Application of Risk-Informed Validation Framework to a Flooding Scenario

Abstract

In recent years, the use of advanced simulation tools for modeling the behavior of flooding at a nuclear power plant has gained significant importance. The credibility of advanced simulation codes is assessed using formal approaches for verification and validation. In this manuscript, a formal risk-informed validation approach is proposed that provides a basis to quantify credibility of system-level risk assessments. The credibility of system-level validation is represented using a probabilistic metric and maturity levels. The novelty of the proposed approach lies in the integration of risk-informed validation approach with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (USNRC) Evaluation Model Development and Assessment Process (EMDAP) framework. This allows transformation of EMDAP into a risk-informed EMDAP. The applicability of the proposed framework is evaluated by application to a flooding scenario of a sunny-day dam failure. Application to the flooding scenario illustrates that the credibility of flooding simulations can be assessed using formal quantification, which is otherwise not possible in the existing EMDAP framework.