the system that may lead to a difference between the reliability of the entire system and the reliability of the individual performance. In this paper, the joint probability density function (PDF) of the performances is modeled using a copula which takes into account the correlation between performances of the system. The system reliability is proposed as the integral of joint PDF of performances and is compared with the individual reliability of each performance by mathematical examples and two-bar truss example.

A study on maintenance reliability allocation of urban transit brake system using hybrid neuro-genetic technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bae, Chul Ho; Kim, Hyun Jun; Lee, Jung Hwan; Suh, Myung Won; Chu, Yul

2007-01-01

For reasonable establishing of maintenance strategies, safety security and cost limitation must be considered at the same time. In this paper, the concept of system reliability introduces and optimizes as the key of reasonable maintenance strategies. This study aims at optimizing component's reliability that satisfies the target reliability of brake system in the urban transit. First of all, constructed reliability evaluation system is used to predict and analyze reliability. This data is used for the optimization. To identify component reliability in a system, a method is presented in this paper which uses hybrid neuro-genetic technique. Feed-forward multi-layer neural networks trained by back propagation are used to find out the relationship between component reliability (input) and system reliability (output) of a structural system. The inverse problem can be formulated by using neural network. Genetic algorithm is used to find the minimum square error. Finally, this paper presents reasonable maintenance cycle of urban transit brake system by using optimal system reliability

Human reliability analysis for steam generator feed-and-bleed accident in Bushehr NPP-1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jafarian, Reza; Sepanloo, Kamran

2006-01-01

According to the incident/accident reports, unsuccessful implementation of steam generator feed-and-bleed procedure is one of the most important events in nuclear power plants operation which greatly contributes to the level of risk of the plants. Generally, the loss of all feed water pumps flow (as one of the precursors) results in failure to maintain adequate cooling of the reactor core unless the operating crew initiate and follow the feed-and-bleed procedure correctly and timely. In this paper, firstly, a Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) event tree is presented delineating the major human activities and errors in the implementation of the steam generator (SG) feed-and-bleed procedure following the loss of (both normal and emergency) water feed to four SGs of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 (BNPP-1). Secondly, the graphical method of task analysis as a part of HRA is used as a means of delineating correct and incorrect human actions. To be used in the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), the outputs of the HRA event trees are fed into the system event trees, functional event trees or system fault trees. As a part of a probabilistic risk assessment of BNPP-1 and to assess the reliability of control room operators, a human reliability analysis model is applied based on the THERP (Technique for Human Error Rate Prediction) technique. The THERP method is used in the form of event trees named as the probability tree diagrams. In this research the Human Reliability Analysis event tree is constructed based on the background information and assumptions made and on a similar NPP task analysis. It is done so because the BNPP-1 is not an operational nuclear power plant. Thirdly, based on NUREG/CR-1278 Handbook, a computer program has been developed in Visual Basic language and used to illustrate the major human activities and determination of error rates of operators in the course of the implementation of the steam generator feed-and-bleed procedure. Finally, total

Human Reliability Analysis for steam generator feed-and-bleed accident in Bushehr NPP-1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jafarian, R.; Sepanloo, K.

2005-01-01

According to the incident/accident reports, unsuccessful implementation of steam generator feed-and-bleed procedure is one of the most important events in nuclear power plants operation which greatly contributes to the level of risk of the plants. Generally, the loss of all feed water pumps flow (as one of the precursors) results in failure to maintain adequate cooling of the reactor core unless the operating crew initiate and follow the feed-and-bleed procedure correctly and timely. In this paper, firstly, a Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) event tree is presented delineating the major human activities and errors in the implementation of the steam generator (SG) feed-and-bleed procedure following the loss of (both normal and emergency) water feed to four SGs of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant unit1 (BNPP-1). Secondly, the graphical method of task analysis as a part of HRA is used as a means of delineating correct and incorrect human actions. To be used in the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), the outputs of the HRA event trees are fed into the system event trees, functional event trees or system fault trees. As a part of a probabilistic risk assessment of BNPP-1 and to assess the reliability of control room operators, a human reliability analysis model is applied based on the THERP (Technique for Human Error Rate Prediction) technique. The THERP method is used in the form of event trees named as the probability tree diagrams. In this research the Human Reliability Analysis event tree is constructed based on the background information and assumptions made and on a similar NPP task analysis. It is done so because the BNPP-1 is not an operational nuclear power plant. Thirdly, based on NUREG/CR-1278 Handbook, a computer program has been developed in Visual Basic language and used to illustrate the major human activities and determination of error rates of operators in the course of the implementation of the steam generator feed-and-bleed procedure. Finally, total

Reliability analysis of digital based I and C system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, I. S.; Cho, B. S.; Choi, M. J. [KOPEC, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

1999-10-01

Rapidly, digital technology is being widely applied in replacing analog component installed in existing plant and designing new nuclear power plant for control and monitoring system in Korea as well as in foreign countries. Even though many merits of digital technology, it is being faced with a new problem of reliability assurance. The studies for solving this problem are being performed vigorously in foreign countries. The reliability of KNGR Engineered Safety Features Component Control System (ESF-CCS), digital based I and C system, was analyzed to verify fulfillment of the ALWR EPRI-URD requirement for reliability analysis and eliminate hazards in design applied new technology. The qualitative analysis using FMEA and quantitative analysis using reliability block diagram were performed. The results of analyses are shown in this paper.

Development of RBDGG Solver and Its Application to System Reliability Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Man Cheol

2010-01-01

For the purpose of making system reliability analysis easier and more intuitive, RBDGG (Reliability Block diagram with General Gates) methodology was introduced as an extension of the conventional reliability block diagram. The advantage of the RBDGG methodology is that the structure of a RBDGG model is very similar to the actual structure of the analyzed system, and therefore the modeling of a system for system reliability and unavailability analysis becomes very intuitive and easy. The main idea of the development of the RBDGG methodology is similar with that of the development of the RGGG (Reliability Graph with General Gates) methodology, which is an extension of a conventional reliability graph. The newly proposed methodology is now implemented into a software tool, RBDGG Solver. RBDGG Solver was developed as a WIN32 console application. RBDGG Solver receives information on the failure modes and failure probabilities of each component in the system, along with the connection structure and connection logics among the components in the system. Based on the received information, RBDGG Solver automatically generates a system reliability analysis model for the system, and then provides the analysis results. In this paper, application of RBDGG Solver to the reliability analysis of an example system, and verification of the calculation results are provided for the purpose of demonstrating how RBDGG Solver is used for system reliability analysis

Human reliability analysis methods for probabilistic safety assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pyy, P.

2000-11-01

Human reliability analysis (HRA) of a probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) includes identifying human actions from safety point of view, modelling the most important of them in PSA models, and assessing their probabilities. As manifested by many incidents and studies, human actions may have both positive and negative effect on safety and economy. Human reliability analysis is one of the areas of probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) that has direct applications outside the nuclear industry. The thesis focuses upon developments in human reliability analysis methods and data. The aim is to support PSA by extending the applicability of HRA. The thesis consists of six publications and a summary. The summary includes general considerations and a discussion about human actions in the nuclear power plant (NPP) environment. A condensed discussion about the results of the attached publications is then given, including new development in methods and data. At the end of the summary part, the contribution of the publications to good practice in HRA is presented. In the publications, studies based on the collection of data on maintenance-related failures, simulator runs and expert judgement are presented in order to extend the human reliability analysis database. Furthermore, methodological frameworks are presented to perform a comprehensive HRA, including shutdown conditions, to study reliability of decision making, and to study the effects of wrong human actions. In the last publication, an interdisciplinary approach to analysing human decision making is presented. The publications also include practical applications of the presented methodological frameworks. (orig.)

Cyclical Annealing Technique To Enhance Reliability of Amorphous Metal Oxide Thin Film Transistors.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hong-Chih; Chang, Ting-Chang; Lai, Wei-Chih; Chen, Guan-Fu; Chen, Bo-Wei; Hung, Yu-Ju; Chang, Kuo-Jui; Cheng, Kai-Chung; Huang, Chen-Shuo; Chen, Kuo-Kuang; Lu, Hsueh-Hsing; Lin, Yu-Hsin

2018-02-26

This study introduces a cyclical annealing technique that enhances the reliability of amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (a-IGZO) via-type structure thin film transistors (TFTs). By utilizing this treatment, negative gate-bias illumination stress (NBIS)-induced instabilities can be effectively alleviated. The cyclical annealing provides several cooling steps, which are exothermic processes that can form stronger ionic bonds. An additional advantage is that the total annealing time is much shorter than when using conventional long-term annealing. With the use of cyclical annealing, the reliability of the a-IGZO can be effectively optimized, and the shorter process time can increase fabrication efficiency.

Mathematical Methods in Survival Analysis, Reliability and Quality of Life

CERN Document Server

Huber, Catherine; Mesbah, Mounir

2008-01-01

Reliability and survival analysis are important applications of stochastic mathematics (probability, statistics and stochastic processes) that are usually covered separately in spite of the similarity of the involved mathematical theory. This title aims to redress this situation: it includes 21 chapters divided into four parts: Survival analysis, Reliability, Quality of life, and Related topics. Many of these chapters were presented at the European Seminar on Mathematical Methods for Survival Analysis, Reliability and Quality of Life in 2006.

Development of a systematic methodology to select hazard analysis techniques for nuclear facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vasconcelos, Vanderley de; Reis, Sergio Carneiro dos; Costa, Antonio Carlos Lopes da [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)]. E-mails: vasconv@cdtn.br; reissc@cdtn.br; aclc@cdtn.br; Jordao, Elizabete [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), SP (Brazil). Faculdade de Engenharia Quimica]. E-mail: bete@feq.unicamp.br

2008-07-01

In order to comply with licensing requirements of regulatory bodies risk assessments of nuclear facilities should be carried out. In Brazil, such assessments are part of the Safety Analysis Reports, required by CNEN (Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission), and of the Risk Analysis Studies, required by the competent environmental bodies. A risk assessment generally includes the identification of the hazards and accident sequences that can occur, as well as the estimation of the frequencies and effects of these unwanted events on the plant, people, and environment. The hazard identification and analysis are also particularly important when implementing an Integrated Safety, Health, and Environment Management System following ISO 14001, BS 8800 and OHSAS 18001 standards. Among the myriad of tools that help the process of hazard analysis can be highlighted: CCA (Cause- Consequence Analysis); CL (Checklist Analysis); ETA (Event Tree Analysis); FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis); FMECA (Failure Mode, Effects and Criticality Analysis); FTA (Fault Tree Analysis); HAZOP (Hazard and Operability Study); HRA (Human Reliability Analysis); Pareto Analysis; PHA (Preliminary Hazard Analysis); RR (Relative Ranking); SR (Safety Review); WI (What-If); and WI/CL (What-If/Checklist Analysis). The choice of a particular technique or a combination of techniques depends on many factors like motivation of the analysis, available data, complexity of the process being analyzed, expertise available on hazard analysis, and initial perception of the involved risks. This paper presents a systematic methodology to select the most suitable set of tools to conduct the hazard analysis, taking into account the mentioned involved factors. Considering that non-reactor nuclear facilities are, to a large extent, chemical processing plants, the developed approach can also be applied to analysis of chemical and petrochemical plants. The selected hazard analysis techniques can support cost

Development of a systematic methodology to select hazard analysis techniques for nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasconcelos, Vanderley de; Reis, Sergio Carneiro dos; Costa, Antonio Carlos Lopes da; Jordao, Elizabete

2008-01-01

In order to comply with licensing requirements of regulatory bodies risk assessments of nuclear facilities should be carried out. In Brazil, such assessments are part of the Safety Analysis Reports, required by CNEN (Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission), and of the Risk Analysis Studies, required by the competent environmental bodies. A risk assessment generally includes the identification of the hazards and accident sequences that can occur, as well as the estimation of the frequencies and effects of these unwanted events on the plant, people, and environment. The hazard identification and analysis are also particularly important when implementing an Integrated Safety, Health, and Environment Management System following ISO 14001, BS 8800 and OHSAS 18001 standards. Among the myriad of tools that help the process of hazard analysis can be highlighted: CCA (Cause- Consequence Analysis); CL (Checklist Analysis); ETA (Event Tree Analysis); FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis); FMECA (Failure Mode, Effects and Criticality Analysis); FTA (Fault Tree Analysis); HAZOP (Hazard and Operability Study); HRA (Human Reliability Analysis); Pareto Analysis; PHA (Preliminary Hazard Analysis); RR (Relative Ranking); SR (Safety Review); WI (What-If); and WI/CL (What-If/Checklist Analysis). The choice of a particular technique or a combination of techniques depends on many factors like motivation of the analysis, available data, complexity of the process being analyzed, expertise available on hazard analysis, and initial perception of the involved risks. This paper presents a systematic methodology to select the most suitable set of tools to conduct the hazard analysis, taking into account the mentioned involved factors. Considering that non-reactor nuclear facilities are, to a large extent, chemical processing plants, the developed approach can also be applied to analysis of chemical and petrochemical plants. The selected hazard analysis techniques can support cost

Increasing the reliability of the fluid/crystallized difference score from the Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test with reliable component analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Caruso, J C

2001-06-01

The unreliability of difference scores is a well documented phenomenon in the social sciences and has led researchers and practitioners to interpret differences cautiously, if at all. In the case of the Kaufman Adult and Adolescent Intelligence Test (KAIT), the unreliability of the difference between the Fluid IQ and the Crystallized IQ is due to the high correlation between the two scales. The consequences of the lack of precision with which differences are identified are wide confidence intervals and unpowerful significance tests (i.e., large differences are required to be declared statistically significant). Reliable component analysis (RCA) was performed on the subtests of the KAIT in order to address these problems. RCA is a new data reduction technique that results in uncorrelated component scores with maximum proportions of reliable variance. Results indicate that the scores defined by RCA have discriminant and convergent validity (with respect to the equally weighted scores) and that differences between the scores, derived from a single testing session, were more reliable than differences derived from equal weighting for each age group (11-14 years, 15-34 years, 35-85+ years). This reliability advantage results in narrower confidence intervals around difference scores and smaller differences required for statistical significance.

Reliability analysis - systematic approach based on limited data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bourne, A.J.

1975-11-01

The initial approaches required for reliability analysis are outlined. These approaches highlight the system boundaries, examine the conditions under which the system is required to operate, and define the overall performance requirements. The discussion is illustrated by a simple example of an automatic protective system for a nuclear reactor. It is then shown how the initial approach leads to a method of defining the system, establishing performance parameters of interest and determining the general form of reliability models to be used. The overall system model and the availability of reliability data at the system level are next examined. An iterative process is then described whereby the reliability model and data requirements are systematically refined at progressively lower hierarchic levels of the system. At each stage, the approach is illustrated with examples from the protective system previously described. The main advantages of the approach put forward are the systematic process of analysis, the concentration of assessment effort in the critical areas and the maximum use of limited reliability data. (author)

Digital Processor Module Reliability Analysis of Nuclear Power Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Sang Yong; Jung, Jae Hyun; Kim, Jae Ho; Kim, Sung Hun

2005-01-01

The system used in plant, military equipment, satellite, etc. consists of many electronic parts as control module, which requires relatively high reliability than other commercial electronic products. Specially, Nuclear power plant related to the radiation safety requires high safety and reliability, so most parts apply to Military-Standard level. Reliability prediction method provides the rational basis of system designs and also provides the safety significance of system operations. Thus various reliability prediction tools have been developed in recent decades, among of them, the MI-HDBK-217 method has been widely used as a powerful tool for the prediction. In this work, It is explained that reliability analysis work for Digital Processor Module (DPM, control module of SMART) is performed by Parts Stress Method based on MIL-HDBK-217F NOTICE2. We are using the Relex 7.6 of Relex software corporation, because reliability analysis process requires enormous part libraries and data for failure rate calculation

A technical survey on issues of the quantitative evaluation of software reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, J. K; Sung, T. Y.; Eom, H. S.; Jeong, H. S.; Park, J. H.; Kang, H. G.; Lee, K. Y.; Park, J. K.

2000-04-01

To develop the methodology for evaluating the software reliability included in digital instrumentation and control system (I and C), many kinds of methodologies/techniques that have been proposed from the software reliability engineering fuel are analyzed to identify the strong and week points of them. According to analysis results, methodologies/techniques that can be directly applied for the evaluation of the software reliability are not exist. Thus additional researches to combine the most appropriate methodologies/techniques from existing ones would be needed to evaluate the software reliability. (author)

[Examination of safety improvement by failure record analysis that uses reliability engineering].

Science.gov (United States)

Kato, Kyoichi; Sato, Hisaya; Abe, Yoshihisa; Ishimori, Yoshiyuki; Hirano, Hiroshi; Higashimura, Kyoji; Amauchi, Hiroshi; Yanakita, Takashi; Kikuchi, Kei; Nakazawa, Yasuo

2010-08-20

How the maintenance checks of the medical treatment system, including start of work check and the ending check, was effective for preventive maintenance and the safety improvement was verified. In this research, date on the failure of devices in multiple facilities was collected, and the data of the trouble repair record was analyzed by the technique of reliability engineering. An analysis of data on the system (8 general systems, 6 Angio systems, 11 CT systems, 8 MRI systems, 8 RI systems, and the radiation therapy system 9) used in eight hospitals was performed. The data collection period assumed nine months from April to December 2008. Seven items were analyzed. (1) Mean time between failures (MTBF) (2) Mean time to repair (MTTR) (3) Mean down time (MDT) (4) Number found by check in morning (5) Failure generation time according to modality. The classification of the breakdowns per device, the incidence, and the tendency could be understood by introducing reliability engineering. Analysis, evaluation, and feedback on the failure generation history are useful to keep downtime to a minimum and to ensure safety.

Reliability analysis of digital I and C systems at KAERI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Man Cheol

2013-01-01

This paper provides an overview of the ongoing research activities on a reliability analysis of digital instrumentation and control (I and C) systems of nuclear power plants (NPPs) performed by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). The research activities include the development of a new safety-critical software reliability analysis method by integrating the advantages of existing software reliability analysis methods, a fault coverage estimation method based on fault injection experiments, and a new human reliability analysis method for computer-based main control rooms (MCRs) based on human performance data from the APR-1400 full-scope simulator. The research results are expected to be used to address various issues such as the licensing issues related to digital I and C probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) for advanced digital-based NPPs. (author)

Reliability analysis of stiff versus flexible piping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, S.C.

1985-01-01

The overall objective of this research project is to develop a technical basis for flexible piping designs which will improve piping reliability and minimize the use of pipe supports, snubbers, and pipe whip restraints. The current study was conducted to establish the necessary groundwork based on the piping reliability analysis. A confirmatory piping reliability assessment indicated that removing rigid supports and snubbers tends to either improve or affect very little the piping reliability. The authors then investigated a couple of changes to be implemented in Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.61 and RG 1.122 aimed at more flexible piping design. They concluded that these changes substantially reduce calculated piping responses and allow piping redesigns with significant reduction in number of supports and snubbers without violating ASME code requirements. Furthermore, the more flexible piping redesigns are capable of exhibiting reliability levels equal to or higher than the original stiffer design. An investigation of the malfunction of pipe whip restraints confirmed that the malfunction introduced higher thermal stresses and tended to reduce the overall piping reliability. Finally, support and component reliabilities were evaluated based on available fragility data. Results indicated that the support reliability usually exhibits a moderate decrease as the piping flexibility increases. Most on-line pumps and valves showed an insignificant reduction in reliability for a more flexible piping design

Reliability analysis for Atucha II reactor protection system signals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roca, Jose Luis

1996-01-01

Atucha II is a 745 MW Argentine Power Nuclear Reactor constructed by ENACE SA, Nuclear Argentine Company for Electrical Power Generation and SIEMENS AG KWU, Erlangen, Germany. A preliminary modular logic analysis of RPS (Reactor Protection System) signals was performed by means of the well known Swedish professional risk and reliability software named Risk-Spectrum taking as a basis a reference signal coded as JR17ER003 which command the two moderator loops valves. From the reliability and behavior knowledge for this reference signal follows an estimation of the reliability for the other 97 RPS signals. Because the preliminary character of this analysis Main Important Measures are not performed at this stage. Reliability is by the statistic value named unavailability predicted. The scope of this analysis is restricted from the measurement elements to the RPS buffer outputs. In the present context only one redundancy is analyzed so in the Instrumentation and Control area there no CCF (Common Cause Failures) present for signals. Finally those unavailability values could be introduced in the failure domain for the posterior complete Atucha II reliability analysis which includes all mechanical and electromechanical features. Also an estimation of the spurious frequency of RPS signals defined as faulty by no trip is performed

Reliability analysis for Atucha II reactor protection system signals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roca, Jose L.

2000-01-01

Atucha II is a 745 MW Argentine power nuclear reactor constructed by Nuclear Argentine Company for Electric Power Generation S.A. (ENACE S.A.) and SIEMENS AG KWU, Erlangen, Germany. A preliminary modular logic analysis of RPS (Reactor Protection System) signals was performed by means of the well known Swedish professional risk and reliability software named Risk-Spectrum taking as a basis a reference signal coded as JR17ER003 which command the two moderator loops valves. From the reliability and behavior knowledge for this reference signal follows an estimation of the reliability for the other 97 RPS signals. Because the preliminary character of this analysis Main Important Measures are not performed at this stage. Reliability is by the statistic value named unavailability predicted. The scope of this analysis is restricted from the measurement elements to the RPS buffer outputs. In the present context only one redundancy is analyzed so in the Instrumentation and Control area there no CCF (Common Cause Failures) present for signals. Finally those unavailability values could be introduced in the failure domain for the posterior complete Atucha II reliability analysis which includes all mechanical and electromechanical features. Also an estimation of the spurious frequency of RPS signals defined as faulty by no trip is performed. (author)

NDE reliability and advanced NDE technology validation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doctor, S.R.; Deffenbaugh, J.D.; Good, M.S.; Green, E.R.; Heasler, P.G.; Hutton, P.H.; Reid, L.D.; Simonen, F.A.; Spanner, J.C.; Vo, T.V.

1989-01-01

This paper reports on progress for three programs: (1) evaluation and improvement in nondestructive examination reliability for inservice inspection of light water reactors (LWR) (NDE Reliability Program), (2) field validation acceptance, and training for advanced NDE technology, and (3) evaluation of computer-based NDE techniques and regional support of inspection activities. The NDE Reliability Program objectives are to quantify the reliability of inservice inspection techniques for LWR primary system components through independent research and establish means for obtaining improvements in the reliability of inservice inspections. The areas of significant progress will be described concerning ASME Code activities, re-analysis of the PISC-II data, the equipment interaction matrix study, new inspection criteria, and PISC-III. The objectives of the second program are to develop field procedures for the AE and SAFT-UT techniques, perform field validation testing of these techniques, provide training in the techniques for NRC headquarters and regional staff, and work with the ASME Code for the use of these advanced technologies. The final program's objective is to evaluate the reliability and accuracy of interpretation of results from computer-based ultrasonic inservice inspection systems, and to develop guidelines for NRC staff to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of inservice inspections conducted on nuclear power reactors. This program started in the last quarter of FY89, and the extent of the program was to prepare a work plan for presentation to and approval from a technical advisory group of NRC staff

Reliability Analysis of Load-Sharing K-out-of-N System Considering Component Degradation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chunbo Yang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The K-out-of-N configuration is a typical form of redundancy techniques to improve system reliability, where at least K-out-of-N components must work for successful operation of system. When the components are degraded, more components are needed to meet the system requirement, which means that the value of K has to increase. The current reliability analysis methods overestimate the reliability, because using constant K ignores the degradation effect. In a load-sharing system with degrading components, the workload shared on each surviving component will increase after a random component failure, resulting in higher failure rate and increased performance degradation rate. This paper proposes a method combining a tampered failure rate model with a performance degradation model to analyze the reliability of load-sharing K-out-of-N system with degrading components. The proposed method considers the value of K as a variable which is derived by the performance degradation model. Also, the load-sharing effect is evaluated by the tampered failure rate model. Monte-Carlo simulation procedure is used to estimate the discrete probability distribution of K. The case of a solar panel is studied in this paper, and the result shows that the reliability considering component degradation is less than that ignoring component degradation.

Accident Sequence Evaluation Program: Human reliability analysis procedure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swain, A.D.

