First Research Coordination Meeting on a Methodology for Assessing Pipe Failure Rates in Advanced Water Cooled Reactors

This is the first meeting for the IAEA Cooperative Research Project (CRP) on a Methodology for Assessing Pipe Failure Rates in Advanced Water Cooled Reactors.

Successful deployment of advanced water cooled reactor (WCR) technologies includes the development of design certification probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) studies that among other aspects must also address piping reliability in multiple contexts. The purpose of this CRP is to propose a new methodology to predict pipe failure rates in advanced WCRs, based on five decades of extensive and documented national operating experiences. It will provide Member States with an open access to a strong technical basis for establishing plant piping reliability parameters in support of design certification PSA studies, in-service inspection programme development, and operational support. It will combine the current state-of-knowledge on piping degradation and failures, and address the important area of predicting pipe failure rates relevant to deployable advanced WCRs.

Ten organizations from eight Member States have responded to the Call for Proposals issued in 2017 November. The CRP will be conducted over a period of four years.

Scientific Secretary: Tatjana Jevremovic, Nuclear Power Technology Development Section