1987-02-01

This document presents a shortened version of the procedure, models, and data for human reliability analysis (HRA) which are presented in the Handbook of Human Reliability Analysis With emphasis on Nuclear Power Plant Applications (NUREG/CR-1278, August 1983). This shortened version was prepared and tried out as part of the Accident Sequence Evaluation Program (ASEP) funded by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and managed by Sandia National Laboratories. The intent of this new HRA procedure, called the ''ASEP HRA Procedure,'' is to enable systems analysts, with minimal support from experts in human reliability analysis, to make estimates of human error probabilities and other human performance characteristics which are sufficiently accurate for many probabilistic risk assessments. The ASEP HRA Procedure consists of a Pre-Accident Screening HRA, a Pre-Accident Nominal HRA, a Post-Accident Screening HRA, and a Post-Accident Nominal HRA. The procedure in this document includes changes made after tryout and evaluation of the procedure in four nuclear power plants by four different systems analysts and related personnel, including human reliability specialists. The changes consist of some additional explanatory material (including examples), and more detailed definitions of some of the terms. 42 refs

The use of reliability analysis techniques applied to nuclear power station emergency core cooling systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Danielsen, A.; Snaith, E.R.

1975-01-01

A reliability investigation carried out by the Safety and Reliability Services of the UKAEA, and the SSEB, of the essential system/reactor coolant system for a large nuclear power station is described. In AGR type reactors, after all reactor shutdown conditions, it is necessary to restore forced gas circulation and sufficient boiler feed to maintain the heat removal capacity of the boilers. The coolant requirements are provided by several independent mechanical systems of primary coolant fans, feedwater pumps, and valves integrated with electrical power sources, switchgear, and automatic control equipment. Reliability is treated as one aspect of system performance and quantified in terms of failure to meet a specific objective. Based on the reliability performance of the constituent components the optimum system configuration is determined together with the preferred plant operating procedures and maintenance requirements. (author)

Integration of nondestructive examination reliability and fracture mechanics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doctor, S.R.; Bates, D.J.; Charlot, L.A.

1985-01-01

The primary pressure boundaries (pressure vessels and piping) of nuclear power plants are in-service inspected (ISI) according to the rules of ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section XI. Ultrasonic techniques are normally used for these inspections, which are periodically performed on a sampling of welds. The Integration of Nondestructive Examination (NDE) Reliability and Fracture Mechanics (FM) Program at Pacific Northwest Laboratory was established to determine the reliability of current ISI techniques and to develop recommendations that will ensure a suitably high inspection reliability. The objectives of this NRC program are to: 1) determine the reliability of ultrasonic ISI performed on commercial light-water reactor primary systems; 2) using probabilistic FM analysis, determine the impact of NDE unreliability on system safety and determine the level of inspection reliability required to ensure a suitably low failure probability; 3) evaluate the degree of reliability improvement that could be achieved using improved and advanced NDE techniques; and 4) based on material properties, service conditions, and NDE uncertainties, formulate recommended revisions to ASME Code, Section XI, and Regulatory Requirements needed to ensure suitably low failure probabilities

78 FR 45447 - Revisions to Modeling, Data, and Analysis Reliability Standard

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-29

...; Order No. 782] Revisions to Modeling, Data, and Analysis Reliability Standard AGENCY: Federal Energy... Analysis (MOD) Reliability Standard MOD- 028-2, submitted to the Commission for approval by the North... Organization. The Commission finds that the proposed Reliability Standard represents an improvement over the...

State of the art report on aging reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Sun Yeong; Yang, Joon Eon; Han, Sang Hoon; Ha, Jae Joo

2002-03-01

The goal of this report is to describe the state of the art on aging analysis methods to calculate the effects of component aging quantitatively. In this report, we described some aging analysis methods which calculate the increase of Core Damage Frequency (CDF) due to aging by including the influence of aging into PSA. We also described several research topics required for aging analysis for components of domestic NPPs. We have described a statistical model and reliability physics model which calculate the effect of aging quantitatively by using PSA method. It is expected that the practical use of the reliability-physics model will be increased though the process with the reliability-physics model is more complicated than statistical model

Reliability of the Emergency Severity Index: Meta-analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amir Mirhaghi

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Although triage systems based on the Emergency Severity Index (ESI have many advantages in terms of simplicity and clarity, previous research has questioned their reliability in practice. Therefore, the aim of this meta-analysis was to determine the reliability of ESI triage scales. Methods: This metaanalysis was performed in March 2014. Electronic research databases were searched and articles conforming to the Guidelines for Reporting Reliability and Agreement Studies were selected. Two researchers independently examined selected abstracts. Data were extracted in the following categories: version of scale (latest/older, participants (adult/paediatric, raters (nurse, physician or expert, method of reliability (intra/inter-rater, reliability statistics (weighted/unweighted kappa and the origin and publication year of the study. The effect size was obtained by the Z-transformation of reliability coefficients. Data were pooled with random-effects models and a meta-regression was performed based on the method of moments estimator. Results: A total of 19 studies from six countries were included in the analysis. The pooled coefficient for the ESI triage scales was substantial at 0.791 (95% confidence interval: 0.787‒0.795. Agreement was higher with the latest and adult versions of the scale and among expert raters, compared to agreement with older and paediatric versions of the scales and with other groups of raters, respectively. Conclusion: ESI triage scales showed an acceptable level of overall reliability. However, ESI scales require more development in order to see full agreement from all rater groups. Further studies concentrating on other aspects of reliability assessment are needed.

Designing high availability systems DFSS and classical reliability techniques with practical real life examples

CERN Document Server

Taylor, Zachary

2014-01-01

A practical, step-by-step guide to designing world-class, high availability systems using both classical and DFSS reliability techniques Whether designing telecom, aerospace, automotive, medical, financial, or public safety systems, every engineer aims for the utmost reliability and availability in the systems he, or she, designs. But between the dream of world-class performance and reality falls the shadow of complexities that can bedevil even the most rigorous design process. While there are an array of robust predictive engineering tools, there has been no single-source guide to understan

User`s manual of a support system for human reliability analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yokobayashi, Masao [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment; Tamura, Kazuo

1995-10-01

Many kinds of human reliability analysis (HRA) methods have been developed. However, users are required to be skillful so as to use them, and also required complicated works such as drawing event tree (ET) and calculation of uncertainty bounds. Moreover, each method is not so complete that only one method of them is not enough to evaluate human reliability. Therefore, a personal computer (PC) based support system for HRA has been developed to execute HRA practically and efficiently. The system consists of two methods, namely, simple method and detailed one. The former uses ASEP that is a simplified THERP-technique, and combined method of OAT and HRA-ET/DeBDA is used for the latter. Users can select a suitable method for their purpose. Human error probability (HEP) data were collected and a database of them was built to use for the support system. This paper describes outline of the HRA methods, support functions and user`s guide of the system. (author).

A Report on Simulation-Driven Reliability and Failure Analysis of Large-Scale Storage Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wan, Lipeng [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Wang, Feiyi [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Oral, H. Sarp [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Vazhkudai, Sudharshan S. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Cao, Qing [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)

2014-11-01

High-performance computing (HPC) storage systems provide data availability and reliability using various hardware and software fault tolerance techniques. Usually, reliability and availability are calculated at the subsystem or component level using limited metrics such as, mean time to failure (MTTF) or mean time to data loss (MTTDL). This often means settling on simple and disconnected failure models (such as exponential failure rate) to achieve tractable and close-formed solutions. However, such models have been shown to be insufficient in assessing end-to-end storage system reliability and availability. We propose a generic simulation framework aimed at analyzing the reliability and availability of storage systems at scale, and investigating what-if scenarios. The framework is designed for an end-to-end storage system, accommodating the various components and subsystems, their interconnections, failure patterns and propagation, and performs dependency analysis to capture a wide-range of failure cases. We evaluate the framework against a large-scale storage system that is in production and analyze its failure projections toward and beyond the end of lifecycle. We also examine the potential operational impact by studying how different types of components affect the overall system reliability and availability, and present the preliminary results

Suitability review of FMEA and reliability analysis for digital plant protection system and digital engineered safety features actuation system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, I. S.; Kim, T. K.; Kim, M. C.; Kim, B. S.; Hwang, S. W.; Ryu, K. C. [Hanyang Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2000-11-15

Of the many items that should be checked out during a review stage of the licensing application for the I and C system of Ulchin 5 and 6 units, this report relates to a suitability review of the reliability analysis of Digital Plant Protection System (DPPS) and Digital Engineered Safety Features Actuation System (DESFAS). In the reliability analysis performed by the system designer, ABB-CE, fault tree analysis was used as the main methods along with Failure Modes and Effect Analysis (FMEA). However, the present regulatory technique dose not allow the system reliability analysis and its results to be appropriately evaluated. Hence, this study was carried out focusing on the following four items ; development of general review items by which to check the validity of a reliability analysis, and the subsequent review of suitability of the reliability analysis for Ulchin 5 and 6 DPPS and DESFAS L development of detailed review items by which to check the validity of an FMEA, and the subsequent review of suitability of the FMEA for Ulchin 5 and 6 DPPS and DESFAS ; development of detailed review items by which to check the validity of a fault tree analysis, and the subsequent review of suitability of the fault tree for Ulchin 5 and 6 DPPS and DESFAS ; an integrated review of the safety and reliability of the Ulchin 5 and 6 DPPS and DESFAS based on the results of the various reviews above and also of a reliability comparison between the digital systems and the comparable analog systems, i.e., and analog Plant Protection System (PPS) and and analog Engineered Safety Features Actuation System (ESFAS). According to the review mentioned above, the reliability analysis of Ulchin 5 and 6 DPPS and DESFAS generally satisfies the review requirements. However, some shortcomings of the analysis were identified in our review such that the assumed test periods for several equipment were not properly incorporated in the analysis, and failures of some equipment were not included in the

Human reliability in complex systems: an overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Embrey, D.E.

1976-07-01

A detailed analysis is presented of the main conceptual background underlying the areas of human reliability and human error. The concept of error is examined and generalized to that of human reliability, and some of the practical and methodological difficulties of reconciling the different standpoints of the human factors specialist and the engineer discussed. Following a survey of general reviews available on human reliability, quantitative techniques for prediction of human reliability are considered. An in-depth critical analysis of the various quantitative methods is then presented, together with the data bank requirements for human reliability prediction. Reliability considerations in process control and nuclear plant, and also areas of design, maintenance, testing and emergency situations are discussed. The effects of stress on human reliability are analysed and methods of minimizing these effects discussed. Finally, a summary is presented and proposals for further research are set out. (author)

Reliability analysis in interdependent smart grid systems

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Hao; Kan, Zhe; Zhao, Dandan; Han, Jianmin; Lu, Jianfeng; Hu, Zhaolong

2018-06-01

Complex network theory is a useful way to study many real complex systems. In this paper, a reliability analysis model based on complex network theory is introduced in interdependent smart grid systems. In this paper, we focus on understanding the structure of smart grid systems and studying the underlying network model, their interactions, and relationships and how cascading failures occur in the interdependent smart grid systems. We propose a practical model for interdependent smart grid systems using complex theory. Besides, based on percolation theory, we also study the effect of cascading failures effect and reveal detailed mathematical analysis of failure propagation in such systems. We analyze the reliability of our proposed model caused by random attacks or failures by calculating the size of giant functioning components in interdependent smart grid systems. Our simulation results also show that there exists a threshold for the proportion of faulty nodes, beyond which the smart grid systems collapse. Also we determine the critical values for different system parameters. In this way, the reliability analysis model based on complex network theory can be effectively utilized for anti-attack and protection purposes in interdependent smart grid systems.

Adjoint sensitivity analysis of dynamic reliability models based on Markov chains - II: Application to IFMIF reliability assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cacuci, D. G. [Commiss Energy Atom, Direct Energy Nucl, Saclay, (France); Cacuci, D. G.; Balan, I. [Univ Karlsruhe, Inst Nucl Technol and Reactor Safetly, Karlsruhe, (Germany); Ionescu-Bujor, M. [Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Fus Program, D-76021 Karlsruhe, (Germany)

2008-07-01

In Part II of this work, the adjoint sensitivity analysis procedure developed in Part I is applied to perform sensitivity analysis of several dynamic reliability models of systems of increasing complexity, culminating with the consideration of the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) accelerator system. Section II presents the main steps of a procedure for the automated generation of Markov chains for reliability analysis, including the abstraction of the physical system, construction of the Markov chain, and the generation and solution of the ensuing set of differential equations; all of these steps have been implemented in a stand-alone computer code system called QUEFT/MARKOMAG-S/MCADJSEN. This code system has been applied to sensitivity analysis of dynamic reliability measures for a paradigm '2-out-of-3' system comprising five components and also to a comprehensive dynamic reliability analysis of the IFMIF accelerator system facilities for the average availability and, respectively, the system's availability at the final mission time. The QUEFT/MARKOMAG-S/MCADJSEN has been used to efficiently compute sensitivities to 186 failure and repair rates characterizing components and subsystems of the first-level fault tree of the IFMIF accelerator system. (authors)

Adjoint sensitivity analysis of dynamic reliability models based on Markov chains - II: Application to IFMIF reliability assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cacuci, D. G.; Cacuci, D. G.; Balan, I.; Ionescu-Bujor, M.

2008-01-01

In Part II of this work, the adjoint sensitivity analysis procedure developed in Part I is applied to perform sensitivity analysis of several dynamic reliability models of systems of increasing complexity, culminating with the consideration of the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) accelerator system. Section II presents the main steps of a procedure for the automated generation of Markov chains for reliability analysis, including the abstraction of the physical system, construction of the Markov chain, and the generation and solution of the ensuing set of differential equations; all of these steps have been implemented in a stand-alone computer code system called QUEFT/MARKOMAG-S/MCADJSEN. This code system has been applied to sensitivity analysis of dynamic reliability measures for a paradigm '2-out-of-3' system comprising five components and also to a comprehensive dynamic reliability analysis of the IFMIF accelerator system facilities for the average availability and, respectively, the system's availability at the final mission time. The QUEFT/MARKOMAG-S/MCADJSEN has been used to efficiently compute sensitivities to 186 failure and repair rates characterizing components and subsystems of the first-level fault tree of the IFMIF accelerator system. (authors)

A reliability simulation language for reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deans, N.D.; Miller, A.J.; Mann, D.P.

1986-01-01

The results of work being undertaken to develop a Reliability Description Language (RDL) which will enable reliability analysts to describe complex reliability problems in a simple, clear and unambiguous way are described. Component and system features can be stated in a formal manner and subsequently used, along with control statements to form a structured program. The program can be compiled and executed on a general-purpose computer or special-purpose simulator. (DG)

Durability reliability analysis for corroding concrete structures under uncertainty

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hao

2018-02-01

This paper presents a durability reliability analysis of reinforced concrete structures subject to the action of marine chloride. The focus is to provide insight into the role of epistemic uncertainties on durability reliability. The corrosion model involves a number of variables whose probabilistic characteristics cannot be fully determined due to the limited availability of supporting data. All sources of uncertainty, both aleatory and epistemic, should be included in the reliability analysis. Two methods are available to formulate the epistemic uncertainty: the imprecise probability-based method and the purely probabilistic method in which the epistemic uncertainties are modeled as random variables. The paper illustrates how the epistemic uncertainties are modeled and propagated in the two methods, and shows how epistemic uncertainties govern the durability reliability.

A methodology to incorporate organizational factors into human reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Pengcheng; Chen Guohua; Zhang Li; Xiao Dongsheng

2010-01-01

A new holistic methodology for Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) is proposed to model the effects of the organizational factors on the human reliability. Firstly, a conceptual framework is built, which is used to analyze the causal relationships between the organizational factors and human reliability. Then, the inference model for Human Reliability Analysis is built by combining the conceptual framework with Bayesian networks, which is used to execute the causal inference and diagnostic inference of human reliability. Finally, a case example is presented to demonstrate the specific application of the proposed methodology. The results show that the proposed methodology of combining the conceptual model with Bayesian Networks can not only easily model the causal relationship between organizational factors and human reliability, but in a given context, people can quantitatively measure the human operational reliability, and identify the most likely root causes or the prioritization of root causes caused human error. (authors)

Human reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Embrey, D.E.

1987-01-01

Concepts and techniques of human reliability have been developed and are used mostly in probabilistic risk assessment. For this, the major application of human reliability assessment has been to identify the human errors which have a significant effect on the overall safety of the system and to quantify the probability of their occurrence. Some of the major issues within human reliability studies are reviewed and it is shown how these are applied to the assessment of human failures in systems. This is done under the following headings; models of human performance used in human reliability assessment, the nature of human error, classification of errors in man-machine systems, practical aspects, human reliability modelling in complex situations, quantification and examination of human reliability, judgement based approaches, holistic techniques and decision analytic approaches. (UK)

Assessment of modern methods of human factor reliability analysis in PSA studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holy, J.

2001-12-01

The report is structured as follows: Classical terms and objects (Probabilistic safety assessment as a framework for human reliability assessment; Human failure within the PSA model; Basic types of operator failure modelled in a PSA study and analyzed by HRA methods; Qualitative analysis of human reliability; Quantitative analysis of human reliability used; Process of analysis of nuclear reactor operator reliability in a PSA study); New terms and objects (Analysis of dependences; Errors of omission; Errors of commission; Error forcing context); and Overview and brief assessment of human reliability analysis (Basic characteristics of the methods; Assets and drawbacks of the use of each of HRA method; History and prospects of the use of the methods). (P.A.)

Reliability analysis of RC containment structures under combined loads

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, H.; Reich, M.; Kagami, S.

1984-01-01

This paper discusses a reliability analysis method and load combination design criteria for reinforced concrete containment structures under combined loads. The probability based reliability analysis method is briefly described. For load combination design criteria, derivations of the load factors for accidental pressure due to a design basis accident and safe shutdown earthquake (SSE) for three target limit state probabilities are presented

Reliability analysis of reinforced concrete grids with nonlinear material behavior

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neves, Rodrigo A [EESC-USP, Av. Trabalhador Sao Carlense, 400, 13566-590 Sao Carlos (Brazil); Chateauneuf, Alaa [LaMI-UBP and IFMA, Campus de Clermont-Fd, Les Cezeaux, BP 265, 63175 Aubiere cedex (France)]. E-mail: alaa.chateauneuf@ifma.fr; Venturini, Wilson S [EESC-USP, Av. Trabalhador Sao Carlense, 400, 13566-590 Sao Carlos (Brazil)]. E-mail: venturin@sc.usp.br; Lemaire, Maurice [LaMI-UBP and IFMA, Campus de Clermont-Fd, Les Cezeaux, BP 265, 63175 Aubiere cedex (France)

2006-06-15

Reinforced concrete grids are usually used to support large floor slabs. These grids are characterized by a great number of critical cross-sections, where the overall failure is usually sudden. However, nonlinear behavior of concrete leads to the redistribution of internal forces and accurate reliability assessment becomes mandatory. This paper presents a reliability study on reinforced concrete (RC) grids based on coupling Monte Carlo simulations with the response surface techniques. This approach allows us to analyze real RC grids with large number of failure components. The response surface is used to evaluate the structural safety by using first order reliability methods. The application to simple grids shows the interest of the proposed method and the role of moment redistribution in the reliability assessment.

Discrete event simulation versus conventional system reliability analysis approaches

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kozine, Igor

2010-01-01

Discrete Event Simulation (DES) environments are rapidly developing and appear to be promising tools for building reliability and risk analysis models of safety-critical systems and human operators. If properly developed, they are an alternative to the conventional human reliability analysis models...... and systems analysis methods such as fault and event trees and Bayesian networks. As one part, the paper describes briefly the author’s experience in applying DES models to the analysis of safety-critical systems in different domains. The other part of the paper is devoted to comparing conventional approaches...

Human reliability analysis for steam generator feed-and-bleed accident in Bushehr NPP-1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jafarian, Reza [Valiasr University of Rafsanjan, Rafsanjan, 28 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Sepanloo, Kamran [Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), external link End of North Karegar Av., Tehran 14155-1339 (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2006-07-01

According to the incident/accident reports, unsuccessful implementation of steam generator feed-and-bleed procedure is one of the most important events in nuclear power plants operation which greatly contributes to the level of risk of the plants. Generally, the loss of all feed water pumps flow (as one of the precursors) results in failure to maintain adequate cooling of the reactor core unless the operating crew initiate and follow the feed-and-bleed procedure correctly and timely. In this paper, firstly, a Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) event tree is presented delineating the major human activities and errors in the implementation of the steam generator (SG) feed-and-bleed procedure following the loss of (both normal and emergency) water feed to four SGs of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 (BNPP-1). Secondly, the graphical method of task analysis as a part of HRA is used as a means of delineating correct and incorrect human actions. To be used in the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), the outputs of the HRA event trees are fed into the system event trees, functional event trees or system fault trees. As a part of a probabilistic risk assessment of BNPP-1 and to assess the reliability of control room operators, a human reliability analysis model is applied based on the THERP (Technique for Human Error Rate Prediction) technique. The THERP method is used in the form of event trees named as the probability tree diagrams. In this research the Human Reliability Analysis event tree is constructed based on the background information and assumptions made and on a similar NPP task analysis. It is done so because the BNPP-1 is not an operational nuclear power plant. Thirdly, based on NUREG/CR-1278 Handbook, a computer program has been developed in Visual Basic language and used to illustrate the major human activities and determination of error rates of operators in the course of the implementation of the steam generator feed-and-bleed procedure. Finally, total

Accident Sequence Evaluation Program: Human reliability analysis procedure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Swain, A.D.

1987-02-01

This document presents a shortened version of the procedure, models, and data for human reliability analysis (HRA) which are presented in the Handbook of Human Reliability Analysis With emphasis on Nuclear Power Plant Applications (NUREG/CR-1278, August 1983). This shortened version was prepared and tried out as part of the Accident Sequence Evaluation Program (ASEP) funded by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and managed by Sandia National Laboratories. The intent of this new HRA procedure, called the ''ASEP HRA Procedure,'' is to enable systems analysts, with minimal support from experts in human reliability analysis, to make estimates of human error probabilities and other human performance characteristics which are sufficiently accurate for many probabilistic risk assessments. The ASEP HRA Procedure consists of a Pre-Accident Screening HRA, a Pre-Accident Nominal HRA, a Post-Accident Screening HRA, and a Post-Accident Nominal HRA. The procedure in this document includes changes made after tryout and evaluation of the procedure in four nuclear power plants by four different systems analysts and related personnel, including human reliability specialists. The changes consist of some additional explanatory material (including examples), and more detailed definitions of some of the terms. 42 refs.

Nonelectronic Parts Reliability Data 1991

Science.gov (United States)

1991-05-01

Characterization & Failure Analysis Techniques 100.00 130.Ot_00, ______ MFAT_1 &2 Combined set ofMFAT-1_andMFAT-2 200 00 300,00 _ _ ____ FTA ...Device Reliability - 1988 10000 12000 ___ CRTA- FMD Failure Mode Distribution Critical Technology Review Assessment 10000 12000 ___ NONOP-1

Reliability and risk analysis methods research plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-10-01

This document presents a plan for reliability and risk analysis methods research to be performed mainly by the Reactor Risk Branch (RRB), Division of Risk Analysis and Operations (DRAO), Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. It includes those activities of other DRAO branches which are very closely related to those of the RRB. Related or interfacing programs of other divisions, offices and organizations are merely indicated. The primary use of this document is envisioned as an NRC working document, covering about a 3-year period, to foster better coordination in reliability and risk analysis methods development between the offices of Nuclear Regulatory Research and Nuclear Reactor Regulation. It will also serve as an information source for contractors and others to more clearly understand the objectives, needs, programmatic activities and interfaces together with the overall logical structure of the program

Prepared for the thirtieth annual conference on bioassay analytical and environmental chemistry. Reliable analysis of high resolution gamma spectra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spitz, H.B.; Buschbom, R.; Rieksts, G.A.; Palmer, H.E.

1985-01-01

A new method has been developed to reliably analyze pulse height-energy spectra obtained from measurements employing high resolution germanium detectors. The method employs a simple data transformation and smoothing function to calculate background and identify photopeaks and isotopic analysis. This technique is elegant in its simplicity because it avoids dependence upon complex spectrum deconvolution, stripping, or other least-square-fitting techniques which complicate the assessment of measurement reliability. A moving median was chosen for data smoothing because, unlike moving averages, medians are not dominated by extreme data points. Finally, peaks are identified whenever the difference between the background spectrum and the transformed spectrum exceeds a pre-determined number of standard deviations

Representative Sampling for reliable data analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Lars; Esbensen, Kim Harry

2005-01-01

regime in order to secure the necessary reliability of: samples (which must be representative, from the primary sampling onwards), analysis (which will not mean anything outside the miniscule analytical volume without representativity ruling all mass reductions involved, also in the laboratory) and data...

A double-loop adaptive sampling approach for sensitivity-free dynamic reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Zequn; Wang, Pingfeng

2015-01-01

Dynamic reliability measures reliability of an engineered system considering time-variant operation condition and component deterioration. Due to high computational costs, conducting dynamic reliability analysis at an early system design stage remains challenging. This paper presents a confidence-based meta-modeling approach, referred to as double-loop adaptive sampling (DLAS), for efficient sensitivity-free dynamic reliability analysis. The DLAS builds a Gaussian process (GP) model sequentially to approximate extreme system responses over time, so that Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) can be employed directly to estimate dynamic reliability. A generic confidence measure is developed to evaluate the accuracy of dynamic reliability estimation while using the MCS approach based on developed GP models. A double-loop adaptive sampling scheme is developed to efficiently update the GP model in a sequential manner, by considering system input variables and time concurrently in two sampling loops. The model updating process using the developed sampling scheme can be terminated once the user defined confidence target is satisfied. The developed DLAS approach eliminates computationally expensive sensitivity analysis process, thus substantially improves the efficiency of dynamic reliability analysis. Three case studies are used to demonstrate the efficacy of DLAS for dynamic reliability analysis. - Highlights: • Developed a novel adaptive sampling approach for dynamic reliability analysis. • POD Developed a new metric to quantify the accuracy of dynamic reliability estimation. • Developed a new sequential sampling scheme to efficiently update surrogate models. • Three case studies were used to demonstrate the efficacy of the new approach. • Case study results showed substantially enhanced efficiency with high accuracy

Probabilistic risk assessment course documentation. Volume 4. System reliability and analysis techniques sessions B/C - event trees/fault trees

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haasl, D.; Young, J.

1985-08-01

This course will employ a combination of lecture material and practical problem solving in order to develop competence and understanding of th principles and techniques of event tree and fault tree analysis. The role of these techniques in the overall context of PRA will be described. The emphasis of this course will be on the basic, traditional methods of event tree and fault tree analysis

Reliability Analysis of Fatigue Fracture of Wind Turbine Drivetrain Components

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berzonskis, Arvydas; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

2016-01-01

in the volume of the casted ductile iron main shaft, on the reliability of the component. The probabilistic reliability analysis conducted is based on fracture mechanics models. Additionally, the utilization of the probabilistic reliability for operation and maintenance planning and quality control is discussed....

A simple method of measuring tibial tubercle to trochlear groove distance on MRI: description of a novel and reliable technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Camp, Christopher L; Heidenreich, Mark J; Dahm, Diane L; Bond, Jeffrey R; Collins, Mark S; Krych, Aaron J

2016-03-01

Tibial tubercle-trochlear groove (TT-TG) distance is a variable that helps guide surgical decision-making in patients with patellar instability. The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy and reliability of an MRI TT-TG measuring technique using a simple external alignment method to a previously validated gold standard technique that requires advanced software read by radiologists. TT-TG was calculated by MRI on 59 knees with a clinical diagnosis of patellar instability in a blinded and randomized fashion by two musculoskeletal radiologists using advanced software and by two orthopaedists using the study technique which utilizes measurements taken on a simple electronic imaging platform. Interrater reliability between the two radiologists and the two orthopaedists and intermethods reliability between the two techniques were calculated using interclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and concordance correlation coefficients (CCC). ICC and CCC values greater than 0.75 were considered to represent excellent agreement. The mean TT-TG distance was 14.7 mm (Standard Deviation (SD) 4.87 mm) and 15.4 mm (SD 5.41) as measured by the radiologists and orthopaedists, respectively. Excellent interobserver agreement was noted between the radiologists (ICC 0.941; CCC 0.941), the orthopaedists (ICC 0.978; CCC 0.976), and the two techniques (ICC 0.941; CCC 0.933). The simple TT-TG distance measurement technique analysed in this study resulted in excellent agreement and reliability as compared to the gold standard technique. This method can predictably be performed by orthopaedic surgeons without advanced radiologic software. II.

Reliability analysis of cluster-based ad-hoc networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cook, Jason L.; Ramirez-Marquez, Jose Emmanuel

2008-01-01

The mobile ad-hoc wireless network (MAWN) is a new and emerging network scheme that is being employed in a variety of applications. The MAWN varies from traditional networks because it is a self-forming and dynamic network. The MAWN is free of infrastructure and, as such, only the mobile nodes comprise the network. Pairs of nodes communicate either directly or through other nodes. To do so, each node acts, in turn, as a source, destination, and relay of messages. The virtue of a MAWN is the flexibility this provides; however, the challenge for reliability analyses is also brought about by this unique feature. The variability and volatility of the MAWN configuration makes typical reliability methods (e.g. reliability block diagram) inappropriate because no single structure or configuration represents all manifestations of a MAWN. For this reason, new methods are being developed to analyze the reliability of this new networking technology. New published methods adapt to this feature by treating the configuration probabilistically or by inclusion of embedded mobility models. This paper joins both methods together and expands upon these works by modifying the problem formulation to address the reliability analysis of a cluster-based MAWN. The cluster-based MAWN is deployed in applications with constraints on networking resources such as bandwidth and energy. This paper presents the problem's formulation, a discussion of applicable reliability metrics for the MAWN, and illustration of a Monte Carlo simulation method through the analysis of several example networks

A Review: Passive System Reliability Analysis – Accomplishments and Unresolved Issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nayak, Arun Kumar, E-mail: arunths@barc.gov.in [Reactor Engineering Division, Reactor Design and Development Group, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai (India); Chandrakar, Amit [Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai (India); Vinod, Gopika [Reactor Safety Division, Reactor Design and Development Group, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai (India)

2014-10-10

Reliability assessment of passive safety systems is one of the important issues, since safety of advanced nuclear reactors rely on several passive features. In this context, a few methodologies such as reliability evaluation of passive safety system (REPAS), reliability methods for passive safety functions (RMPS), and analysis of passive systems reliability (APSRA) have been developed in the past. These methodologies have been used to assess reliability of various passive safety systems. While these methodologies have certain features in common, but they differ in considering certain issues; for example, treatment of model uncertainties, deviation of geometric, and process parameters from their nominal values. This paper presents the state of the art on passive system reliability assessment methodologies, the accomplishments, and remaining issues. In this review, three critical issues pertaining to passive systems performance and reliability have been identified. The first issue is applicability of best estimate codes and model uncertainty. The best estimate codes based phenomenological simulations of natural convection passive systems could have significant amount of uncertainties, these uncertainties must be incorporated in appropriate manner in the performance and reliability analysis of such systems. The second issue is the treatment of dynamic failure characteristics of components of passive systems. REPAS, RMPS, and APSRA methodologies do not consider dynamic failures of components or process, which may have strong influence on the failure of passive systems. The influence of dynamic failure characteristics of components on system failure probability is presented with the help of a dynamic reliability methodology based on Monte Carlo simulation. The analysis of a benchmark problem of Hold-up tank shows the error in failure probability estimation by not considering the dynamism of components. It is thus suggested that dynamic reliability methodologies must be

Quantitative developments in the cognitive reliability and error analysis method (CREAM) for the assessment of human performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marseguerra, Marzio; Zio, Enrico; Librizzi, Massimo

2006-01-01

The current 'second generation' approaches in human reliability analysis focus their attention on the contextual conditions under which a given action is performed rather than on the notion of inherent human error probabilities, as was done in the earlier 'first generation' techniques. Among the 'second generation' methods, this paper considers the Cognitive Reliability and Error Analysis Method (CREAM) and proposes some developments with respect to a systematic procedure for computing probabilities of action failure. The starting point for the quantification is a previously introduced fuzzy version of the CREAM paradigm which is here further extended to include uncertainty on the qualification of the conditions under which the action is performed and to account for the fact that the effects of the common performance conditions (CPCs) on performance reliability may not all be equal. By the proposed approach, the probability of action failure is estimated by rating the performance conditions in terms of their effect on the action

Analysis and assessment of water treatment plant reliability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Szpak Dawid

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The subject of the publication is the analysis and assessment of the reliability of the surface water treatment plant (WTP. In the study the one parameter method of reliability assessment was used. Based on the flow sheet derived from the water company the reliability scheme of the analysed WTP was prepared. On the basis of the daily WTP work report the availability index Kg for the individual elements included in the WTP, was determined. Then, based on the developed reliability scheme showing the interrelationships between elements, the availability index Kg for the whole WTP was determined. The obtained value of the availability index Kg was compared with the criteria values.

Time-dependent reliability analysis of nuclear reactor operators using probabilistic network models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oka, Y.; Miyata, K.; Kodaira, H.; Murakami, S.; Kondo, S.; Togo, Y.

1987-01-01

Human factors are very important for the reliability of a nuclear power plant. Human behavior has essentially a time-dependent nature. The details of thinking and decision making processes are important for detailed analysis of human reliability. They have, however, not been well considered by the conventional methods of human reliability analysis. The present paper describes the models for the time-dependent and detailed human reliability analysis. Recovery by an operator is taken into account and two-operators models are also presented

Reliable cost effective technique for in situ ground stress measurements in deep gold mines.

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Stacey, TR

1995-07-01

Full Text Available on these requirements, an in situ stress measurement technique which will be practically applicable in the deep gold mines, has been developed conceptually. Referring to the figure on the following page, this method involves: • a borehole-based system, using... level mines have not been developed. 2 This is some of the background to the present SIMRAC research project, the title ofwhich is “Reliable cost effective technique for in-situ ground stress measurements in deep gold mines”. A copy of the research...

Procedure for conducting a human-reliability analysis for nuclear power plants. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bell, B.J.; Swain, A.D.

1983-05-01

This document describes in detail a procedure to be followed in conducting a human reliability analysis as part of a probabilistic risk assessment when such an analysis is performed according to the methods described in NUREG/CR-1278, Handbook for Human Reliability Analysis with Emphasis on Nuclear Power Plant Applications. An overview of the procedure describing the major elements of a human reliability analysis is presented along with a detailed description of each element and an example of an actual analysis. An appendix consists of some sample human reliability analysis problems for further study

Root cause analysis in support of reliability enhancement of engineering components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Sachin; Mishra, Vivek; Joshi, N.S.; Varde, P.V.

2014-01-01

Reliability based methods have been widely used for the safety assessment of plant system, structures and components. These methods provide a quantitative estimation of system reliability but do not give insight into the failure mechanism. Understanding the failure mechanism is a must to avoid the recurrence of the events and enhancement of the system reliability. Root cause analysis provides a tool for gaining detailed insights into the causes of failure of component with particular attention to the identification of fault in component design, operation, surveillance, maintenance, training, procedures and policies which must be improved to prevent repetition of incidents. Root cause analysis also helps in developing Probabilistic Safety Analysis models. A probabilistic precursor study provides a complement to the root cause analysis approach in event analysis by focusing on how an event might have developed adversely. This paper discusses the root cause analysis methodologies and their application in the specific case studies for enhancement of system reliability. (author)

Development of a morphology-based modeling technique for tracking solid-body displacements: examining the reliability of a potential MRI-only approach for joint kinematics assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahato, Niladri K.; Montuelle, Stephane; Cotton, John; Williams, Susan; Thomas, James; Clark, Brian

2016-01-01

Single or biplanar video radiography and Roentgen stereophotogrammetry (RSA) techniques used for the assessment of in-vivo joint kinematics involves application of ionizing radiation, which is a limitation for clinical research involving human subjects. To overcome this limitation, our long-term goal is to develop a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-only, three dimensional (3-D) modeling technique that permits dynamic imaging of joint motion in humans. Here, we present our initial findings, as well as reliability data, for an MRI-only protocol and modeling technique. We developed a morphology-based motion-analysis technique that uses MRI of custom-built solid-body objects to animate and quantify experimental displacements between them. The technique involved four major steps. First, the imaging volume was calibrated using a custom-built grid. Second, 3-D models were segmented from axial scans of two custom-built solid-body cubes. Third, these cubes were positioned at pre-determined relative displacements (translation and rotation) in the magnetic resonance coil and scanned with a T 1 and a fast contrast-enhanced pulse sequences. The digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) images were then processed for animation. The fourth step involved importing these processed images into an animation software, where they were displayed as background scenes. In the same step, 3-D models of the cubes were imported into the animation software, where the user manipulated the models to match their outlines in the scene (rotoscoping) and registered the models into an anatomical joint system. Measurements of displacements obtained from two different rotoscoping sessions were tested for reliability using coefficient of variations (CV), intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), Bland-Altman plots, and Limits of Agreement analyses. Between-session reliability was high for both the T 1 and the contrast-enhanced sequences. Specifically, the average CVs for translation were 4

Development of a morphology-based modeling technique for tracking solid-body displacements: examining the reliability of a potential MRI-only approach for joint kinematics assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahato, Niladri K; Montuelle, Stephane; Cotton, John; Williams, Susan; Thomas, James; Clark, Brian

2016-05-18

Single or biplanar video radiography and Roentgen stereophotogrammetry (RSA) techniques used for the assessment of in-vivo joint kinematics involves application of ionizing radiation, which is a limitation for clinical research involving human subjects. To overcome this limitation, our long-term goal is to develop a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-only, three dimensional (3-D) modeling technique that permits dynamic imaging of joint motion in humans. Here, we present our initial findings, as well as reliability data, for an MRI-only protocol and modeling technique. We developed a morphology-based motion-analysis technique that uses MRI of custom-built solid-body objects to animate and quantify experimental displacements between them. The technique involved four major steps. First, the imaging volume was calibrated using a custom-built grid. Second, 3-D models were segmented from axial scans of two custom-built solid-body cubes. Third, these cubes were positioned at pre-determined relative displacements (translation and rotation) in the magnetic resonance coil and scanned with a T1 and a fast contrast-enhanced pulse sequences. The digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) images were then processed for animation. The fourth step involved importing these processed images into an animation software, where they were displayed as background scenes. In the same step, 3-D models of the cubes were imported into the animation software, where the user manipulated the models to match their outlines in the scene (rotoscoping) and registered the models into an anatomical joint system. Measurements of displacements obtained from two different rotoscoping sessions were tested for reliability using coefficient of variations (CV), intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), Bland-Altman plots, and Limits of Agreement analyses. Between-session reliability was high for both the T1 and the contrast-enhanced sequences. Specifically, the average CVs for translation were 4

Plant and control system reliability and risk model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niemelae, I.M.

1986-01-01

A new reliability modelling technique for control systems and plants is demonstrated. It is based on modified boolean algebra and it has been automated into an efficient computer code called RELVEC. The code is useful for getting an overall view of the reliability parameters or for an in-depth reliability analysis, which is essential in risk analysis, where the model must be capable of answering to specific questions like: 'What is the probability of this temperature limiter to provide a false alarm', or 'what is the probability of air pressure in this subsystem to drop below lower limit'. (orig./DG)

Windfarm Generation Assessment for ReliabilityAnalysis of Power Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Negra, Nicola Barberis; Holmstrøm, Ole; Bak-Jensen, Birgitte

2007-01-01

Due to the fast development of wind generation in the past ten years, increasing interest has been paid to techniques for assessing different aspects of power systems with a large amount of installed wind generation. One of these aspects concerns power system reliability. Windfarm modelling plays...

Windfarm generation assessment for reliability analysis of power systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Negra, N.B.; Holmstrøm, O.; Bak-Jensen, B.

2007-01-01

Due to the fast development of wind generation in the past ten years, increasing interest has been paid to techniques for assessing different aspects of power systems with a large amount of installed wind generation. One of these aspects concerns power system reliability. Windfarm modelling plays...

The development of a reliable amateur boxing performance analysis template.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomson, Edward; Lamb, Kevin; Nicholas, Ceri

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to devise a valid performance analysis system for the assessment of the movement characteristics associated with competitive amateur boxing and assess its reliability using analysts of varying experience of the sport and performance analysis. Key performance indicators to characterise the demands of an amateur contest (offensive, defensive and feinting) were developed and notated using a computerised notational analysis system. Data were subjected to intra- and inter-observer reliability assessment using median sign tests and calculating the proportion of agreement within predetermined limits of error. For all performance indicators, intra-observer reliability revealed non-significant differences between observations (P > 0.05) and high agreement was established (80-100%) regardless of whether exact or the reference value of ±1 was applied. Inter-observer reliability was less impressive for both analysts (amateur boxer and experienced analyst), with the proportion of agreement ranging from 33-100%. Nonetheless, there was no systematic bias between observations for any indicator (P > 0.05), and the proportion of agreement within the reference range (±1) was 100%. A reliable performance analysis template has been developed for the assessment of amateur boxing performance and is available for use by researchers, coaches and athletes to classify and quantify the movement characteristics of amateur boxing.

Reliability analysis of 2400 MWth gas-cooled fast reactor natural circulation decay heat removal system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marques, M.; Bassi, C.; Bentivoglio, F.

2012-01-01

In support to a PSA (Probability Safety Assessment) performed at the design level on the 2400 MWth Gas-cooled Fast Reactor, the functional reliability of the decay heat removal system (DHR) working in natural circulation has been estimated in two transient situations corresponding to an 'aggravated' Loss of Flow Accident (LOFA) and a Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA). The reliability analysis was based on the RMPS methodology. Reliability and global sensitivity analyses use uncertainty propagation by Monte Carlo techniques. The DHR system consists of 1) 3 dedicated DHR loops: the choice of 3 loops (3*100% redundancy) is made in assuming that one could be lost due to the accident initiating event (break for example) and that another one must be supposed unavailable (single failure criterion); 2) a metallic guard containment enclosing the primary system (referred as close containment), not pressurized in normal operation, having a free volume such as the fast primary helium expansion gives an equilibrium pressure of 1.0 MPa, in the first part of the transient (few hours). Each dedicated DHR loop designed to work in forced circulation with blowers or in natural circulation, is composed of 1) a primary loop (cross-duct connected to the core vessel), with a driving height of 10 meters between core and DHX mid-plan; 2) a secondary circuit filled with pressurized water at 1.0 MPa (driving height of 5 meters for natural circulation DHR); 3) a ternary pool, initially at 50 C. degrees, whose volume is determined to handle one day heat extraction (after this time delay, additional measures are foreseen to fill up the pool). The results obtained on the reliability of the DHR system and on the most important input parameters are very different from one scenario to the other showing the necessity for the PSA to perform specific reliability analysis of the passive system for each considered scenario. The analysis shows that the DHR system working in natural circulation is

Methodology for reliability allocation based on fault tree analysis and dualistic contrast

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

TONG Lili; CAO Xuewu

2008-01-01

Reliability allocation is a difficult multi-objective optimization problem.This paper presents a methodology for reliability allocation that can be applied to determine the reliability characteristics of reactor systems or subsystems.The dualistic contrast,known as one of the most powerful tools for optimization problems,is applied to the reliability allocation model of a typical system in this article.And the fault tree analysis,deemed to be one of the effective methods of reliability analysis,is also adopted.Thus a failure rate allocation model based on the fault tree analysis and dualistic contrast is achieved.An application on the emergency diesel generator in the nuclear power plant is given to illustrate the proposed method.

Method-independent, Computationally Frugal Convergence Testing for Sensitivity Analysis Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Mai, J.; Tolson, B.

2017-12-01

The increasing complexity and runtime of environmental models lead to the current situation that the calibration of all model parameters or the estimation of all of their uncertainty is often computationally infeasible. Hence, techniques to determine the sensitivity of model parameters are used to identify most important parameters. All subsequent model calibrations or uncertainty estimation procedures focus then only on these subsets of parameters and are hence less computational demanding. While the examination of the convergence of calibration and uncertainty methods is state-of-the-art, the convergence of the sensitivity methods is usually not checked. If any, bootstrapping of the sensitivity results is used to determine the reliability of the estimated indexes. Bootstrapping, however, might as well become computationally expensive in case of large model outputs and a high number of bootstraps. We, therefore, present a Model Variable Augmentation (MVA) approach to check the convergence of sensitivity indexes without performing any additional model run. This technique is method- and model-independent. It can be applied either during the sensitivity analysis (SA) or afterwards. The latter case enables the checking of already processed sensitivity indexes. To demonstrate the method's independency of the convergence testing method, we applied it to two widely used, global SA methods: the screening method known as Morris method or Elementary Effects (Morris 1991) and the variance-based Sobol' method (Solbol' 1993). The new convergence testing method is first scrutinized using 12 analytical benchmark functions (Cuntz & Mai et al. 2015) where the true indexes of aforementioned three methods are known. This proof of principle shows that the method reliably determines the uncertainty of the SA results when different budgets are used for the SA. The results show that the new frugal method is able to test the convergence and therefore the reliability of SA results in an

Reliability analysis of protection system of advanced pressurized water reactor - APR 1400

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varde, P. V.; Choi, J. G.; Lee, D. Y.; Han, J. B.

2003-04-01

Reliability analysis was carried out for the protection system of the Korean Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor - APR 1400. The main focus of this study was the reliability analysis of digital protection system, however, towards giving an integrated statement of complete protection reliability an attempt has been made to include the shutdown devices and other related aspects based on the information available to date. The sensitivity analysis has been carried out for the critical components / functions in the system. Other aspects like importance analysis and human error reliability for the critical human actions form part of this work. The framework provided by this study and the results obtained shows that this analysis has potential to be utilized as part of risk informed approach for future design / regulatory applications

Application of Bayesian Belief networks to the human reliability analysis of an oil tanker operation focusing on collision accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martins, Marcelo Ramos; Maturana, Marcos Coelho

2013-01-01

During the last three decades, several techniques have been developed for the quantitative study of human reliability. In the 1980s, techniques were developed to model systems by means of binary trees, which did not allow for the representation of the context in which human actions occur. Thus, these techniques cannot model the representation of individuals, their interrelationships, and the dynamics of a system. These issues make the improvement of methods for Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) a pressing need. To eliminate or at least attenuate these limitations, some authors have proposed modeling systems using Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs). The application of these tools is expected to address many of the deficiencies in current approaches to modeling human actions with binary trees. This paper presents a methodology based on BBN for analyzing human reliability and applies this method to the operation of an oil tanker, focusing on the risk of collision accidents. The obtained model was used to determine the most likely sequence of hazardous events and thus isolate critical activities in the operation of the ship to study Internal Factors (IFs), Skills, and Management and Organizational Factors (MOFs) that should receive more attention for risk reduction.

Modeling and reliability analysis of three phase z-source AC-AC converter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prasad Hanuman

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the small signal modeling using the state space averaging technique and reliability analysis of a three-phase z-source ac-ac converter. By controlling the shoot-through duty ratio, it can operate in buck-boost mode and maintain desired output voltage during voltage sag and surge condition. It has faster dynamic response and higher efficiency as compared to the traditional voltage regulator. Small signal analysis derives different control transfer functions and this leads to design a suitable controller for a closed loop system during supply voltage variation. The closed loop system of the converter with a PID controller eliminates the transients in output voltage and provides steady state regulated output. The proposed model designed in the RT-LAB and executed in a field programming gate array (FPGA-based real-time digital simulator at a fixedtime step of 10 μs and a constant switching frequency of 10 kHz. The simulator was developed using very high speed integrated circuit hardware description language (VHDL, making it versatile and moveable. Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL simulation results are presented to justify the MATLAB simulation results during supply voltage variation of the three phase z-source ac-ac converter. The reliability analysis has been applied to the converter to find out the failure rate of its different components.

Reliability analysis of diverse safety logic systems of fast breeder reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravi Kumar, Bh.; Apte, P.R.; Srivani, L.; Ilango Sambasivan, S.; Swaminathan, P.

2006-01-01

Safety Logic for Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) is designed to initiate safety action against Design Basis Events. Based on the outputs of various processing circuits, Safety logic system drives the control rods of the shutdown system. So, Safety Logic system is classified as safety critical system. Therefore, reliability analysis has to be performed. This paper discusses the Reliability analysis of Diverse Safety logic systems of FBRs. For this literature survey on safety critical systems, system reliability approach and standards to be followed like IEC-61508 are discussed in detail. For Programmable Logic device based systems, Hardware Description Languages (HDL) are used. So this paper also discusses the Verification and Validation for HDLs. Finally a case study for the Reliability analysis of Safety logic is discussed. (author)

Reliability analysis of safety systems of nuclear power plant and utility experience with reliability safeguarding of systems during specified normal operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balfanz, H.P.

1989-01-01

The paper gives an outline of the methods applied for reliability analysis of safety systems in nuclear power plant. The main tasks are to check the system design for detection of weak points, and to find possibilities of optimizing the strategies for inspection, inspection intervals, maintenance periods. Reliability safeguarding measures include the determination and verification of the broundary conditions of the analysis with regard to the reliability parameters and maintenance parameters used in the analysis, and the analysis of data feedback reflecting the plant response during operation. (orig.) [de

Reliability-Based Robustness Analysis for a Croatian Sports Hall

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Čizmar, Dean; Kirkegaard, Poul Henning; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

2011-01-01

This paper presents a probabilistic approach for structural robustness assessment for a timber structure built a few years ago. The robustness analysis is based on a structural reliability based framework for robustness and a simplified mechanical system modelling of a timber truss system....... A complex timber structure with a large number of failure modes is modelled with only a few dominant failure modes. First, a component based robustness analysis is performed based on the reliability indices of the remaining elements after the removal of selected critical elements. The robustness...... is expressed and evaluated by a robustness index. Next, the robustness is assessed using system reliability indices where the probabilistic failure model is modelled by a series system of parallel systems....

Human factors reliability benchmark exercise, report of the SRD participation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waters, Trevor

1988-01-01

Within the scope of the Human Factors Reliability Benchmark Exercise, organised by the Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy, the Safety and Reliability Directorate (SRD) team has performed analysis of human factors in two different activities - a routine test and a non-routine operational transient. For both activities, an 'FMEA-like' task, potential errors, and the factors which affect performance. For analysis of the non-routine activity, which involved a significant amount of cognitive processing, such as diagnosis and decision making, a new approach for qualitative analysis has been developed. Modelling has been performed using both event trees and fault trees and examples are provided. Human error probabilities were estimated using the methods Absolute Probability Judgement (APJ), Human Cognitive Reliability Method (HCR), Human Error and Assessment and Reduction Technique (HEART), Success-Likelihood Index Method (SLIM), Technica Empiriza Stima Eurori Operatori (TESEO), and Technique for Human Error Rate Prediction (THERP). A discussion is provided of the lessons learnt in the course of the exercise and unresolved difficulties in the assessment of human reliability. (author)

Reliability analysis of prestressed concrete containment structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, J.; Zhao, Y.; Sun, J.

1993-01-01

The reliability analysis of prestressed concrete containment structures subjected to combinations of static and dynamic loads with consideration of uncertainties of structural and load parameters is presented. Limit state probabilities for given parameters are calculated using the procedure developed at BNL, while that with consideration of parameter uncertainties are calculated by a fast integration for time variant structural reliability. The limit state surface of the prestressed concrete containment is constructed directly incorporating the prestress. The sensitivities of the Choleskey decomposition matrix and the natural vibration character are calculated by simplified procedures. (author)

Modeling and Analysis of Component Faults and Reliability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Le Guilly, Thibaut; Olsen, Petur; Ravn, Anders Peter

2016-01-01

This chapter presents a process to design and validate models of reactive systems in the form of communicating timed automata. The models are extended with faults associated with probabilities of occurrence. This enables a fault tree analysis of the system using minimal cut sets that are automati......This chapter presents a process to design and validate models of reactive systems in the form of communicating timed automata. The models are extended with faults associated with probabilities of occurrence. This enables a fault tree analysis of the system using minimal cut sets...... that are automatically generated. The stochastic information on the faults is used to estimate the reliability of the fault affected system. The reliability is given with respect to properties of the system state space. We illustrate the process on a concrete example using the Uppaal model checker for validating...... the ideal system model and the fault modeling. Then the statistical version of the tool, UppaalSMC, is used to find reliability estimates....

Monte Carlo reliability analysis of tophat stiffened composite plate structures under out of plane loading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sobey, A.J.; Blake, J.I.R.; Shenoi, R.A.

2013-01-01

Composite materials are often utilised for their high strength to weight ratio, excellent corrosion resistance, etc. but are also characterised by variabilities and uncertainties in their mechanical properties owing to the material make-up, process and fabrication techniques. It is essential that modelling techniques continue to be developed to take account of these variabilities and uncertainties and as more complicated structures are developed it is important to have rapid assessment methods to determine the reliability of these structures. Grillage analysis methods have been previously used for assessment of tophat stiffened composite structures using simple failure criteria. As new criteria are introduced, such as by the World Wide Failure Exercise, the response of more complex topologies must be introduced. This paper therefore assesses the reliability of composite grillages using Navier grillage method incorporating up to date failure criteria. An example, taken from boatbuilding, is used to show the results of using these more complex assessment methods showing that it is of high importance to use the correct assessment criteria.

Distribution-level electricity reliability: Temporal trends using statistical analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eto, Joseph H.; LaCommare, Kristina H.; Larsen, Peter; Todd, Annika; Fisher, Emily

2012-01-01

This paper helps to address the lack of comprehensive, national-scale information on the reliability of the U.S. electric power system by assessing trends in U.S. electricity reliability based on the information reported by the electric utilities on power interruptions experienced by their customers. The research analyzes up to 10 years of electricity reliability information collected from 155 U.S. electric utilities, which together account for roughly 50% of total U.S. electricity sales. We find that reported annual average duration and annual average frequency of power interruptions have been increasing over time at a rate of approximately 2% annually. We find that, independent of this trend, installation or upgrade of an automated outage management system is correlated with an increase in the reported annual average duration of power interruptions. We also find that reliance on IEEE Standard 1366-2003 is correlated with higher reported reliability compared to reported reliability not using the IEEE standard. However, we caution that we cannot attribute reliance on the IEEE standard as having caused or led to higher reported reliability because we could not separate the effect of reliance on the IEEE standard from other utility-specific factors that may be correlated with reliance on the IEEE standard. - Highlights: ► We assess trends in electricity reliability based on the information reported by the electric utilities. ► We use rigorous statistical techniques to account for utility-specific differences. ► We find modest declines in reliability analyzing interruption duration and frequency experienced by utility customers. ► Installation or upgrade of an OMS is correlated to an increase in reported duration of power interruptions. ► We find reliance in IEEE Standard 1366 is correlated with higher reported reliability.

Reliability analysis of wind embedded power generation system for ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper presents a method for Reliability Analysis of wind energy embedded in power generation system for Indian scenario. This is done by evaluating the reliability index, loss of load expectation, for the power generation system with and without integration of wind energy sources in the overall electric power system.

Reliability analysis for thermal cutting method based non-explosive separation device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Jun Woo; Hwang, Kuk Ha; Kim, Byung Kyu

2016-01-01

In order to increase the reliability of a separation device for a small satellite, a new non-explosive separation device is invented. This device is activated using a thermal cutting method with a Ni-Cr wire. A reliability analysis is carried out for the proposed non-explosive separation device by applying the Fault tree analysis (FTA) method. In the FTA results for the separation device, only ten single-point failure modes are found. The reliability modeling and analysis for the device are performed considering failure of the power supply, the Ni-Cr wire burns failure and unwinds, the holder separation failure, the balls separation failure, and the pin release failure. Ultimately, the reliability of the proposed device is calculated as 0.999989 with five Ni-Cr wire coils

Reliability analysis for thermal cutting method based non-explosive separation device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Jun Woo; Hwang, Kuk Ha; Kim, Byung Kyu [Korea Aerospace University, Goyang (Korea, Republic of)

2016-12-15

In order to increase the reliability of a separation device for a small satellite, a new non-explosive separation device is invented. This device is activated using a thermal cutting method with a Ni-Cr wire. A reliability analysis is carried out for the proposed non-explosive separation device by applying the Fault tree analysis (FTA) method. In the FTA results for the separation device, only ten single-point failure modes are found. The reliability modeling and analysis for the device are performed considering failure of the power supply, the Ni-Cr wire burns failure and unwinds, the holder separation failure, the balls separation failure, and the pin release failure. Ultimately, the reliability of the proposed device is calculated as 0.999989 with five Ni-Cr wire coils.

Application of Kaplan-Meier analysis in reliability evaluation of products cast from aluminium alloys

OpenAIRE

J. Szymszal; A. Gierek; J. Kliś

2010-01-01

The article evaluates the reliability of AlSi17CuNiMg alloys using Kaplan-Meier-based technique, very popular as a survival estimation tool in medical science. The main object of survival analysis is a group (or groups) of units for which the time of occurrence of an event (failure) taking place after some time of waiting is estimated. For example, in medicine, the failure can be patient’s death. In this study, the failure was the specimen fracture during a periodical fatigue test, while the ...

Pattern of alveolar bone loss and reliability of measurements with the radiographic technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rise, J.; Albandar, J.M.

1988-01-01

The purposes of this paper were to study the pattern of bone loss among different teeth at the individual level and to study the effect of using different aggregated units of analysis on measurement error. Bone loss was assessed in standardized periapical radiographs from 293 subjects (18-68 years), and the mean bone loss score for each tooth type was calculated. These were then correlated by means of factor analysis to study the bone loss pattern. Reliability (measurement error) was studied by the internal consistency and the test-retest methods. The pattern of bone loss showed a unidimensional pattern, indicating that any tooth will work equally well as a dependent variable for epidemiologic descriptive purposes. However, a more thorough analysis also showed a multidimensional pattern in terms of four dimensions, which correspond to four tooth groups: incisors, upper premolars, lower premolars and molars. The four dimensions accounted for 80% of the toal variance. The multidimensional pattern may be important for the modeling of bone loss; thus different models may explain the four dimension (indices) used as dependent variables. The reliability (internal consistency) of the four indices was satisfactory. By the test-retest method, reliability was higher when the more aggregated unit (the individual) was used

User's guide to the Reliability Estimation System Testbed (REST)

Science.gov (United States)

Nicol, David M.; Palumbo, Daniel L.; Rifkin, Adam

1992-01-01

The Reliability Estimation System Testbed is an X-window based reliability modeling tool that was created to explore the use of the Reliability Modeling Language (RML). RML was defined to support several reliability analysis techniques including modularization, graphical representation, Failure Mode Effects Simulation (FMES), and parallel processing. These techniques are most useful in modeling large systems. Using modularization, an analyst can create reliability models for individual system components. The modules can be tested separately and then combined to compute the total system reliability. Because a one-to-one relationship can be established between system components and the reliability modules, a graphical user interface may be used to describe the system model. RML was designed to permit message passing between modules. This feature enables reliability modeling based on a run time simulation of the system wide effects of a component's failure modes. The use of failure modes effects simulation enhances the analyst's ability to correctly express system behavior when using the modularization approach to reliability modeling. To alleviate the computation bottleneck often found in large reliability models, REST was designed to take advantage of parallel processing on hypercube processors.

Comparison of methods for dependency determination between human failure events within human reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cepis, M.

2007-01-01

The Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) is a highly subjective evaluation of human performance, which is an input for probabilistic safety assessment, which deals with many parameters of high uncertainty. The objective of this paper is to show that subjectivism can have a large impact on human reliability results and consequently on probabilistic safety assessment results and applications. The objective is to identify the key features, which may decrease of subjectivity of human reliability analysis. Human reliability methods are compared with focus on dependency comparison between Institute Jozef Stefan - Human Reliability Analysis (IJS-HRA) and Standardized Plant Analysis Risk Human Reliability Analysis (SPAR-H). Results show large differences in the calculated human error probabilities for the same events within the same probabilistic safety assessment, which are the consequence of subjectivity. The subjectivity can be reduced by development of more detailed guidelines for human reliability analysis with many practical examples for all steps of the process of evaluation of human performance. (author)

Comparison of Methods for Dependency Determination between Human Failure Events within Human Reliability Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cepin, M.

2008-01-01

The human reliability analysis (HRA) is a highly subjective evaluation of human performance, which is an input for probabilistic safety assessment, which deals with many parameters of high uncertainty. The objective of this paper is to show that subjectivism can have a large impact on human reliability results and consequently on probabilistic safety assessment results and applications. The objective is to identify the key features, which may decrease subjectivity of human reliability analysis. Human reliability methods are compared with focus on dependency comparison between Institute Jozef Stefan human reliability analysis (IJS-HRA) and standardized plant analysis risk human reliability analysis (SPAR-H). Results show large differences in the calculated human error probabilities for the same events within the same probabilistic safety assessment, which are the consequence of subjectivity. The subjectivity can be reduced by development of more detailed guidelines for human reliability analysis with many practical examples for all steps of the process of evaluation of human performance

Human reliability analysis of performing tasks in plants based on fuzzy integral

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Washio, Takashi; Kitamura, Yutaka; Takahashi, Hideaki

1991-01-01

The effective improvement of the human working conditions in nuclear power plants might be a solution for the enhancement of the operation safety. The human reliability analysis (HRA) gives a methodological basis of the improvement based on the evaluation of human reliability under various working conditions. This study investigates some difficulties of the human reliability analysis using conventional linear models and recent fuzzy integral models, and provides some solutions to the difficulties. The following practical features of the provided methods are confirmed in comparison with the conventional methods: (1) Applicability to various types of tasks (2) Capability of evaluating complicated dependencies among working condition factors (3) A priori human reliability evaluation based on a systematic task analysis of human action processes (4) A conversion scheme to probability from indices representing human reliability. (author)

Reliability Analysis and Optimal Design of Monolithic Vertical Wall Breakwaters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, John Dalsgaard; Burcharth, Hans F.; Christiani, E.

1994-01-01

Reliability analysis and reliability-based design of monolithic vertical wall breakwaters are considered. Probabilistic models of the most important failure modes, sliding failure, failure of the foundation and overturning failure are described . Relevant design variables are identified...

Reliability data collection and use in risk and availability assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colombari, V.

1989-01-01

For EuReDatA it is a prevailing objective to initiate and support contact between experts, companies and institutions active in reliability engineering and research. Main topics of this 6th EuReDatA Conference are: Reliability data banks; incidents data banks; common cause data; source and propagation of uncertainties; computer aided risk analysis; reliability and incidents data acquisition and processing; human reliability; probabilistic safety and availability assessment; feedback of reliability into system design; data fusion; reliability modeling and techniques; structural and mechanical reliability; consequence modeling; software and electronic reliability; reliability tests. Some conference papers are separately indexed in the database. (HP)

Reliability importance analysis of Markovian systems at steady state using perturbation analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Phuc Do Van [Institut Charles Delaunay - FRE CNRS 2848, Systems Modeling and Dependability Group, Universite de technologie de Troyes, 12, rue Marie Curie, BP 2060-10010 Troyes cedex (France); Barros, Anne [Institut Charles Delaunay - FRE CNRS 2848, Systems Modeling and Dependability Group, Universite de technologie de Troyes, 12, rue Marie Curie, BP 2060-10010 Troyes cedex (France)], E-mail: anne.barros@utt.fr; Berenguer, Christophe [Institut Charles Delaunay - FRE CNRS 2848, Systems Modeling and Dependability Group, Universite de technologie de Troyes, 12, rue Marie Curie, BP 2060-10010 Troyes cedex (France)

2008-11-15

Sensitivity analysis has been primarily defined for static systems, i.e. systems described by combinatorial reliability models (fault or event trees). Several structural and probabilistic measures have been proposed to assess the components importance. For dynamic systems including inter-component and functional dependencies (cold spare, shared load, shared resources, etc.), and described by Markov models or, more generally, by discrete events dynamic systems models, the problem of sensitivity analysis remains widely open. In this paper, the perturbation method is used to estimate an importance factor, called multi-directional sensitivity measure, in the framework of Markovian systems. Some numerical examples are introduced to show why this method offers a promising tool for steady-state sensitivity analysis of Markov processes in reliability studies.

Reliability importance analysis of Markovian systems at steady state using perturbation analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phuc Do Van; Barros, Anne; Berenguer, Christophe

2008-01-01

Sensitivity analysis has been primarily defined for static systems, i.e. systems described by combinatorial reliability models (fault or event trees). Several structural and probabilistic measures have been proposed to assess the components importance. For dynamic systems including inter-component and functional dependencies (cold spare, shared load, shared resources, etc.), and described by Markov models or, more generally, by discrete events dynamic systems models, the problem of sensitivity analysis remains widely open. In this paper, the perturbation method is used to estimate an importance factor, called multi-directional sensitivity measure, in the framework of Markovian systems. Some numerical examples are introduced to show why this method offers a promising tool for steady-state sensitivity analysis of Markov processes in reliability studies

A study of operational and testing reliability in software reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, B.; Xie, M.

2000-01-01

Software reliability is an important aspect of any complex equipment today. Software reliability is usually estimated based on reliability models such as nonhomogeneous Poisson process (NHPP) models. Software systems are improving in testing phase, while it normally does not change in operational phase. Depending on whether the reliability is to be predicted for testing phase or operation phase, different measure should be used. In this paper, two different reliability concepts, namely, the operational reliability and the testing reliability, are clarified and studied in detail. These concepts have been mixed up or even misused in some existing literature. Using different reliability concept will lead to different reliability values obtained and it will further lead to different reliability-based decisions made. The difference of the estimated reliabilities is studied and the effect on the optimal release time is investigated

Reliability Testing Using the Vehicle Durability Simulator

Science.gov (United States)

2017-11-20

techniques are employed to reduce test and simulation time. Through application of these processes and techniques the reliability characteristics...remote parameter control (RPC) software. The software is specifically designed for the data collection, analysis, and simulation processes outlined in...the selection process for determining the desired runs for simulation . 4.3 Drive File Development. After the data have been reviewed and

Beyond reliability, multi-state failure analysis of satellite subsystems: A statistical approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castet, Jean-Francois; Saleh, Joseph H.

2010-01-01

Reliability is widely recognized as a critical design attribute for space systems. In recent articles, we conducted nonparametric analyses and Weibull fits of satellite and satellite subsystems reliability for 1584 Earth-orbiting satellites launched between January 1990 and October 2008. In this paper, we extend our investigation of failures of satellites and satellite subsystems beyond the binary concept of reliability to the analysis of their anomalies and multi-state failures. In reliability analysis, the system or subsystem under study is considered to be either in an operational or failed state; multi-state failure analysis introduces 'degraded states' or partial failures, and thus provides more insights through finer resolution into the degradation behavior of an item and its progression towards complete failure. The database used for the statistical analysis in the present work identifies five states for each satellite subsystem: three degraded states, one fully operational state, and one failed state (complete failure). Because our dataset is right-censored, we calculate the nonparametric probability of transitioning between states for each satellite subsystem with the Kaplan-Meier estimator, and we derive confidence intervals for each probability of transitioning between states. We then conduct parametric Weibull fits of these probabilities using the Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) approach. After validating the results, we compare the reliability versus multi-state failure analyses of three satellite subsystems: the thruster/fuel; the telemetry, tracking, and control (TTC); and the gyro/sensor/reaction wheel subsystems. The results are particularly revealing of the insights that can be gleaned from multi-state failure analysis and the deficiencies, or blind spots, of the traditional reliability analysis. In addition to the specific results provided here, which should prove particularly useful to the space industry, this work highlights the importance

Reliability analysis of the automatic control and power supply of reactor equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monori, Pal; Nagy, J.A.; Meszaros, Zoltan; Konkoly, Laszlo; Szabo, Antal; Nagy, Laszlo

1988-01-01

Based on reliability analysis the shortcomings of nuclear facilities are discovered. Fault tree types constructed for the technology of automatic control and for power supply serve as input data of the ORCHARD 2 computer code. In order to charaterize the reliability of the system, availability, failure rates and time intervals between failures are calculated. The results of the reliability analysis of the feedwater system of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant showed that the system consisted of elements of similar reliabilities. (V.N.) 8 figs.; 3 tabs

Integration of human reliability analysis into the probabilistic risk assessment process: Phase 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bell, B.J.; Vickroy, S.C.

1984-10-01

A research program was initiated to develop a testable set of analytical procedures for integrating human reliability analysis (HRA) into the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) process to more adequately assess the overall impact of human performance on risk. In this three-phase program, stand-alone HRA/PRA analytic procedures will be developed and field evaluated to provide improved methods, techniques, and models for applying quantitative and qualitative human error data which systematically integrate HRA principles, techniques, and analyses throughout the entire PRA process. Phase 1 of the program involved analysis of state-of-the-art PRAs to define the structures and processes currently in use in the industry. Phase 2 research will involve developing a new or revised PRA methodology which will enable more efficient regulation of the industry using quantitative or qualitative results of the PRA. Finally, Phase 3 will be to field test those procedures to assure that the results generated by the new methodologies will be usable and acceptable to the NRC. This paper briefly describes the first phase of the program and outlines the second

Probabilistic safety analysis and human reliability analysis. Proceedings. Working material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

An international meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) and Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) was jointly organized by Electricite de France - Research and Development (EDF DER) and SRI International in co-ordination with the International Atomic Energy Agency. The meeting was held in Paris 21-23 November 1994. A group of international and French specialists in PSA and HRA participated at the meeting and discussed the state of the art and current trends in the following six topics: PSA Methodology; PSA Applications; From PSA to Dependability; Incident Analysis; Safety Indicators; Human Reliability. For each topic a background paper was prepared by EDF/DER and reviewed by the international group of specialists who attended the meeting. The results of this meeting provide a comprehensive overview of the most important questions related to the readiness of PSA for specific uses and areas where further research and development is required. Refs, figs, tabs

Probabilistic safety analysis and human reliability analysis. Proceedings. Working material

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-12-31

An international meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) and Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) was jointly organized by Electricite de France - Research and Development (EDF DER) and SRI International in co-ordination with the International Atomic Energy Agency. The meeting was held in Paris 21-23 November 1994. A group of international and French specialists in PSA and HRA participated at the meeting and discussed the state of the art and current trends in the following six topics: PSA Methodology; PSA Applications; From PSA to Dependability; Incident Analysis; Safety Indicators; Human Reliability. For each topic a background paper was prepared by EDF/DER and reviewed by the international group of specialists who attended the meeting. The results of this meeting provide a comprehensive overview of the most important questions related to the readiness of PSA for specific uses and areas where further research and development is required. Refs, figs, tabs.

Structural reliability analysis applied to pipeline risk analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gardiner, M. [GL Industrial Services, Loughborough (United Kingdom); Mendes, Renato F.; Donato, Guilherme V.P. [PETROBRAS S.A., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2009-07-01

Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) of pipelines requires two main components to be provided. These are models of the consequences that follow from some loss of containment incident, and models for the likelihood of such incidents occurring. This paper describes how PETROBRAS have used Structural Reliability Analysis for the second of these, to provide pipeline- and location-specific predictions of failure frequency for a number of pipeline assets. This paper presents an approach to estimating failure rates for liquid and gas pipelines, using Structural Reliability Analysis (SRA) to analyze the credible basic mechanisms of failure such as corrosion and mechanical damage. SRA is a probabilistic limit state method: for a given failure mechanism it quantifies the uncertainty in parameters to mathematical models of the load-resistance state of a structure and then evaluates the probability of load exceeding resistance. SRA can be used to benefit the pipeline risk management process by optimizing in-line inspection schedules, and as part of the design process for new construction in pipeline rights of way that already contain multiple lines. A case study is presented to show how the SRA approach has recently been used on PETROBRAS pipelines and the benefits obtained from it. (author)

Rapid analysis of molybdenum contents in molybdenum master alloys by X-ray fluorescence technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tongkong, P.

1985-01-01

Determination of molybdenum contents in molybdenum master alloy had been performed using energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDX) technique where analysis were made via standard additions and calibration curves. Comparison of EDX technique with other analyzing techniques, i.e., wavelength dispersive x-ray fluorescence, neutron activation analysis and inductive coupled plasma spectrometry, showed consistency in the results. This technique was found to yield reliable results when molybdenum contents in master alloys were in the range of 13 to 50 percent using HPGe detector or proportional counter. When the required error was set at 1%, the minimum analyzing time was found to be 30 and 60 seconds for Fe-Mo master alloys with molybdenum content of 13.54 and 49.09 percent respectively. For Al-Mo master alloys, the minimum times required were 120 and 300 seconds with molybdenum content of 15.22 and 47.26 percent respectively

Reliability Analysis of Wireless Sensor Networks Using Markovian Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Zhu

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates reliability analysis of wireless sensor networks whose topology is switching among possible connections which are governed by a Markovian chain. We give the quantized relations between network topology, data acquisition rate, nodes' calculation ability, and network reliability. By applying Lyapunov method, sufficient conditions of network reliability are proposed for such topology switching networks with constant or varying data acquisition rate. With the conditions satisfied, the quantity of data transported over wireless network node will not exceed node capacity such that reliability is ensured. Our theoretical work helps to provide a deeper understanding of real-world wireless sensor networks, which may find its application in the fields of network design and topology control.

Task analysis and computer aid development for human reliability analysis in nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoon, W. C.; Kim, H.; Park, H. S.; Choi, H. H.; Moon, J. M.; Heo, J. Y.; Ham, D. H.; Lee, K. K.; Han, B. T. [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejeon (Korea)

2001-04-01

Importance of human reliability analysis (HRA) that predicts the error's occurrence possibility in a quantitative and qualitative manners is gradually increased by human errors' effects on the system's safety. HRA needs a task analysis as a virtue step, but extant task analysis techniques have the problem that a collection of information about the situation, which the human error occurs, depends entirely on HRA analyzers. The problem makes results of the task analysis inconsistent and unreliable. To complement such problem, KAERI developed the structural information analysis (SIA) that helps to analyze task's structure and situations systematically. In this study, the SIA method was evaluated by HRA experts, and a prototype computerized supporting system named CASIA (Computer Aid for SIA) was developed for the purpose of supporting to perform HRA using the SIA method. Additionally, through applying the SIA method to emergency operating procedures, we derived generic task types used in emergency and accumulated the analysis results in the database of the CASIA. The CASIA is expected to help HRA analyzers perform the analysis more easily and consistently. If more analyses will be performed and more data will be accumulated to the CASIA's database, HRA analyzers can share freely and spread smoothly his or her analysis experiences, and there by the quality of the HRA analysis will be improved. 35 refs., 38 figs., 25 tabs. (Author)

Analysis of sodium valve reliability data at CREDO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bott, T.F.; Haas, P.M.

1979-01-01

The Centralized Reliability Data Organization (CREDO) has been established at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) by the Department of Energy to provide a centralized source of data for reliability/maintainabilty analysis of advanced reactor systems. The current schedule calls for develoment of the data system at a moderate pace, with the first major distribution of data in late FY-1980. Continuous long-term collection of engineering, operating, and event data has been initiated at EBR-II and FFTF

Software reliability

CERN Document Server

Bendell, A

1986-01-01

Software Reliability reviews some fundamental issues of software reliability as well as the techniques, models, and metrics used to predict the reliability of software. Topics covered include fault avoidance, fault removal, and fault tolerance, along with statistical methods for the objective assessment of predictive accuracy. Development cost models and life-cycle cost models are also discussed. This book is divided into eight sections and begins with a chapter on adaptive modeling used to predict software reliability, followed by a discussion on failure rate in software reliability growth mo

Automated Techniques for the Qualitative Analysis of Ecological Models: Continuous Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lynn van Coller

1997-06-01

Full Text Available The mathematics required for a detailed analysis of the behavior of a model can be formidable. In this paper, I demonstrate how various computer packages can aid qualitative analyses by implementing techniques from dynamical systems theory. Because computer software is used to obtain the results, the techniques can be used by nonmathematicians as well as mathematicians. In-depth analyses of complicated models that were previously very difficult to study can now be done. Because the paper is intended as an introduction to applying the techniques to ecological models, I have included an appendix describing some of the ideas and terminology. A second appendix shows how the techniques can be applied to a fairly simple predator-prey model and establishes the reliability of the computer software. The main body of the paper discusses a ratio-dependent model. The new techniques highlight some limitations of isocline analyses in this three-dimensional setting and show that the model is structurally unstable. Another appendix describes a larger model of a sheep-pasture-hyrax-lynx system. Dynamical systems techniques are compared with a traditional sensitivity analysis and are found to give more information. As a result, an incomplete relationship in the model is highlighted. I also discuss the resilience of these models to both parameter and population perturbations.

Magnetic particle separation technique: a reliable and simple tool for RIA/IRMA and quantitative PCR assay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen Rongsen; Shen Decun

1998-01-01

Five types of magnetic particles without or with aldehyde, amino and carboxyl functional groups, respectively were used to immobilize first or second antibody by three models, i. e. physical adsorption, chemical coupling and immuno-affinity, forming four types of magnetic particle antibodies. The second antibody immobilized on polyacrolein magnetic particles through aldehyde functional groups and the first antibodies immobilized on carboxylic polystyrene magnetic particles through carboxyl functional groups were recommended to apply to RIAs and/or IRMAs. Streptavidin immobilized on commercial magnetic particles through amino functional groups was successfully applied to separating specific PCR product for quantification of human cytomegalovirus. In the paper typical data on reliability of these magnetic particle ligands were reported and simplicity of the magnetic particle separation technique was discussed. The results showed that the technique was a reliable and simple tool for RIA/IRMA and quantitative PCR assay. (author)

Interim reliability evaluation program (IREP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carlson, D.D.; Murphy, J.A.

1981-01-01

The Interim Reliability Evaluation Program (IREP), sponsored by the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, is currently applying probabilistic risk analysis techniques to two PWR and two BWR type power plants. Emphasis was placed on the systems analysis portion of the risk assessment, as opposed to accident phenomenology or consequence analysis, since the identification of risk significant plant features was of primary interest. Traditional event tree/fault tree modeling was used for the analysis. However, the study involved a more thorough investigation of transient initiators and of support system faults than studies in the past and substantially improved techniques were used to quantify accident sequence frequencies. This study also attempted to quantify the potential for operator recovery actions in the course of each significant accident

The relationship between cost estimates reliability and BIM adoption: SEM analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Ismail, N. A. A.; Idris, N. H.; Ramli, H.; Rooshdi, R. R. Raja Muhammad; Sahamir, S. R.

2018-02-01

This paper presents the usage of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach in analysing the effects of Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology adoption in improving the reliability of cost estimates. Based on the questionnaire survey results, SEM analysis using SPSS-AMOS application examined the relationships between BIM-improved information and cost estimates reliability factors, leading to BIM technology adoption. Six hypotheses were established prior to SEM analysis employing two types of SEM models, namely the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) model and full structural model. The SEM models were then validated through the assessment on their uni-dimensionality, validity, reliability, and fitness index, in line with the hypotheses tested. The final SEM model fit measures are: P-value=0.000, RMSEA=0.0790.90, TLI=0.956>0.90, NFI=0.935>0.90 and ChiSq/df=2.259; indicating that the overall index values achieved the required level of model fitness. The model supports all the hypotheses evaluated, confirming that all relationship exists amongst the constructs are positive and significant. Ultimately, the analysis verified that most of the respondents foresee better understanding of project input information through BIM visualization, its reliable database and coordinated data, in developing more reliable cost estimates. They also perceive to accelerate their cost estimating task through BIM adoption.

Adjoint sensitivity analysis procedure of Markov chains with applications on reliability of IFMIF accelerator-system facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balan, I.

2005-05-01

This work presents the implementation of the Adjoint Sensitivity Analysis Procedure (ASAP) for the Continuous Time, Discrete Space Markov chains (CTMC), as an alternative to the other computational expensive methods. In order to develop this procedure as an end product in reliability studies, the reliability of the physical systems is analyzed using a coupled Fault-Tree - Markov chain technique, i.e. the abstraction of the physical system is performed using as the high level interface the Fault-Tree and afterwards this one is automatically converted into a Markov chain. The resulting differential equations based on the Markov chain model are solved in order to evaluate the system reliability. Further sensitivity analyses using ASAP applied to CTMC equations are performed to study the influence of uncertainties in input data to the reliability measures and to get the confidence in the final reliability results. The methods to generate the Markov chain and the ASAP for the Markov chain equations have been implemented into the new computer code system QUEFT/MARKOMAGS/MCADJSEN for reliability and sensitivity analysis of physical systems. The validation of this code system has been carried out by using simple problems for which analytical solutions can be obtained. Typical sensitivity results show that the numerical solution using ASAP is robust, stable and accurate. The method and the code system developed during this work can be used further as an efficient and flexible tool to evaluate the sensitivities of reliability measures for any physical system analyzed using the Markov chain. Reliability and sensitivity analyses using these methods have been performed during this work for the IFMIF Accelerator System Facilities. The reliability studies using Markov chain have been concentrated around the availability of the main subsystems of this complex physical system for a typical mission time. The sensitivity studies for two typical responses using ASAP have been

A general software reliability process simulation technique

Science.gov (United States)

Tausworthe, Robert C.

1991-01-01

The structure and rationale of the generalized software reliability process, together with the design and implementation of a computer program that simulates this process are described. Given assumed parameters of a particular project, the users of this program are able to generate simulated status timelines of work products, numbers of injected anomalies, and the progress of testing, fault isolation, repair, validation, and retest. Such timelines are useful in comparison with actual timeline data, for validating the project input parameters, and for providing data for researchers in reliability prediction modeling.

Reliability analysis of self-actuated shutdown system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Itooka, S.; Kumasaka, K.; Okabe, A.; Satoh, K.; Tsukui, Y.

1991-01-01

An analytical study was performed for the reliability of a self-actuated shutdown system (SASS) under the unprotected loss of flow (ULOF) event in a typical loop-type liquid metal fast breeder reactor (LMFBR) by the use of the response surface Monte Carlo analysis method. Dominant parameters for the SASS, such as Curie point characteristics, subassembly outlet coolant temperature, electromagnetic surface condition, etc., were selected and their probability density functions (PDFs) were determined by the design study information and experimental data. To get the response surface function (RSF) for the maximum coolant temperature, transient analyses of ULOF were performed by utilizing the experimental design method in the determination of analytical cases. Then, the RSF was derived by the multi-variable regression analysis. The unreliability of the SASS was evaluated as a probability that the maximum coolant temperature exceeded an acceptable level, employing the Monte Carlo calculation using the above PDFs and RSF. In this study, sensitivities to the dominant parameter were compared. The dispersion of subassembly outlet coolant temperature near the SASS-was found to be one of the most sensitive parameters. Fault tree analysis was performed using this value for the SASS in order to evaluate the shutdown system reliability. As a result of this study, the effectiveness of the SASS on the reliability improvement in the LMFBR shutdown system was analytically confirmed. This study has been performed as a part of joint research and development projects for DFBR under the sponsorship of the nine Japanese electric power companies, Electric Power Development Company and the Japan Atomic Power Company. (author)

Reliability and normative values of the foot line test: a technique to assess foot posture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brushøj, C; Larsen, Klaus; Nielsen, MB

2007-01-01

STUDY DESIGN: Test-retest reliability. OBJECTIVE: To examine the reliability and report normative values of a novel test, the foot line test (FLT), to describe foot morphology. BACKGROUND: Numerous foot examinations are performed each day, but most existing examination techniques have considerable...... limitations regarding reliability and validity. METHODS: One hundred thirty subjects with mean foot size 44 (41-50 European size) participated. Two examiners, blinded to each other's measurements, measured the right foot of the subjects twice and the left foot once. The position of the most medial aspect...... of the navicular in the mediolateral direction was projected vertically onto a piece of paper placed under the subject's foot, and compared to the position of the forefoot and hindfoot to obtain the FLT value. RESULTS: FLT values ranged from -8 to 14 mm, with a mean (+/-SD) of 3.7 +/- 3.4 mm. The intratester...

A taxonomy for human reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beattie, J.D.; Iwasa-Madge, K.M.

1984-01-01

A human interaction taxonomy (classification scheme) was developed to facilitate human reliability analysis in a probabilistic safety evaluation of a nuclear power plant, being performed at Ontario Hydro. A human interaction occurs, by definition, when operators or maintainers manipulate, or respond to indication from, a plant component or system. The taxonomy aids the fault tree analyst by acting as a heuristic device. It helps define the range and type of human errors to be identified in the construction of fault trees, while keeping the identification by different analysts consistent. It decreases the workload associated with preliminary quantification of the large number of identified interactions by including a category called 'simple interactions'. Fault tree analysts quantify these according to a procedure developed by a team of human reliability specialists. The interactions which do not fit into this category are called 'complex' and are quantified by the human reliability team. The taxonomy is currently being used in fault tree construction in a probabilistic safety evaluation. As far as can be determined at this early stage, the potential benefits of consistency and completeness in identifying human interactions and streamlining the initial quantification are being realized

Reliability evaluation of high-performance, low-power FinFET standard cells based on mixed RBB/FBB technique

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Tian; Cui, Xiaoxin; Ni, Yewen; Liao, Kai; Liao, Nan; Yu, Dunshan; Cui, Xiaole

2017-04-01

With shrinking transistor feature size, the fin-type field-effect transistor (FinFET) has become the most promising option in low-power circuit design due to its superior capability to suppress leakage. To support the VLSI digital system flow based on logic synthesis, we have designed an optimized high-performance low-power FinFET standard cell library based on employing the mixed FBB/RBB technique in the existing stacked structure of each cell. This paper presents the reliability evaluation of the optimized cells under process and operating environment variations based on Monte Carlo analysis. The variations are modelled with Gaussian distribution of the device parameters and 10000 sweeps are conducted in the simulation to obtain the statistical properties of the worst-case delay and input-dependent leakage for each cell. For comparison, a set of non-optimal cells that adopt the same topology without employing the mixed biasing technique is also generated. Experimental results show that the optimized cells achieve standard deviation reduction of 39.1% and 30.7% at most in worst-case delay and input-dependent leakage respectively while the normalized deviation shrinking in worst-case delay and input-dependent leakage can be up to 98.37% and 24.13%, respectively, which demonstrates that our optimized cells are less sensitive to variability and exhibit more reliability. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61306040), the State Key Development Program for Basic Research of China (No. 2015CB057201), the Beijing Natural Science Foundation (No. 4152020), and Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (No. 2015A030313147).

Reliability analysis of service water system under earthquake

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Yu; Qian Xiaoming; Lu Xuefeng; Wang Shengfei; Niu Fenglei

2013-01-01

Service water system is one of the important safety systems in nuclear power plant, whose failure probability is always gained by system reliability analysis. The probability of equipment failure under the earthquake is the function of the peak acceleration of earthquake motion, while the occurrence of earthquake is of randomicity, thus the traditional fault tree method in current probability safety assessment is not powerful enough to deal with such case of conditional probability problem. An analysis frame was put forward for system reliability evaluation in seismic condition in this paper, in which Monte Carlo simulation was used to deal with conditional probability problem. Annual failure probability of service water system was calculated, and failure probability of 1.46X10 -4 per year was obtained. The analysis result is in accordance with the data which indicate equipment seismic resistance capability, and the rationality of the model is validated. (authors)

Small nuclear power reactor emergency electric power supply system reliability comparative analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonfietti, Gerson

2003-01-01

This work presents an analysis of the reliability of the emergency power supply system, of a small size nuclear power reactor. Three different configurations are investigated and their reliability analyzed. The fault tree method is used as the main tool of analysis. The work includes a bibliographic review of emergency diesel generator reliability and a discussion of the design requirements applicable to emergency electrical systems. The influence of common cause failure influences is considered using the beta factor model. The operator action is considered using human failure probabilities. A parametric analysis shows the strong dependence between the reactor safety and the loss of offsite electric power supply. It is also shown that common cause failures can be a major contributor to the system reliability. (author)

Human Reliability Analysis for In-Tank Precipitation Alignment and Startup of Emergency Purge Ventilation Equipment. Revision 3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shapiro, B.J.; Britt, T.E.

1994-10-01

This report documents the methodology used for calculating the human error probability for establishing air based ventilation using emergency purge ventilation equipment on In-Tank Precipitation (ITP) processing tanks 48 and 49 after failure of the nitrogen purge system following a seismic event. The analyses were performed according to THERP (Technique for Human Error Rate Prediction) as described in NUREG/CR-1278-F, ''Handbook of Human Reliability Analysis with Emphasis on Nuclear Power Plant Applications.'' The calculated human error probabilities are provided as input to the Fault Tree Analysis for the ITP Nitrogen Purge System

Reliability Evaluation of Machine Center Components Based on Cascading Failure Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ying-Zhi; Liu, Jin-Tong; Shen, Gui-Xiang; Long, Zhe; Sun, Shu-Guang

2017-07-01

In order to rectify the problems that the component reliability model exhibits deviation, and the evaluation result is low due to the overlook of failure propagation in traditional reliability evaluation of machine center components, a new reliability evaluation method based on cascading failure analysis and the failure influenced degree assessment is proposed. A direct graph model of cascading failure among components is established according to cascading failure mechanism analysis and graph theory. The failure influenced degrees of the system components are assessed by the adjacency matrix and its transposition, combined with the Pagerank algorithm. Based on the comprehensive failure probability function and total probability formula, the inherent failure probability function is determined to realize the reliability evaluation of the system components. Finally, the method is applied to a machine center, it shows the following: 1) The reliability evaluation values of the proposed method are at least 2.5% higher than those of the traditional method; 2) The difference between the comprehensive and inherent reliability of the system component presents a positive correlation with the failure influenced degree of the system component, which provides a theoretical basis for reliability allocation of machine center system.

Structural reliability analysis and seismic risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, H.; Reich, M.; Shinozuka, M.

1984-01-01

This paper presents a reliability analysis method for safety evaluation of nuclear structures. By utilizing this method, it is possible to estimate the limit state probability in the lifetime of structures and to generate analytically the fragility curves for PRA studies. The earthquake ground acceleration, in this approach, is represented by a segment of stationary Gaussian process with a zero mean and a Kanai-Tajimi Spectrum. All possible seismic hazard at a site represented by a hazard curve is also taken into consideration. Furthermore, the limit state of a structure is analytically defined and the corresponding limit state surface is then established. Finally, the fragility curve is generated and the limit state probability is evaluated. In this paper, using a realistic reinforced concrete containment as an example, results of the reliability analysis of the containment subjected to dead load, live load and ground earthquake acceleration are presented and a fragility curve for PRA studies is also constructed

Recent advances in computational structural reliability analysis methods

Science.gov (United States)

Thacker, Ben H.; Wu, Y.-T.; Millwater, Harry R.; Torng, Tony Y.; Riha, David S.

1993-10-01

The goal of structural reliability analysis is to determine the probability that the structure will adequately perform its intended function when operating under the given environmental conditions. Thus, the notion of reliability admits the possibility of failure. Given the fact that many different modes of failure are usually possible, achievement of this goal is a formidable task, especially for large, complex structural systems. The traditional (deterministic) design methodology attempts to assure reliability by the application of safety factors and conservative assumptions. However, the safety factor approach lacks a quantitative basis in that the level of reliability is never known and usually results in overly conservative designs because of compounding conservatisms. Furthermore, problem parameters that control the reliability are not identified, nor their importance evaluated. A summary of recent advances in computational structural reliability assessment is presented. A significant level of activity in the research and development community was seen recently, much of which was directed towards the prediction of failure probabilities for single mode failures. The focus is to present some early results and demonstrations of advanced reliability methods applied to structural system problems. This includes structures that can fail as a result of multiple component failures (e.g., a redundant truss), or structural components that may fail due to multiple interacting failure modes (e.g., excessive deflection, resonate vibration, or creep rupture). From these results, some observations and recommendations are made with regard to future research needs.

Reliability Analysis Study of Digital Reactor Protection System in Nuclear Power Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, Xiao Ming; Liu, Tao; Tong, Jie Juan; Zhao, Jun

2011-01-01

The Digital I and C systems are believed to improve a plants safety and reliability generally. The reliability analysis of digital I and C system has become one research hotspot. Traditional fault tree method is one of means to quantify the digital I and C system reliability. Review of advanced nuclear power plant AP1000 digital protection system evaluation makes clear both the fault tree application and analysis process to the digital system reliability. One typical digital protection system special for advanced reactor has been developed, which reliability evaluation is necessary for design demonstration. The typical digital protection system construction is introduced in the paper, and the process of FMEA and fault tree application to the digital protection system reliability evaluation are described. Reliability data and bypass logic modeling are two points giving special attention in the paper. Because the factors about time sequence and feedback not exist in reactor protection system obviously, the dynamic feature of digital system is not discussed

Sizing of SRAM Cell with Voltage Biasing Techniques for Reliability Enhancement of Memory and PUF Functions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chip-Hong Chang

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Static Random Access Memory (SRAM has recently been developed into a physical unclonable function (PUF for generating chip-unique signatures for hardware cryptography. The most compelling issue in designing a good SRAM-based PUF (SPUF is that while maximizing the mismatches between the transistors in the cross-coupled inverters improves the quality of the SPUF, this ironically also gives rise to increased memory read/write failures. For this reason, the memory cells of existing SPUFs cannot be reused as storage elements, which increases the overheads of cryptographic system where long signatures and high-density storage are both required. This paper presents a novel design methodology for dual-mode SRAM cell optimization. The design conflicts are resolved by using word-line voltage modulation, dynamic voltage scaling, negative bit-line and adaptive body bias techniques to compensate for reliability degradation due to transistor downsizing. The augmented circuit-level techniques expand the design space to achieve a good solution to fulfill several otherwise contradicting key design qualities for both modes of operation, as evinced by our statistical analysis and simulation results based on complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS 45 nm bulk Predictive Technology Model.

Efficient surrogate models for reliability analysis of systems with multiple failure modes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bichon, Barron J.; McFarland, John M.; Mahadevan, Sankaran

2011-01-01

Despite many advances in the field of computational reliability analysis, the efficient estimation of the reliability of a system with multiple failure modes remains a persistent challenge. Various sampling and analytical methods are available, but they typically require accepting a tradeoff between accuracy and computational efficiency. In this work, a surrogate-based approach is presented that simultaneously addresses the issues of accuracy, efficiency, and unimportant failure modes. The method is based on the creation of Gaussian process surrogate models that are required to be locally accurate only in the regions of the component limit states that contribute to system failure. This approach to constructing surrogate models is demonstrated to be both an efficient and accurate method for system-level reliability analysis. - Highlights: → Extends efficient global reliability analysis to systems with multiple failure modes. → Constructs locally accurate Gaussian process models of each response. → Highly efficient and accurate method for assessing system reliability. → Effectiveness is demonstrated on several test problems from the literature.

Exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis with missing data: A simple method for SPSS users

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruce Weaver

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Missing data is a frequent problem for researchers conducting exploratory factor analysis (EFA or reliability analysis. The SPSS FACTOR procedure allows users to select listwise deletion, pairwise deletion or mean substitution as a method for dealing with missing data. The shortcomings of these methods are well-known. Graham (2009 argues that a much better way to deal with missing data in this context is to use a matrix of expectation maximization (EM covariances(or correlations as input for the analysis. SPSS users who have the Missing Values Analysis add-on module can obtain vectors ofEM means and standard deviations plus EM correlation and covariance matrices via the MVA procedure. But unfortunately, MVA has no /MATRIX subcommand, and therefore cannot write the EM correlations directly to a matrix dataset of the type needed as input to the FACTOR and RELIABILITY procedures. We describe two macros that (in conjunction with an intervening MVA command carry out the data management steps needed to create two matrix datasets, one containing EM correlations and the other EM covariances. Either of those matrix datasets can then be used asinput to the FACTOR procedure, and the EM correlations can also be used as input to RELIABILITY. We provide an example that illustrates the use of the two macros to generate the matrix datasets and how to use those datasets as input to the FACTOR and RELIABILITY procedures. We hope that this simple method for handling missing data will prove useful to both students andresearchers who are conducting EFA or reliability analysis.

Reliability analysis of the solar array based on Fault Tree Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Jianing; Yan Shaoze

2011-01-01

The solar array is an important device used in the spacecraft, which influences the quality of in-orbit operation of the spacecraft and even the launches. This paper analyzes the reliability of the mechanical system and certifies the most vital subsystem of the solar array. The fault tree analysis (FTA) model is established according to the operating process of the mechanical system based on DFH-3 satellite; the logical expression of the top event is obtained by Boolean algebra and the reliability of the solar array is calculated. The conclusion shows that the hinges are the most vital links between the solar arrays. By analyzing the structure importance(SI) of the hinge's FTA model, some fatal causes, including faults of the seal, insufficient torque of the locking spring, temperature in space, and friction force, can be identified. Damage is the initial stage of the fault, so limiting damage is significant to prevent faults. Furthermore, recommendations for improving reliability associated with damage limitation are discussed, which can be used for the redesigning of the solar array and the reliability growth planning.

Reliability analysis of the solar array based on Fault Tree Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu Jianing; Yan Shaoze, E-mail: yansz@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Department of Precision Instruments and Mechanology, Tsinghua University,Beijing 100084 (China)

2011-07-19

The solar array is an important device used in the spacecraft, which influences the quality of in-orbit operation of the spacecraft and even the launches. This paper analyzes the reliability of the mechanical system and certifies the most vital subsystem of the solar array. The fault tree analysis (FTA) model is established according to the operating process of the mechanical system based on DFH-3 satellite; the logical expression of the top event is obtained by Boolean algebra and the reliability of the solar array is calculated. The conclusion shows that the hinges are the most vital links between the solar arrays. By analyzing the structure importance(SI) of the hinge's FTA model, some fatal causes, including faults of the seal, insufficient torque of the locking spring, temperature in space, and friction force, can be identified. Damage is the initial stage of the fault, so limiting damage is significant to prevent faults. Furthermore, recommendations for improving reliability associated with damage limitation are discussed, which can be used for the redesigning of the solar array and the reliability growth planning.

Application of SAW method for multiple-criteria comparative analysis of the reliability of heat supply organizations

Science.gov (United States)

Akhmetova, I. G.; Chichirova, N. D.

2016-12-01

Heat supply is the most energy-consuming sector of the economy. Approximately 30% of all used primary fuel-and-energy resources is spent on municipal heat-supply needs. One of the key indicators of activity of heat-supply organizations is the reliability of an energy facility. The reliability index of a heat supply organization is of interest to potential investors for assessing risks when investing in projects. The reliability indices established by the federal legislation are actually reduced to a single numerical factor, which depends on the number of heat-supply outages in connection with disturbances in operation of heat networks and the volume of their resource recovery in the calculation year. This factor is rather subjective and may change in a wide range during several years. A technique is proposed for evaluating the reliability of heat-supply organizations with the use of the simple additive weighting (SAW) method. The technique for integrated-index determination satisfies the following conditions: the reliability level of the evaluated heat-supply system is represented maximum fully and objectively; the information used for the reliability-index evaluation is easily available (is located on the Internet in accordance with demands of data-disclosure standards). For reliability estimation of heat-supply organizations, the following indicators were selected: the wear of equipment of thermal energy sources, the wear of heat networks, the number of outages of supply of thermal energy (heat carrier due to technological disturbances on heat networks per 1 km of heat networks), the number of outages of supply of thermal energy (heat carrier due to technologic disturbances on thermal energy sources per 1 Gcal/h of installed power), the share of expenditures in the cost of thermal energy aimed at recovery of the resource (renewal of fixed assets), coefficient of renewal of fixed assets, and a coefficient of fixed asset retirement. A versatile program is developed

Different techniques of multispectral data analysis for vegetation fraction retrieval

Science.gov (United States)

Kancheva, Rumiana; Georgiev, Georgi

2012-07-01

Vegetation monitoring is one of the most important applications of remote sensing technologies. In respect to farmlands, the assessment of crop condition constitutes the basis of growth, development, and yield processes monitoring. Plant condition is defined by a set of biometric variables, such as density, height, biomass amount, leaf area index, and etc. The canopy cover fraction is closely related to these variables, and is state-indicative of the growth process. At the same time it is a defining factor of the soil-vegetation system spectral signatures. That is why spectral mixtures decomposition is a primary objective in remotely sensed data processing and interpretation, specifically in agricultural applications. The actual usefulness of the applied methods depends on their prediction reliability. The goal of this paper is to present and compare different techniques for quantitative endmember extraction from soil-crop patterns reflectance. These techniques include: linear spectral unmixing, two-dimensional spectra analysis, spectral ratio analysis (vegetation indices), spectral derivative analysis (red edge position), colorimetric analysis (tristimulus values sum, chromaticity coordinates and dominant wavelength). The objective is to reveal their potential, accuracy and robustness for plant fraction estimation from multispectral data. Regression relationships have been established between crop canopy cover and various spectral estimators.

Kuhn-Tucker optimization based reliability analysis for probabilistic finite elements

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, W. K.; Besterfield, G.; Lawrence, M.; Belytschko, T.

1988-01-01

The fusion of probability finite element method (PFEM) and reliability analysis for fracture mechanics is considered. Reliability analysis with specific application to fracture mechanics is presented, and computational procedures are discussed. Explicit expressions for the optimization procedure with regard to fracture mechanics are given. The results show the PFEM is a very powerful tool in determining the second-moment statistics. The method can determine the probability of failure or fracture subject to randomness in load, material properties and crack length, orientation, and location.

Test-retest reliability of trunk accelerometric gait analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henriksen, Marius; Lund, Hans; Moe-Nilssen, R

2004-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the test-retest reliability of a trunk accelerometric gait analysis in healthy subjects. Accelerations were measured during walking using a triaxial accelerometer mounted on the lumbar spine of the subjects. Six men and 14 women (mean age 35.2; range 18...... a definite potential in clinical gait analysis....

Application of human reliability analysis methodology of second generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruiz S, T. de J.; Nelson E, P. F.

2009-10-01

The human reliability analysis (HRA) is a very important part of probabilistic safety analysis. The main contribution of HRA in nuclear power plants is the identification and characterization of the issues that are brought together for an error occurring in the human tasks that occur under normal operation conditions and those made after abnormal event. Additionally, the analysis of various accidents in history, it was found that the human component has been a contributing factor in the cause. Because of need to understand the forms and probability of human error in the 60 decade begins with the collection of generic data that result in the development of the first generation of HRA methodologies. Subsequently develop methods to include in their models additional performance shaping factors and the interaction between them. So by the 90 mid, comes what is considered the second generation methodologies. Among these is the methodology A Technique for Human Event Analysis (ATHEANA). The application of this method in a generic human failure event, it is interesting because it includes in its modeling commission error, the additional deviations quantification to nominal scenario considered in the accident sequence of probabilistic safety analysis and, for this event the dependency actions evaluation. That is, the generic human failure event was required first independent evaluation of the two related human failure events . So the gathering of the new human error probabilities involves the nominal scenario quantification and cases of significant deviations considered by the potential impact on analyzed human failure events. Like probabilistic safety analysis, with the analysis of the sequences were extracted factors more specific with the highest contribution in the human error probabilities. (Author)

Reliability analysis of maintenance operations for railway tracks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rhayma, N.; Bressolette, Ph.; Breul, P.; Fogli, M.; Saussine, G.

2013-01-01

Railway engineering is confronted with problems due to degradation of the railway network that requires important and costly maintenance work. However, because of the lack of knowledge on the geometrical and mechanical parameters of the track, it is difficult to optimize the maintenance management. In this context, this paper presents a new methodology to analyze the behavior of railway tracks. It combines new diagnostic devices which permit to obtain an important amount of data and thus to make statistics on the geometric and mechanical parameters and a non-intrusive stochastic approach which can be coupled with any mechanical model. Numerical results show the possibilities of this methodology for reliability analysis of different maintenance operations. In the future this approach will give important informations to railway managers to optimize maintenance operations using a reliability analysis

Distribution System Reliability Analysis for Smart Grid Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Aljohani, Tawfiq Masad

Reliability of power systems is a key aspect in modern power system planning, design, and operation. The ascendance of the smart grid concept has provided high hopes of developing an intelligent network that is capable of being a self-healing grid, offering the ability to overcome the interruption problems that face the utility and cost it tens of millions in repair and loss. To address its reliability concerns, the power utilities and interested parties have spent extensive amount of time and effort to analyze and study the reliability of the generation and transmission sectors of the power grid. Only recently has attention shifted to be focused on improving the reliability of the distribution network, the connection joint between the power providers and the consumers where most of the electricity problems occur. In this work, we will examine the effect of the smart grid applications in improving the reliability of the power distribution networks. The test system used in conducting this thesis is the IEEE 34 node test feeder, released in 2003 by the Distribution System Analysis Subcommittee of the IEEE Power Engineering Society. The objective is to analyze the feeder for the optimal placement of the automatic switching devices and quantify their proper installation based on the performance of the distribution system. The measures will be the changes in the reliability system indices including SAIDI, SAIFI, and EUE. The goal is to design and simulate the effect of the installation of the Distributed Generators (DGs) on the utility's distribution system and measure the potential improvement of its reliability. The software used in this work is DISREL, which is intelligent power distribution software that is developed by General Reliability Co.

Reliability analysis and utilization of PEMs in space application

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Xiujie; Wang, Zhihua; Sun, Huixian; Chen, Xiaomin; Zhao, Tianlin; Yu, Guanghua; Zhou, Changyi

2009-11-01

More and more plastic encapsulated microcircuits (PEMs) are used in space missions to achieve high performance. Since PEMs are designed for use in terrestrial operating conditions, the successful usage of PEMs in space harsh environment is closely related to reliability issues, which should be considered firstly. However, there is no ready-made methodology for PEMs in space applications. This paper discusses the reliability for the usage of PEMs in space. This reliability analysis can be divided into five categories: radiation test, radiation hardness, screening test, reliability calculation and reliability assessment. One case study is also presented to illuminate the details of the process, in which a PEM part is used in a joint space program Double-Star Project between the European Space Agency (ESA) and China. The influence of environmental constrains including radiation, humidity, temperature and mechanics on the PEM part has been considered. Both Double-Star Project satellites are still running well in space now.

Reliability analysis for new technology-based transmitters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brissaud, Florent, E-mail: florent.brissaud.2007@utt.f [Institut National de l' Environnement Industriel et des Risques (INERIS), Parc Technologique Alata, BP 2, 60550 Verneuil-en-Halatte (France); Universite de Technologie de Troyes (UTT), Institut Charles Delaunay (ICD) and STMR UMR CNRS 6279, 12 rue Marie Curie, BP 2060, 10010 Troyes cedex (France); Barros, Anne; Berenguer, Christophe [Universite de Technologie de Troyes (UTT), Institut Charles Delaunay (ICD) and STMR UMR CNRS 6279, 12 rue Marie Curie, BP 2060, 10010 Troyes cedex (France); Charpentier, Dominique [Institut National de l' Environnement Industriel et des Risques (INERIS), Parc Technologique Alata, BP 2, 60550 Verneuil-en-Halatte (France)

2011-02-15

The reliability analysis of new technology-based transmitters has to deal with specific issues: various interactions between both material elements and functions, undefined behaviours under faulty conditions, several transmitted data, and little reliability feedback. To handle these particularities, a '3-step' model is proposed, based on goal tree-success tree (GTST) approaches to represent both the functional and material aspects, and includes the faults and failures as a third part for supporting reliability analyses. The behavioural aspects are provided by relationship matrices, also denoted master logic diagrams (MLD), with stochastic values which represent direct relationships between system elements. Relationship analyses are then proposed to assess the effect of any fault or failure on any material element or function. Taking these relationships into account, the probabilities of malfunction and failure modes are evaluated according to time. Furthermore, uncertainty analyses tend to show that even if the input data and system behaviour are not well known, these previous results can be obtained in a relatively precise way. An illustration is provided by a case study on an infrared gas transmitter. These properties make the proposed model and corresponding reliability analyses especially suitable for intelligent transmitters (or 'smart sensors').

Reliability on intra-laboratory and inter-laboratory data of hair mineral analysis comparing with blood analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Namkoong, Sun; Hong, Seung Phil; Kim, Myung Hwa; Park, Byung Cheol

2013-02-01

Nowadays, although its clinical value remains controversial institutions utilize hair mineral analysis. Arguments about the reliability of hair mineral analysis persist, and there have been evaluations of commercial laboratories performing hair mineral analysis. The objective of this study was to assess the reliability of intra-laboratory and inter-laboratory data at three commercial laboratories conducting hair mineral analysis, compared to serum mineral analysis. Two divided hair samples taken from near the scalp were submitted for analysis at the same time, to all laboratories, from one healthy volunteer. Each laboratory sent a report consisting of quantitative results and their interpretation of health implications. Differences among intra-laboratory and interlaboratory data were analyzed using SPSS version 12.0 (SPSS Inc., USA). All the laboratories used identical methods for quantitative analysis, and they generated consistent numerical results according to Friedman analysis of variance. However, the normal reference ranges of each laboratory varied. As such, each laboratory interpreted the patient's health differently. On intra-laboratory data, Wilcoxon analysis suggested they generated relatively coherent data, but laboratory B could not in one element, so its reliability was doubtful. In comparison with the blood test, laboratory C generated identical results, but not laboratory A and B. Hair mineral analysis has its limitations, considering the reliability of inter and intra laboratory analysis comparing with blood analysis. As such, clinicians should be cautious when applying hair mineral analysis as an ancillary tool. Each laboratory included in this study requires continuous refinement from now on for inducing standardized normal reference levels.

Construct validity and reliability of a checklist for volleyball serve analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cicero Luciano Alves Costa

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This study aims to investigate the construct validity and reliability of the checklist for qualitative analysis of the overhand serve in Volleyball. Fifty-five male subjects aged 13-17 years participated in the study. The overhand serve was analyzed using the checklist proposed by Meira Junior (2003, which analyzes the pattern of serve movement in four phases: (I initial position, (II ball lifting, (III ball attacking, and (IV finalization. Construct validity was analyzed using confirmatory factorial analysis and reliability through the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The construct validity was supported by confirmatory factor analysis with the RMSEA results (0.037 [confidence interval 90% = 0.020-0.040], CFI (0.970 and TLI (0.950 indicating good fit of the model. In relation to reliability, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.661, being this value considered acceptable. Among the items on the checklist, ball lifting and attacking showed higher factor loadings, 0.69 and 0.99, respectively. In summary, the checklist for the qualitative analysis of the overhand serve of Meira Junior (2003 can be considered a valid and reliable instrument for use in research in the field of Sports Sciences.

Neutron logging reliability techniques and apparatus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnstone, C.W.

1978-01-01

This invention relates in general to neutron logging of earth formations, and in particular, to novel apparatus and procedures for determining the validity, or reliability, of data derived at least in part by logging neutron characteristics of earth formations and, if desired, for affording verifiably accurate indications of such data

Neutron logging reliability techniques and apparatus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnstone, C.W.

1974-01-01

This invention relates in general to neutron logging of earth formations, and in particular, to novel apparatus and procedures for determining the validity, or reliability, of data derived at least in part by logging neutron characteristics of earth formations and, if desired, for affording verifiably accurate indications of such data. (author)

Reliability analysis of nuclear containment without metallic liners against jet aircraft crash

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Siddiqui, N.A.; Iqbal, M.A.; Abbas, H. E-mail: abbas_husain@hotmail.com; Paul, D.K

2003-09-01

The present study presents a methodology for detailed reliability analysis of nuclear containment without metallic liners against aircraft crash. For this purpose, a nonlinear limit state function has been derived using violation of tolerable crack width as failure criterion. This criterion has been considered as failure criterion because radioactive radiations may come out if size of crack becomes more than the tolerable crack width. The derived limit state uses the response of containment that has been obtained from a detailed dynamic analysis of nuclear containment under an impact of a large size Boeing jet aircraft. Using this response in conjunction with limit state function, the reliabilities and probabilities of failures are obtained at a number of vulnerable locations employing an efficient first-order reliability method (FORM). These values of reliability and probability of failure at various vulnerable locations are then used for the estimation of conditional and annual reliabilities of nuclear containment as a function of its location from the airport. To study the influence of the various random variables on containment reliability the sensitivity analysis has been performed. Some parametric studies have also been included to obtain the results of field and academic interest.

Dependent systems reliability estimation by structural reliability approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kostandyan, Erik; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

2014-01-01

Estimation of system reliability by classical system reliability methods generally assumes that the components are statistically independent, thus limiting its applicability in many practical situations. A method is proposed for estimation of the system reliability with dependent components, where...... the leading failure mechanism(s) is described by physics of failure model(s). The proposed method is based on structural reliability techniques and accounts for both statistical and failure effect correlations. It is assumed that failure of any component is due to increasing damage (fatigue phenomena...... identification. Application of the proposed method can be found in many real world systems....

[Reliability theory based on quality risk network analysis for Chinese medicine injection].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zheng; Kang, Li-Yuan; Fan, Xiao-Hui

2014-08-01

A new risk analysis method based upon reliability theory was introduced in this paper for the quality risk management of Chinese medicine injection manufacturing plants. The risk events including both cause and effect ones were derived in the framework as nodes with a Bayesian network analysis approach. It thus transforms the risk analysis results from failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) into a Bayesian network platform. With its structure and parameters determined, the network can be used to evaluate the system reliability quantitatively with probabilistic analytical appraoches. Using network analysis tools such as GeNie and AgenaRisk, we are able to find the nodes that are most critical to influence the system reliability. The importance of each node to the system can be quantitatively evaluated by calculating the effect of the node on the overall risk, and minimization plan can be determined accordingly to reduce their influences and improve the system reliability. Using the Shengmai injection manufacturing plant of SZYY Ltd as a user case, we analyzed the quality risk with both static FMEA analysis and dynamic Bayesian Network analysis. The potential risk factors for the quality of Shengmai injection manufacturing were identified with the network analysis platform. Quality assurance actions were further defined to reduce the risk and improve the product quality.

Reliability of diagnosis and clinical efficacy of visceral osteopathy: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Guillaud, Albin; Darbois, Nelly; Monvoisin, Richard; Pinsault, Nicolas

2018-02-17

In 2010, the World Health Organization published benchmarks for training in osteopathy in which osteopathic visceral techniques are included. The purpose of this study was to identify and critically appraise the scientific literature concerning the reliability of diagnosis and the clinical efficacy of techniques used in visceral osteopathy. Databases MEDLINE, OSTMED.DR, the Cochrane Library, Osteopathic Research Web, Google Scholar, Journal of American Osteopathic Association (JAOA) website, International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine (IJOM) website, and the catalog of Académie d'ostéopathie de France website were searched through December 2017. Only inter-rater reliability studies including at least two raters or the intra-rater reliability studies including at least two assessments by the same rater were included. For efficacy studies, only randomized-controlled-trials (RCT) or crossover studies on unhealthy subjects (any condition, duration and outcome) were included. Risk of bias was determined using a modified version of the quality appraisal tool for studies of diagnostic reliability (QAREL) in reliability studies. For the efficacy studies, the Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to assess their methodological design. Two authors performed data extraction and analysis. Eight reliability studies and six efficacy studies were included. The analysis of reliability studies shows that the diagnostic techniques used in visceral osteopathy are unreliable. Regarding efficacy studies, the least biased study shows no significant difference for the main outcome. The main risks of bias found in the included studies were due to the absence of blinding of the examiners, an unsuitable statistical method or an absence of primary study outcome. The results of the systematic review lead us to conclude that well-conducted and sound evidence on the reliability and the efficacy of techniques in visceral osteopathy is absent. The review is registered PROSPERO 12th of December

Application of Artificial Intelligence technology to the analysis and synthesis of reliable software systems

Science.gov (United States)

Wild, Christian; Eckhardt, Dave

1987-01-01

The development of a methodology for the production of highly reliable software is one of the greatest challenges facing the computer industry. Meeting this challenge will undoubtably involve the integration of many technologies. This paper describes the use of Artificial Intelligence technologies in the automated analysis of the formal algebraic specifications of abstract data types. These technologies include symbolic execution of specifications using techniques of automated deduction and machine learning through the use of examples. On-going research into the role of knowledge representation and problem solving in the process of developing software is also discussed.

Integrated system reliability analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gintautas, Tomas; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

Specific targets: 1) The report shall describe the state of the art of reliability and risk-based assessment of wind turbine components. 2) Development of methodology for reliability and risk-based assessment of the wind turbine at system level. 3) Describe quantitative and qualitative measures...

Joint application of AI techniques, PRA and disturbance analysis methodology to problems in the maintenance and design of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okrent, D.

1989-01-01

This final report summarizes the accomplishments of a two year research project entitled ''Joint Application of Artificial Intelligence Techniques, Probabilistic Risk Analysis, and Disturbance Analysis Methodology to Problems in the Maintenance and Design of Nuclear Power Plants. The objective of this project is to develop and apply appropriate combinations of techniques from artificial intelligence, (AI), reliability and risk analysis and disturbance analysis to well-defined programmatic problems of nuclear power plants. Reactor operations issues were added to those of design and maintenance as the project progressed

Joint application of AI techniques, PRA and disturbance analysis methodology to problems in the maintenance and design of nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Okrent, D.

1989-03-01

This final report summarizes the accomplishments of a two year research project entitled Joint Application of Artificial Intelligence Techniques, Probabilistic Risk Analysis, and Disturbance Analysis Methodology to Problems in the Maintenance and Design of Nuclear Power Plants. The objective of this project is to develop and apply appropriate combinations of techniques from artificial intelligence, (AI), reliability and risk analysis and disturbance analysis to well-defined programmatic problems of nuclear power plants. Reactor operations issues were added to those of design and maintenance as the project progressed.

ERP Reliability Analysis (ERA) Toolbox: An open-source toolbox for analyzing the reliability of event-related brain potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

Clayson, Peter E; Miller, Gregory A

2017-01-01

Generalizability theory (G theory) provides a flexible, multifaceted approach to estimating score reliability. G theory's approach to estimating score reliability has important advantages over classical test theory that are relevant for research using event-related brain potentials (ERPs). For example, G theory does not require parallel forms (i.e., equal means, variances, and covariances), can handle unbalanced designs, and provides a single reliability estimate for designs with multiple sources of error. This monograph provides a detailed description of the conceptual framework of G theory using examples relevant to ERP researchers, presents the algorithms needed to estimate ERP score reliability, and provides a detailed walkthrough of newly-developed software, the ERP Reliability Analysis (ERA) Toolbox, that calculates score reliability using G theory. The ERA Toolbox is open-source, Matlab software that uses G theory to estimate the contribution of the number of trials retained for averaging, group, and/or event types on ERP score reliability. The toolbox facilitates the rigorous evaluation of psychometric properties of ERP scores recommended elsewhere in this special issue. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Use of knowledge based systems for rational reliability analysis based inspection and maintenance planning for offshore structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, M.X.; Dharmavasan, S.; Peers, S.M.C.

1994-01-01

The structural integrity of fixed offshore platforms is ensured by periodic inspections. In the past, decisions made as to when, where and how to inspect have been made by engineers using rules-of-thumb and general planning heuristics. It is now hoped that more rational inspection and maintenance scheduling may be carried out by applying recently developed techniques based on structural reliability methods. However, one of the problems associated with a theoretical approach is that it is not always possible to incorporate all the constraints that are present in a practical situation. These constraints modify the decisions made for analysis data input and the interpretation of the analysis results. Knowledge based systems provide a mean of encapsulating several different forms of information and knowledge within a computer system and hence can overcome this problem. In this paper, a prototype system being developed for integrating reliability based analysis with other constraints for inspection scheduling will be described. In addition, the scheduling model and the algorithms to carry out the scheduling will be explained. Furthermore, implementation details are also given

Reliability Assessment for Low-cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Freeman, Paul Michael

Existing low-cost unmanned aerospace systems are unreliable, and engineers must blend reliability analysis with fault-tolerant control in novel ways. This dissertation introduces the University of Minnesota unmanned aerial vehicle flight research platform, a comprehensive simulation and flight test facility for reliability and fault-tolerance research. An industry-standard reliability assessment technique, the failure modes and effects analysis, is performed for an unmanned aircraft. Particular attention is afforded to the control surface and servo-actuation subsystem. Maintaining effector health is essential for safe flight; failures may lead to loss of control incidents. Failure likelihood, severity, and risk are qualitatively assessed for several effector failure modes. Design changes are recommended to improve aircraft reliability based on this analysis. Most notably, the control surfaces are split, providing independent actuation and dual-redundancy. The simulation models for control surface aerodynamic effects are updated to reflect the split surfaces using a first-principles geometric analysis. The failure modes and effects analysis is extended by using a high-fidelity nonlinear aircraft simulation. A trim state discovery is performed to identify the achievable steady, wings-level flight envelope of the healthy and damaged vehicle. Tolerance of elevator actuator failures is studied using familiar tools from linear systems analysis. This analysis reveals significant inherent performance limitations for candidate adaptive/reconfigurable control algorithms used for the vehicle. Moreover, it demonstrates how these tools can be applied in a design feedback loop to make safety-critical unmanned systems more reliable. Control surface impairments that do occur must be quickly and accurately detected. This dissertation also considers fault detection and identification for an unmanned aerial vehicle using model-based and model-free approaches and applies those

Reliability and validity of the ultrasound technique to measure the rectus femoris muscle diameter in older CAD-patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomaes Tom

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The increasing age of coronary artery disease (CAD patients and the occurrence of sarcopenia in the elderly population accompanied by 'fear of moving' and hospitalization in these patients often results in a substantial loss of skeletal muscle mass and muscle strength. Cardiac rehabilitation can improve exercise tolerance and muscle strength in CAD patients but less data describe eventual morphological muscular changes possibly by more difficult access to imaging techniques. Therefore the aim of this study is to assess and quantify the reliability and validity of an easy applicable method, the ultrasound (US technique, to measure the diameter of rectus femoris muscle in comparison to the muscle dimensions measured with CT scans. Methods 45 older CAD patients without cardiac event during the last 9 months were included in this study. 25 patients were tested twice with ultrasound with a two day interval to assess test-retest reliability and 20 patients were tested twice (once with US and once with CT on the same day to assess the validity of the US technique compared to CT as the gold standard. Isometric and isokinetic muscle testing was performed to test potential zero-order correlations between muscle diameter, muscle volume and muscle force. Results An intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC of 0.97 ((95%CL: 0.92 - 0.99 was found for the test-retest reliability of US and the ICC computed between US and CT was 0.92 (95%CL: 0.81 - 0.97. The absolute difference between both techniques was 0.01 ± 0.12 cm (p = 0.66 resulting in a typical percentage error of 4.4%. Significant zero-order correlations were found between local muscle volume and muscle diameter assessed with CT (r = 0.67, p = 0.001 and assessed with US (r = 0.49, p Conclusions Ultrasound imaging can be used as a valid and reliable measurement tool to assess the rectus femoris muscle diameter in older CAD patients.

Integration of human reliability analysis into the probabilistic risk assessment process: phase 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bell, B.J.; Vickroy, S.C.

1985-01-01

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Pacific Northwest Laboratory initiated a research program in 1984 to develop a testable set of analytical procedures for integrating human reliability analysis (HRA) into the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) process to more adequately assess the overall impact of human performance on risk. In this three phase program, stand-alone HRA/PRA analytic procedures will be developed and field evaluated to provide improved methods, techniques, and models for applying quantitative and qualitative human error data which systematically integrate HRA principles, techniques, and analyses throughout the entire PRA process. Phase 1 of the program involved analysis of state-of-the-art PRAs to define the structures and processes currently in use in the industry. Phase 2 research will involve developing a new or revised PRA methodology which will enable more efficient regulation of the industry using quantitative or qualitative results of the PRA. Finally, Phase 3 will be to field test those procedures to assure that the results generated by the new methodologies will be usable and acceptable to the NRC. This paper briefly describes the first phase of the program and outlines the second

THE RELIABILITY ANALYSIS OF EXISTING REINFORCED CONCRETE PILES IN PERMAFROST REGIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir S. Utkin

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The article describes the general problem of safe operation of buildings and structures with the dynamics of permafrost in Russia and other countries. The global warming on Earth will lead to global disasters such as failures of buildings and structures. The main reason of these failures will be a reduction of bearing capacity and the reliability of foundations. It is necessary to organize the observations (monitoring for the process of reducing the bearing capacity of foundations to prevent such accidents and reduce negative consequences, to development of preventive measures and operational methods for the piles reliability analysis. The main load-bearing elements of the foundation are reinforced concrete piles and frozen ground. Reinforced concrete piles have a tendency to decrease the bearing capacity and reliability of the upper (aerial part and the part in the soil. The article discusses the problem of reliability analysis of existing reinforced concrete piles in upper part in permafrost regions by the reason of pile degradation in the contact zone of seasonal thawing and freezing soil. The evaluation of the probability of failure is important in itself, but also it important for the reliability of foundation: consisting of piles and frozen soil. Authors offers the methods for reliability analysis of upper part of reinforced concrete piles in the contact zone with seasonally thawed soil under different number of random variables (fuzzy variables in the design mathematical model of a limit state by the strength criterion.

On the reliability evaluation of communication equipment for SMART using FMEA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, D. H.; Suh, Y. S.; Koo, I. S.; Song, Ki Sang; Han, Byung Rae

2000-07-01

This report describes the reliability analysis method for communication equipment using FMEA and FTA. The major equipments to be applicable for SMART communication networks are repeater, bridge, router and gateway and we can apply the FMEA or FTA technique. In the FMEA process, analysis of tagged system, decision of the level of analysis of the target system, drawing reliability block diagram according to the function, decision of failure mode, writing the fault reasons, writing on the FMEA sheet and FMEA level decision are included. Also, the FTA, it is possible to figure out top event reasons and system reliability. We have considered these in mind and we did the FMEA and FTA for NIC, hub, client server and router. Also, we suggested and integrated network model for nuclear power plant and we have shown the reliability analysis procedure according to FTA. If any proprietary communication device is developed, the reliability can be easily determined with proposed procedures

On the reliability evaluation of communication equipment for SMART using FMEA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, D. H.; Suh, Y. S.; Koo, I. S.; Song, Ki Sang; Han, Byung Rae

2000-07-01

This report describes the reliability analysis method for communication equipment using FMEA and FTA. The major equipments to be applicable for SMART communication networks are repeater, bridge, router and gateway and we can apply the FMEA or FTA technique. In the FMEA process, analysis of tagged system, decision of the level of analysis of the target system, drawing reliability block diagram according to the function, decision of failure mode, writing the fault reasons, writing on the FMEA sheet and FMEA level decision are included. Also, the FTA, it is possible to figure out top event reasons and system reliability. We have considered these in mind and we did the FMEA and FTA for NIC, hub, client server and router. Also, we suggested and integrated network model for nuclear power plant and we have shown the reliability analysis procedure according to FTA. If any proprietary communication device is developed, the reliability can be easily determined with proposed procedures.

Reliability analysis of a consecutive r-out-of-n: F system based on neural networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Habib, Aziz; Alsieidi, Ragab; Youssef, Ghada

2009-01-01

In this paper, we present a generalized Markov reliability and fault-tolerant model, which includes the effects of permanent fault and intermittent fault for reliability evaluations based on neural network techniques. The reliability of a consecutive r-out-of-n: F system was obtained with a three-layer connected neural network represents a discrete time state reliability Markov model of the system. Such that we fed the neural network with the desired reliability of the system under design. Then we extracted the parameters of the system from the neural weights at the convergence of the neural network to the desired reliability. Finally, we obtain simulation results.

Technique for radionuclide composition analysis of snow cover in the Chernobyl' NPP 30-km zone using fiber sorbents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kham'yanov, L.P.; Rau, D.F.; Amosov, M.M.; Strel'nikova, A.E.; Tereshchenko, V.I.; Veber, T.S.

1989-01-01

The high-sensitivity, simple and fast technique for analysis of large-dispersive and ionic components of snow cover radioactivity is suggested. It is based on separation of a sample by fractions, concentration of the dispersive fraction on mechanical filters and the dissolved one on ion-exchange sorbents and separated fraction spectrometry. The minimum measured contamination level is 3.7 Bq/dm 3 for each radionuclide analyzed. The conclusion is made that the technique suggested is the reliable method for radionuclide content analysis is snow cover samples of the Chernobyl' NPP zone. 1 tab

Reliability analysis of the service water system of Angra 1 reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tayt-Sohn, L.C.; Oliveira, L.F.S. de.

1984-01-01

A reliability analysis of the service water system is done aiming to use in the evaluation of the non reliability of the Component Cooling System (SRC) for great loss of cooling accidents in nuclear power plants. (E.G.) [pt

Reliability analysis of the service water system of Angra 1 reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliveira, L.F.S. de; Fleming, P.V.; Frutuoso e Melo, P.F.F.; Tayt-Sohn, L.C.

1983-01-01

A reliability analysis of the service water system is done aiming to use in the evaluation of the non reliability of the component cooling system (SRC) for great loss of cooling accidents in nuclear power plants. (E.G.) [pt

Cognitive environment simulation: An artificial intelligence system for human performance assessment: Cognitive reliability analysis technique: [Technical report, May 1986-June 1987

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woods, D.D.; Roth, E.M.

1987-11-01

This report documents the results of Phase II of a three phase research program to develop and validate improved methods to model the cognitive behavior of nuclear power plant (NPP) personnel. In Phase II a dynamic simulation capability for modeling how people form intentions to act in NPP emergency situations was developed based on techniques from artificial intelligence. This modeling tool, Cognitive Environment Simulation or CES, simulates the cognitive processes that determine situation assessment and intention formation. It can be used to investigate analytically what situations and factors lead to intention failures, what actions follow from intention failures (e.g., errors of omission, errors of commission, common mode errors), the ability to recover from errors or additional machine failures, and the effects of changes in the NPP person-machine system. The Cognitive Reliability Assessment Technique (or CREATE) was also developed in Phase II to specify how CES can be used to enhance the measurement of the human contribution to risk in probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) studies. 34 refs., 7 figs., 1 tab

Influence Of Inspection Intervals On Mechanical System Reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zilberman, B.

1998-01-01

In this paper a methodology of reliability analysis of mechanical systems with latent failures is described. Reliability analysis of such systems must include appropriate usage of check intervals for latent failure detection. The methodology suggests, that based on system logic the analyst decides at the beginning if a system can fail actively or latently and propagates this approach through all system levels. All inspections are assumed to be perfect (all failures are detected and repaired and no new failures are introduced as a result of the maintenance). Additional assumptions are that mission time is much smaller, than check intervals and all components have constant failure rates. Analytical expressions for reliability calculates are provided, based on fault tree and Markov modeling techniques (for two and three redundant systems with inspection intervals). The proposed methodology yields more accurate results than are obtained by not using check intervals or using half check interval times. The conventional analysis assuming that at the beginning of each mission system is as new, give an optimistic prediction of system reliability. Some examples of reliability calculations of mechanical systems with latent failures and establishing optimum check intervals are provided

Reliability and Maintainability Analysis of a High Air Pressure Compressor Facility

Science.gov (United States)

Safie, Fayssal M.; Ring, Robert W.; Cole, Stuart K.

2013-01-01

This paper discusses a Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability (RAM) independent assessment conducted to support the refurbishment of the Compressor Station at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). The paper discusses the methodologies used by the assessment team to derive the repair by replacement (RR) strategies to improve the reliability and availability of the Compressor Station (Ref.1). This includes a RAPTOR simulation model that was used to generate the statistical data analysis needed to derive a 15-year investment plan to support the refurbishment of the facility. To summarize, study results clearly indicate that the air compressors are well past their design life. The major failures of Compressors indicate that significant latent failure causes are present. Given the occurrence of these high-cost failures following compressor overhauls, future major failures should be anticipated if compressors are not replaced. Given the results from the RR analysis, the study team recommended a compressor replacement strategy. Based on the data analysis, the RR strategy will lead to sustainable operations through significant improvements in reliability, availability, and the probability of meeting the air demand with acceptable investment cost that should translate, in the long run, into major cost savings. For example, the probability of meeting air demand improved from 79.7 percent for the Base Case to 97.3 percent. Expressed in terms of a reduction in the probability of failing to meet demand (1 in 5 days to 1 in 37 days), the improvement is about 700 percent. Similarly, compressor replacement improved the operational availability of the facility from 97.5 percent to 99.8 percent. Expressed in terms of a reduction in system unavailability (1 in 40 to 1 in 500), the improvement is better than 1000 percent (an order of magnitude improvement). It is worthy to note that the methodologies, tools, and techniques used in the LaRC study can be used to evaluate

A study in the reliability analysis method for nuclear power plant structures (I)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oh, Byung Hwan; Choi, Seong Cheol; Shin, Ho Sang; Yang, In Hwan; Kim, Yi Sung; Yu, Young; Kim, Se Hun [Seoul, Nationl Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

1999-03-15

Nuclear power plant structures may be exposed to aggressive environmental effects that may cause their strength and stiffness to decrease over their service life. Although the physics of these damage mechanisms are reasonably well understood and quantitative evaluation of their effects on time-dependent structural behavior is possible in some instances, such evaluations are generally very difficult and remain novel. The assessment of existing steel containment in nuclear power plants for continued service must provide quantitative evidence that they are able to withstand future extreme loads during a service period with an acceptable level of reliability. Rational methodologies to perform the reliability assessment can be developed from mechanistic models of structural deterioration, using time-dependent structural reliability analysis to take loading and strength uncertainties into account. The final goal of this study is to develop the analysis method for the reliability of containment structures. The cause and mechanism of corrosion is first clarified and the reliability assessment method has been established. By introducing the equivalent normal distribution, the procedure of reliability analysis which can determine the failure probabilities has been established. The influence of design variables to reliability and the relation between the reliability and service life will be continued second year research.

Reliability Analysis of Free Jet Scour Below Dams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chuanqi Li

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Current formulas for calculating scour depth below of a free over fall are mostly deterministic in nature and do not adequately consider the uncertainties of various scouring parameters. A reliability-based assessment of scour, taking into account uncertainties of parameters and coefficients involved, should be performed. This paper studies the reliability of a dam foundation under the threat of scour. A model for calculating the reliability of scour and estimating the probability of failure of the dam foundation subjected to scour is presented. The Maximum Entropy Method is applied to construct the probability density function (PDF of the performance function subject to the moment constraints. Monte Carlo simulation (MCS is applied for uncertainty analysis. An example is considered, and there liability of its scour is computed, the influence of various random variables on the probability failure is analyzed.

The particle analysis based on FT-TIMS technique for swipe sample under the frame of nuclear safeguard

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Tianli; Liu Xuemei; Liu Zhao; Tang Lei; Long Kaiming

2008-06-01

Under the frame of nuclear safeguard, the particles analysis for swipe sample is an advance mean to detect the undeclared uranium enriched facilities and undeclared uranium enriched activity. The technique of particle analysis based on fission track-thermal ionization mass spectrometry (FT-TIMS) for swipe sample have been built. The reliability and the experimental background for selecting particles consisting of uranium from swipe sample by FT method have been verified. In addition, the utilization coefficient of particles on the surface of swipe sample have also been tested. These works have provided the technique support for application in the area of nuclear verification. (authors)

Reliability model analysis and primary experimental evaluation of laser triggered pulse trigger

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Debiao; Yang Xinglin; Li Yuan; Li Jin

2012-01-01

High performance pulse trigger can enhance performance and stability of the PPS. It is necessary to evaluate the reliability of the LTGS pulse trigger, so we establish the reliability analysis model of this pulse trigger based on CARMES software, the reliability evaluation is accord with the statistical results. (authors)

Design and Analysis of Transport Protocols for Reliable High-Speed Communications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oláh, A.

1997-01-01

The design and analysis of transport protocols for reliable communications constitutes the topic of this dissertation. These transport protocols guarantee the sequenced and complete delivery of user data over networks which may lose, duplicate and reorder packets. Reliable transport services are

System Reliability Engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lim, Tae Jin

2005-02-01

This book tells of reliability engineering, which includes quality and reliability, reliability data, importance of reliability engineering, reliability and measure, the poisson process like goodness of fit test and the poisson arrival model, reliability estimation like exponential distribution, reliability of systems, availability, preventive maintenance such as replacement policies, minimal repair policy, shock models, spares, group maintenance and periodic inspection, analysis of common cause failure, and analysis model of repair effect.

Development of cancer therapy facility of HANARO and medical research in BNCT; development of the technique for boron concentration analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Hee Dong; Byun, Soo Hyun; Sun, Gwang Min; Kim, Suk Kwon; Kim, In Jung; Park, Chang Su [Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea)

2002-03-01

Objective and Necessity of the Project- Development of a boron concentration analysis facility used for BNCT. - Development of the technique for boron concentration analysis. Contents and Scopes of the Project - Construction of the boron concentration analysis facility based on PGAA. Estimation of the neutron beam characteristics. -Establishment of the technique for the boron concentration analysis. - Estimation of the reliability for the boron analysis. Results of the Project -Installation of the boron concentration analysis facility at Hanaro. - Neutron beam characteristics are the sample position (neutron flux : 7.9 x 10{sup 7} n/cm{sup 2}s, Cd-ratio : 266) Technique for the boron concentration analysis. - Boron detection sensitivity and limit (detection sensitivity : 2, 131 cps/mg-B, detection limit : 67 ng for 10,000 sec). 63 refs., 37 figs., 13 tabs. (Author)

Reliability of electronic systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roca, Jose L.

2001-01-01

Reliability techniques have been developed subsequently as a need of the diverse engineering disciplines, nevertheless they are not few those that think they have been work a lot on reliability before the same word was used in the current context. Military, space and nuclear industries were the first ones that have been involved in this topic, however not only in these environments it is that it has been carried out this small great revolution in benefit of the increase of the reliability figures of the products of those industries, but rather it has extended to the whole industry. The fact of the massive production, characteristic of the current industries, drove four decades ago, to the fall of the reliability of its products, on one hand, because the massively itself and, for other, to the recently discovered and even not stabilized industrial techniques. Industry should be changed according to those two new requirements, creating products of medium complexity and assuring an enough reliability appropriated to production costs and controls. Reliability began to be integral part of the manufactured product. Facing this philosophy, the book describes reliability techniques applied to electronics systems and provides a coherent and rigorous framework for these diverse activities providing a unifying scientific basis for the entire subject. It consists of eight chapters plus a lot of statistical tables and an extensive annotated bibliography. Chapters embrace the following topics: 1- Introduction to Reliability; 2- Basic Mathematical Concepts; 3- Catastrophic Failure Models; 4-Parametric Failure Models; 5- Systems Reliability; 6- Reliability in Design and Project; 7- Reliability Tests; 8- Software Reliability. This book is in Spanish language and has a potentially diverse audience as a text book from academic to industrial courses. (author)

Reliability Analysis of Operation for Cableways by FTA (Fault Tree Analysis Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergej Težak

2010-05-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the reliability of the operation of cableway systems in Slovenia, which has major impact on the quality of service in the mountain tourism, mainly in wintertime. Different types of cableway installations in Slovenia were captured in a sample and fault tree analysis (FTA was made on the basis of the obtained data. The paper presents the results of the analysis. With these results it is possible to determine the probability of faults of different types of cableways, which types of faults have the greatest impact on the termination of operation, which components of cableways fail most, what is the impact of age of cableways on the occurrence of the faults. Finally, an attempt was made to find if occurrence of faults on individual cableway installation has also impact on traffic on this cableway due to reduced quality of service. KEYWORDS: cableways, aerial ropeways, chairlifts, ski-tows, quality, faults, fault tree analysis, reliability, service quality, winter tourism, mountain tourist centre

Reliability Analysis Of Fire System On The Industry Facility By Use Fameca Method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sony T, D.T.; Situmorang, Johnny; Ismu W, Puradwi; Demon H; Mulyanto, Dwijo; Kusmono, Slamet; Santa, Sigit Asmara

2000-01-01

FAMECA is one of the analysis method to determine system reliability on the industry facility. Analysis is done by some procedure that is identification of component function, determination of failure mode, severity level and effect of their failure. Reliability value is determined by three combinations that is severity level, component failure value and critical component. Reliability of analysis has been done for fire system on the industry by FAMECA method. Critical component which identified is pump, air release valve, check valve, manual test valve, isolation valve, control system etc

Neuropsychological Aspects Observed in a Nuclear Plant Simulator and its Relation with Human Reliability Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prado, E.A.P. do; Martins, M.; Pinheiro, A.; Silveira, J.

2016-01-01

This paper will discuss preliminary results of an evaluation methodology for the analysis and quantification of errors in manual (human) operation by training cognitive parameters and skill levels in the complex control system operation using Neuropsychophysiology and Neuro feedback equipment. The research was conducted using a game (nuclear power plant simulator) that simulates concepts of operation of a nuclear plant with a split sample evaluating aspects of learning and knowledge in the nuclear area. Operators were monitored using biomarkers (ECG, EEG, GSR, face detection and eye tracking) and the results were analyzed by Statistical multivariate techniques. An important component in the evaluation of complex systems is the human reliability during operation. Human reliability refers to the probability of the human element perform the tasks scheduled during the defined period for system operation when tested under specified environmental conditions, and additionally not to take any action detrimental to system operation.

The quantitative failure of human reliability analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bennett, C.T.

1995-07-01

This philosophical treatise argues the merits of Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) in the context of the nuclear power industry. Actually, the author attacks historic and current HRA as having failed in informing policy makers who make decisions based on risk that humans contribute to systems performance. He argues for an HRA based on Bayesian (fact-based) inferential statistics, which advocates a systems analysis process that employs cogent heuristics when using opinion, and tempers itself with a rational debate over the weight given subjective and empirical probabilities.

Reliability analysis of HVDC grid combined with power flow simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Yongtao; Langeland, Tore; Solvik, Johan [DNV AS, Hoevik (Norway); Stewart, Emma [DNV KEMA, Camino Ramon, CA (United States)

2012-07-01

Based on a DC grid power flow solver and the proposed GEIR, we carried out reliability analysis for a HVDC grid test system proposed by CIGRE working group B4-58, where the failure statistics are collected from literature survey. The proposed methodology is used to evaluate the impact of converter configuration on the overall reliability performance of the HVDC grid, where the symmetrical monopole configuration is compared with the bipole with metallic return wire configuration. The results quantify the improvement on reliability by using the later alternative. (orig.)

Reliability analysis of neutron transport simulation using Monte Carlo method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Souza, Bismarck A. de; Borges, Jose C.

1995-01-01

This work presents a statistical and reliability analysis covering data obtained by computer simulation of neutron transport process, using the Monte Carlo method. A general description of the method and its applications is presented. Several simulations, corresponding to slowing down and shielding problems have been accomplished. The influence of the physical dimensions of the materials and of the sample size on the reliability level of results was investigated. The objective was to optimize the sample size, in order to obtain reliable results, optimizing computation time. (author). 5 refs, 8 figs

Human factors reliability benchmark exercise: a review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Humphreys, P.

1990-01-01

The Human Factors Reliability Benchmark Exercise has addressed the issues of identification, analysis, representation and quantification of Human Error in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of available techniques. Using a German PWR nuclear powerplant as the basis for the studies, fifteen teams undertook evaluations of a routine functional Test and Maintenance procedure plus an analysis of human actions during an operational transient. The techniques employed by the teams are discussed and reviewed on a comparative basis. The qualitative assessments performed by each team compare well, but at the quantification stage there is much less agreement. (author)

An exact method for solving logical loops in reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuoka, Takeshi

2009-01-01

This paper presents an exact method for solving logical loops in reliability analysis. The systems that include logical loops are usually described by simultaneous Boolean equations. First, present a basic rule of solving simultaneous Boolean equations. Next, show the analysis procedures for three-component system with external supports. Third, more detailed discussions are given for the establishment of logical loop relation. Finally, take up two typical structures which include more than one logical loop. Their analysis results and corresponding GO-FLOW charts are given. The proposed analytical method is applicable to loop structures that can be described by simultaneous Boolean equations, and it is very useful in evaluating the reliability of complex engineering systems.

Damage tolerance reliability analysis of automotive spot-welded joints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahadevan, Sankaran; Ni Kan

2003-01-01

This paper develops a damage tolerance reliability analysis methodology for automotive spot-welded joints under multi-axial and variable amplitude loading history. The total fatigue life of a spot weld is divided into two parts, crack initiation and crack propagation. The multi-axial loading history is obtained from transient response finite element analysis of a vehicle model. A three-dimensional finite element model of a simplified joint with four spot welds is developed for static stress/strain analysis. A probabilistic Miner's rule is combined with a randomized strain-life curve family and the stress/strain analysis result to develop a strain-based probabilistic fatigue crack initiation life prediction for spot welds. Afterwards, the fatigue crack inside the base material sheet is modeled as a surface crack. Then a probabilistic crack growth model is combined with the stress analysis result to develop a probabilistic fatigue crack growth life prediction for spot welds. Both methods are implemented with MSC/NASTRAN and MSC/FATIGUE software, and are useful for reliability assessment of automotive spot-welded joints against fatigue and fracture

Gearbox Reliability Collaborative Gearbox 1 Failure Analysis Report: December 2010 - January 2011

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Errichello, R.; Muller, J.

2012-02-01

Unintended gearbox failures have a significant impact on the cost of wind farm operations. In 2007, NREL initiated the Gearbox Reliability Collaborative (GRC). The project combines analysis, field testing, dynamometer testing, condition monitoring, and the development and population of a gearbox failure database in a multi-pronged approach to determine why wind turbine gearboxes do not achieve their expected design life. The collaborative of manufacturers, owners, researchers, and consultants focuses on gearbox testing and modeling and the development of a gearbox failure database. Collaborative members also investigate gearbox condition monitoring techniques. Data gained from the GRC will enable designers, developers, and manufacturers to improve gearbox designs and testing standards and create more robust modeling tools. GRC project essentials include the development of two identical, heavily instrumented representative gearbox designs. Knowledge gained from the field and dynamometer tests conducted on these gearboxes builds an understanding of how the selected loads and events translate into bearing and gear response. This report contains the analysis of the first gearbox design.

Reliability-based sensitivity of mechanical components with arbitrary distribution parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Yi Min; Yang, Zhou; Wen, Bang Chun; He, Xiang Dong; Liu, Qiaoling

2010-01-01

This paper presents a reliability-based sensitivity method for mechanical components with arbitrary distribution parameters. Techniques from the perturbation method, the Edgeworth series, the reliability-based design theory, and the sensitivity analysis approach were employed directly to calculate the reliability-based sensitivity of mechanical components on the condition that the first four moments of the original random variables are known. The reliability-based sensitivity information of the mechanical components can be accurately and quickly obtained using a practical computer program. The effects of the design parameters on the reliability of mechanical components were studied. The method presented in this paper provides the theoretic basis for the reliability-based design of mechanical components

An analysis of the human reliability on Three Mile Island II accident considering THERP and ATHEANA methodologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fonseca, Renato Alves da; Alvim, Antonio Carlos Marques

2005-01-01

The research on the Analysis of the Human Reliability becomes more important every day, as well as the study of the human factors and the contributions of the same ones to the incidents and accidents, mainly in complex plants or of high technology. The analysis here developed it uses the methodologies THERP (Technique for Human Error Prediction) and ATHEANA (A Technique for Human Error Analysis), as well as, the tables and the cases presented in THERP Handbook and to develop a qualitative and quantitative study of an occurred nuclear accident. The chosen accident was it of Three Mile Island (TMI). The accident analysis has revealed a series of incorrect actions that resulted in the permanent loss of the reactor and shutdown of Unit 2. This study also aims at enhancing the understanding of the THERP and ATHEANA methods and at practical applications. In addition, it is possible to understand the influence of plant operational status on human failures and the influence of human failures on equipment of a system, in this case, a nuclear power plant. (author)

Addressing the reliability issues of intelligent well systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drakeley, Brian; Douglas, Neil

2000-01-01

New Technology receives its fair share of 'risk aversion' both in good and not so good economic times from oil and gas operators evaluating application opportunities. This paper presents details of a strategy developed and implemented to bring to market an Intelligent Well system designed from day one to maximize system reliability, while offering the customer a high degree of choice in system functionality. A team of engineers and scientists skilled in all aspects of Reliability Analysis and Assessment analyzed the Intelligent Well system under development, gathered reliability performance data from other sources and using various analytical techniques developed matrices of system survival probability estimates for various scenarios. Interaction with the system and design engineers has been an on-going process as designs are modified to maximize reliability predictions and extensive qualification test programs developed from the component to the overall system level. The techniques used in the development project will be presented. A comparative model now exists that facilitates the evaluation of future design alternative considerations and also contains databases that can be readily updated with actual field data etc. (author)

Applying reliability analysis to design electric power systems for More-electric aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Baozhu

The More-Electric Aircraft (MEA) is a type of aircraft that replaces conventional hydraulic and pneumatic systems with electrically powered components. These changes have significantly challenged the aircraft electric power system design. This thesis investigates how reliability analysis can be applied to automatically generate system topologies for the MEA electric power system. We first use a traditional method of reliability block diagrams to analyze the reliability level on different system topologies. We next propose a new methodology in which system topologies, constrained by a set reliability level, are automatically generated. The path-set method is used for analysis. Finally, we interface these sets of system topologies with control synthesis tools to automatically create correct-by-construction control logic for the electric power system.

ES-RBE Event sequence reliability Benchmark exercise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poucet, A.E.J.

1991-01-01

The event Sequence Reliability Benchmark Exercise (ES-RBE) can be considered as a logical extension of the other three Reliability Benchmark Exercices : the RBE on Systems Analysis, the RBE on Common Cause Failures and the RBE on Human Factors. The latter, constituting Activity No. 1, was concluded by the end of 1987. The ES-RBE covered the techniques that are currently used for analysing and quantifying sequences of events starting from an initiating event to various plant damage states, including analysis of various system failures and/or successes, human intervention failure and/or success and dependencies between systems. By this way, one of the scopes of the ES-RBE was to integrate the experiences gained in the previous exercises

Reliability of three-dimensional gait analysis in cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

McDermott, Ailish

2010-10-01

Gait impairment is one of the primary symptoms of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). Detailed assessment is possible using three-dimensional gait analysis (3DGA), however the reliability of 3DGA for this population has not been established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the test-retest reliability of temporal-spatial, kinematic and kinetic parameters in a CSM population.

Reliability Calculations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Kurt Erling

1986-01-01

Risk and reliability analysis is increasingly being used in evaluations of plant safety and plant reliability. The analysis can be performed either during the design process or during the operation time, with the purpose to improve the safety or the reliability. Due to plant complexity and safety...... and availability requirements, sophisticated tools, which are flexible and efficient, are needed. Such tools have been developed in the last 20 years and they have to be continuously refined to meet the growing requirements. Two different areas of application were analysed. In structural reliability probabilistic...... approaches have been introduced in some cases for the calculation of the reliability of structures or components. A new computer program has been developed based upon numerical integration in several variables. In systems reliability Monte Carlo simulation programs are used especially in analysis of very...

The reliability of mercury analysis in environmental materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heinonen, J.; Suschny, O.

1973-01-01

Mercury occurs in nature in its native elemental as well as in different mineral forms. It has been mined for centuries and is used in many branches of industry, agriculture and medicine. Mercury is very toxic to man and reports of poisoning due to the presence of the element in fish and shellfish caught at Minamata and Niigata, Japan have led not only to local investigations but to multi-national research into the sources and the levels of mercury in the environment. The concentrations at which the element has to be determined in these studies are extremely small, usually of the order of a few parts in 10 9 parts of environmental material. Few analytical techniques provide the required sensitivity for analysis at such low concentrations, and only two are normally used for mercury: neutron activation analysis and atomic absorption photometry. They are also the most convenient end points of various separation schemes for different organic mercury compounds. Mercury analysis at the ppb-level is beset with many problems: volatility of the metal and its compounds, impurity of reagents, interference by other elements and many other analytical difficulties may influence the results. To be able to draw valid conclusions from the analyses it is necessary to know the reliability attached to the values obtained. To assist laboratories in the evaluation of their analytical performance, the International Atomic Energy Agency through its own laboratory at Seibersdorf already organised in 1967 an intercomparison of mercury analysis in flour. Based on the results obtained at that time, a whole series of intercomparisons of mercury determinations in nine different environmental materials was undertaken in 1971. The materials investigated included corn and wheat flour, spray-dried animal blood serum, fish solubles, milk powder, saw dust, cellulose, lacquer paint and coloric material

The reliability of mercury analysis in environmental materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heinonen, J.; Suschny, O

1973-01-01

Mercury occurs in nature in its native elemental as well as in different mineral forms. It has been mined for centuries and is used in many branches of industry, agriculture and medicine. Mercury is very toxic to man and reports of poisoning due to the presence of the element in fish and shellfish caught at Minamata and Niigata, Japan have led not only to local investigations but to multi-national research into the sources and the levels of mercury in the environment. The concentrations at which the element has to be determined in these studies are extremely small, usually of the order of a few parts in 10{sup 9} parts of environmental material. Few analytical techniques provide the required sensitivity for analysis at such low concentrations, and only two are normally used for mercury: neutron activation analysis and atomic absorption photometry. They are also the most convenient end points of various separation schemes for different organic mercury compounds. Mercury analysis at the ppb-level is beset with many problems: volatility of the metal and its compounds, impurity of reagents, interference by other elements and many other analytical difficulties may influence the results. To be able to draw valid conclusions from the analyses it is necessary to know the reliability attached to the values obtained. To assist laboratories in the evaluation of their analytical performance, the International Atomic Energy Agency through its own laboratory at Seibersdorf already organised in 1967 an intercomparison of mercury analysis in flour. Based on the results obtained at that time, a whole series of intercomparisons of mercury determinations in nine different environmental materials was undertaken in 1971. The materials investigated included corn and wheat flour, spray-dried animal blood serum, fish solubles, milk powder, saw dust, cellulose, lacquer paint and coloric material.

Hybrid Structural Reliability Analysis under Multisource Uncertainties Based on Universal Grey Numbers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xingfa Yang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Nondeterministic parameters of certain distribution are employed to model structural uncertainties, which are usually assumed as stochastic factors. However, model parameters may not be precisely represented due to some factors in engineering practices, such as lack of sufficient data, data with fuzziness, and unknown-but-bounded conditions. To this end, interval and fuzzy parameters are implemented and an efficient approach to structural reliability analysis with random-interval-fuzzy hybrid parameters is proposed in this study. Fuzzy parameters are first converted to equivalent random ones based on the equal entropy principle. 3σ criterion is then employed to transform the equivalent random and the original random parameters to interval variables. In doing this, the hybrid reliability problem is transformed into the one only with interval variables, in other words, nonprobabilistic reliability analysis problem. Nevertheless, the problem of interval extension existed in interval arithmetic, especially for the nonlinear systems. Therefore, universal grey mathematics, which can tackle the issue of interval extension, is employed to solve the nonprobabilistic reliability analysis problem. The results show that the proposed method can obtain more conservative results of the hybrid structural reliability.

Some areas of reliability technique which have been neglected to some extent - maintainability - human reliability - mechanical reliability - repairable systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akersten, P.A.

1985-01-01

The present thesis consists of four papers, three of which are of a expositary nature and one more theoretical. The first two papers have a natural coupling to the man-machine interface. The first paper is devoted to the concept of maintainability and the role of man as maintenance technician. The second paper discusses aspects of human reliability, mainly studying man as operator. However, maintenance tasks can be studied in the same manner. The third paper concerns reliability prediction for mechanical components. This is an area of vital importance for the reliability practitioner, who needs realistic and easy-to-use mathematical models for different failure modes. The fourth paper discusses mathematical models for repairable systems, especially the problem of testing whether a constant event intensity model is adequate or not. (author)

Multidisciplinary Inverse Reliability Analysis Based on Collaborative Optimization with Combination of Linear Approximations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xin-Jia Meng

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Multidisciplinary reliability is an important part of the reliability-based multidisciplinary design optimization (RBMDO. However, it usually has a considerable amount of calculation. The purpose of this paper is to improve the computational efficiency of multidisciplinary inverse reliability analysis. A multidisciplinary inverse reliability analysis method based on collaborative optimization with combination of linear approximations (CLA-CO is proposed in this paper. In the proposed method, the multidisciplinary reliability assessment problem is first transformed into a problem of most probable failure point (MPP search of inverse reliability, and then the process of searching for MPP of multidisciplinary inverse reliability is performed based on the framework of CLA-CO. This method improves the MPP searching process through two elements. One is treating the discipline analyses as the equality constraints in the subsystem optimization, and the other is using linear approximations corresponding to subsystem responses as the replacement of the consistency equality constraint in system optimization. With these two elements, the proposed method realizes the parallel analysis of each discipline, and it also has a higher computational efficiency. Additionally, there are no difficulties in applying the proposed method to problems with nonnormal distribution variables. One mathematical test problem and an electronic packaging problem are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

WAYS TO INCREASE ACCURACY AND RELIABILITY OF INDIVIDUAL DOSES ASSESSMENTS IN PERSONNEL WITHIN THERMOLUMINESCENCE TECHNIQUE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. N. Kaydanovskiy

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The paper analyses the main sources of measurement errors of individual doses in personnel performed within the thermoluminescence technique and gives recommendations to minimize these errors. The reasons that reduce reliability of effective dose assessments derived from measured values of personal dose equivalent are imperfections of guidance documents. Changes to the Guidelines «Organization and implementation of individual dosimetric control. Staff of health institutions» are justified.

Application of expert elicitation techniques in human reliability, assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanyasi Rao, V.V.S.; Saraf, R.K.; Ghosh, A.K.; Kushwaha, H.S.

2006-01-01

Expert elicitation techniques are being used, in the area of technological forecasting, in estimating data needed for analysis when it is either difficult to arrive at the data by experimental means or when it is quite involved to plan and conduct the experiment. In this study, expert elicitation techniques are applied to the evaluation of the frequencies of the various accident sequences that can result from the initiating event (IE) 'High Pressure Process Water (HPPW) system failure' in typical Indian Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (IPHWR) of the older generation. The Operating Procedure under Emergency Conditions (OPEC) for this IE involves human actions according to a pre-defined procedure. The Human Error Probabilities for all these human actions are obtained using expert elicitation techniques. These techniques aim at eliciting the opinion of the experts in the area of interest with regard to the issue in question. The uncertainty is analysed by employing the measure of dissonance and the most probable range of human error probabilities are arrived at by maximizing this measure. These values are combined using the same procedures mentioned above to yield a distribution representing the uncertainty associated with the predictions. (author)

Reliability test and failure analysis of high power LED packages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Zhaohui; Zhang Qin; Wang Kai; Luo Xiaobing; Liu Sheng

2011-01-01

A new type application specific light emitting diode (LED) package (ASLP) with freeform polycarbonate lens for street lighting is developed, whose manufacturing processes are compatible with a typical LED packaging process. The reliability test methods and failure criterions from different vendors are reviewed and compared. It is found that test methods and failure criterions are quite different. The rapid reliability assessment standards are urgently needed for the LED industry. 85 0 C/85 RH with 700 mA is used to test our LED modules with three other vendors for 1000 h, showing no visible degradation in optical performance for our modules, with two other vendors showing significant degradation. Some failure analysis methods such as C-SAM, Nano X-ray CT and optical microscope are used for LED packages. Some failure mechanisms such as delaminations and cracks are detected in the LED packages after the accelerated reliability testing. The finite element simulation method is helpful for the failure analysis and design of the reliability of the LED packaging. One example is used to show one currently used module in industry is vulnerable and may not easily pass the harsh thermal cycle testing. (semiconductor devices)

Risk and reliability assessment for telecommunications networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wyss, G.D.; Schriner, H.K.; Gaylor, T.R.

1996-08-01

Sandia National Laboratories has assembled an interdisciplinary team to explore the applicability of probabilistic logic modeling (PLM) techniques to model network reliability for a wide variety of communications network architectures. The authors have found that the reliability and failure modes of current generation network technologies can be effectively modeled using fault tree PLM techniques. They have developed a ``plug-and-play`` fault tree analysis methodology that can be used to model connectivity and the provision of network services in a wide variety of current generation network architectures. They have also developed an efficient search algorithm that can be used to determine the minimal cut sets of an arbitrarily-interconnected (non-hierarchical) network without the construction of a fault tree model. This paper provides an overview of these modeling techniques and describes how they are applied to networks that exhibit hybrid network structures (i.e., a network in which some areas are hierarchical and some areas are not hierarchical).

Human factors reliability benchmark exercise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poucet, A.

1989-08-01

The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission has organised a Human Factors Reliability Benchmark Exercise (HF-RBE) with the aim of assessing the state of the art in human reliability modelling and assessment. Fifteen teams from eleven countries, representing industry, utilities, licensing organisations and research institutes, participated in the HF-RBE. The HF-RBE was organised around two study cases: (1) analysis of routine functional Test and Maintenance (TPM) procedures: with the aim of assessing the probability of test induced failures, the probability of failures to remain unrevealed and the potential to initiate transients because of errors performed in the test; (2) analysis of human actions during an operational transient: with the aim of assessing the probability that the operators will correctly diagnose the malfunctions and take proper corrective action. This report summarises the contributions received from the participants and analyses these contributions on a comparative basis. The aim of this analysis was to compare the procedures, modelling techniques and quantification methods used, to obtain insight in the causes and magnitude of the variability observed in the results, to try to identify preferred human reliability assessment approaches and to get an understanding of the current state of the art in the field identifying the limitations that are still inherent to the different approaches

Reliability in maintenance and design of elastomer sealed closures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lake, W.H.

1978-01-01

The methods of reliability are considered for maintenance and design of elastomer sealed containment closures. Component reliability is used to establish a replacement schedule for system maintenance. Reliability data on elastomer seals is used to evaluate the common practice of annual replacement, and to calculate component reliability values for several typical shipment time periods. System reliability methods are used to examine the relative merits of typical closure designs. These include single component and redundant seal closure, with and without closure verification testing. The paper presents a general method of quantifying the merits of closure designs through the use of reliability analysis, which is a probabilistic technique. The reference list offers a general source of information in the field of reliability, and should offer the opportunity to extend the procedures discussed in this paper to other design safety applications

Reliability analysis based on the losses from failures.

Science.gov (United States)

Todinov, M T

2006-04-01

The conventional reliability analysis is based on the premise that increasing the reliability of a system will decrease the losses from failures. On the basis of counterexamples, it is demonstrated that this is valid only if all failures are associated with the same losses. In case of failures associated with different losses, a system with larger reliability is not necessarily characterized by smaller losses from failures. Consequently, a theoretical framework and models are proposed for a reliability analysis, linking reliability and the losses from failures. Equations related to the distributions of the potential losses from failure have been derived. It is argued that the classical risk equation only estimates the average value of the potential losses from failure and does not provide insight into the variability associated with the potential losses. Equations have also been derived for determining the potential and the expected losses from failures for nonrepairable and repairable systems with components arranged in series, with arbitrary life distributions. The equations are also valid for systems/components with multiple mutually exclusive failure modes. The expected losses given failure is a linear combination of the expected losses from failure associated with the separate failure modes scaled by the conditional probabilities with which the failure modes initiate failure. On this basis, an efficient method for simplifying complex reliability block diagrams has been developed. Branches of components arranged in series whose failures are mutually exclusive can be reduced to single components with equivalent hazard rate, downtime, and expected costs associated with intervention and repair. A model for estimating the expected losses from early-life failures has also been developed. For a specified time interval, the expected losses from early-life failures are a sum of the products of the expected number of failures in the specified time intervals covering the

Analysis of NPP protection structure reliability under impact of a falling aircraft

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shul'man, G.S.

1996-01-01

Methodology for evaluation of NPP protection structure reliability by impact of aircraft fall down is considered. The methodology is base on the probabilistic analysis of all potential events. The problem is solved in three stages: determination of loads on structural units, calculation of local reliability of protection structures by assigned loads and estimation of the structure reliability. The methodology proposed may be applied at the NPP design stage and by determination of reliability of already available structures

Reliability Analysis of Retaining Walls Subjected to Blast Loading by Finite Element Approach

Science.gov (United States)

GuhaRay, Anasua; Mondal, Stuti; Mohiuddin, Hisham Hasan

2018-02-01

Conventional design methods adopt factor of safety as per practice and experience, which are deterministic in nature. The limit state method, though not completely deterministic, does not take into account effect of design parameters, which are inherently variable such as cohesion, angle of internal friction, etc. for soil. Reliability analysis provides a measure to consider these variations into analysis and hence results in a more realistic design. Several studies have been carried out on reliability of reinforced concrete walls and masonry walls under explosions. Also, reliability analysis of retaining structures against various kinds of failure has been done. However, very few research works are available on reliability analysis of retaining walls subjected to blast loading. Thus, the present paper considers the effect of variation of geotechnical parameters when a retaining wall is subjected to blast loading. However, it is found that the variation of geotechnical random variables does not have a significant effect on the stability of retaining walls subjected to blast loading.

A human reliability analysis of the Three Mile power plant accident considering the THERP and ATHEANA methodologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fonseca, Renato Alves da

2004-03-01

The main purpose of this work is the study of human reliability using the THERP (Technique for Human Error Prediction) and ATHEANA methods (A Technique for Human Error Analysis), and some tables and also, from case studies presented on the THERP Handbook to develop a qualitative and quantitative study of nuclear power plant accident. This accident occurred in the TMI (Three Mile Island Unit 2) power plant, PWR type plant, on March 28th, 1979. The accident analysis has revealed a series of incorrect actions, which resulted in the Unit 2 shut down and permanent loss of the reactor. This study also aims at enhancing the understanding of the THERP method and ATHEANA, and of its practical applications. In addition, it is possible to understand the influence of plant operational status on human failures and of these on equipment of a system, in this case, a nuclear power plant. (author)

A Review on VSC-HVDC Reliability Modeling and Evaluation Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, L.; Tang, Q.; Li, T.; Wang, Y.; Song, F.

2017-05-01

With the fast development of power electronics, voltage-source converter (VSC) HVDC technology presents cost-effective ways for bulk power transmission. An increasing number of VSC-HVDC projects has been installed worldwide. Their reliability affects the profitability of the system and therefore has a major impact on the potential investors. In this paper, an overview of the recent advances in the area of reliability evaluation for VSC-HVDC systems is provided. Taken into account the latest multi-level converter topology, the VSC-HVDC system is categorized into several sub-systems and the reliability data for the key components is discussed based on sources with academic and industrial backgrounds. The development of reliability evaluation methodologies is reviewed and the issues surrounding the different computation approaches are briefly analysed. A general VSC-HVDC reliability evaluation procedure is illustrated in this paper.

Problems on one-dimensionally disordered lattices, and reliability of structural analysis of liquids and amorphous solids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kakinoki, J.

1974-01-01

Methods for obtaining the intensity of X-ray diffraction by one-dimensional by disordered lattices have been studied, and matrix method was developed. The method has been applied for structural analysis. Several problems concerning neutron diffraction were shown in the course of analysis. Large single crystals should be used for measurement. It is hard to grasp the local variation of structure. The technique of topography is still in development. Measurement of weak intensity diffraction is not sufficient. Technique of photography to observe overall feature is not good. General remarks concerning the one-dimensionally disordered lattices are as follows. A large number of parameters for analysis are not practical, and the disorder parameters are preferably two. In case of the disorder between two kinds of layers having same frequency and different structure, peak shift is not caused, and Laue term remains at the position. Reliability of the structural analysis of liquid and amorphous solid is discussed. The analysis is basically the analysis two atom molecule of same kind of atoms. The intensity of diffraction can be obtained from radial distribution function (RDF). Since practical observation is limited to a finite region, termination effect should be taken into consideration. Accuracy of analysis is not good in case of X-ray diffraction. The analysis by neutron diffraction is preferable. (Kato, T.)

Reliability Engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Sang Yong

1992-07-01

This book is about reliability engineering, which describes definition and importance of reliability, development of reliability engineering, failure rate and failure probability density function about types of it, CFR and index distribution, IFR and normal distribution and Weibull distribution, maintainability and movability, reliability test and reliability assumption in index distribution type, normal distribution type and Weibull distribution type, reliability sampling test, reliability of system, design of reliability and functionality failure analysis by FTA.

Decision theory, the context for risk and reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaplan, S.

1985-01-01

According to this model of the decision process then, the optimum decision is that option having the largest expected utility. This is the fundamental model of a decision situation. It is necessary to remark that in order for the model to represent a real-life decision situation, it must include all the options present in that situation, including, for example, the option of not deciding--which is itself a decision, although usually not the optimum one. Similarly, it should include the option of delaying the decision while the authors gather further information. Both of these options have probabilities, outcomes, impacts, and utilities like any option and should be included explicitly in the decision diagram. The reason for doing a quantitative risk or reliability analysis is always that, somewhere underlying there is a decision to be made. The decision analysis therefore always forms the context for the risk or reliability analysis, and this context shapes the form and language of that analysis. Therefore, they give in this section a brief review of the well-known decision theory diagram