The Importance of Probabilistic Safety Assessment in the Careful Study of Risks Envolved to New Nuclear Power Plant Projects

Jônatas Franco Campos da Mata; Amir Zacarias Mesquita

doi:10.15392/bjrs.v9i2A.629

Authors

Jônatas Franco Campos da Mata Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear - CDTN
Amir Zacarias Mesquita Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear - CDTN

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15392/bjrs.v9i2A.629

Keywords:

Probabilistic Safety Assessment, Nuclear Power Plant, Reliability, Operational Safety, Nuclear Risk

Abstract

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident in Japan in 2011 has raised public fears about the actual safety of nuclear power plants in several countries. The response to this concern by government agencies and private companies has been objective and pragmatic in order to guarantee best practices in the several phases of nuclear reactors. In countries where the nucleo-electric matrix is consolidated, such as the United States, France and the United Kingdom, the safety assessment is carried out considering deterministic and probabilistic criteria. In the licensing stages of new projects, it is necessary to analyze and simulate the behavior of the nuclear power plant, when subjected to conditions that can lead to sequences of accidents. Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) is fundamental in this process, as it studies in depth the sequences of events that can lead to damage to the reactor core. Such sequences should be quantified in terms of probability of occurrence and your possible consequences, and organized through techniques such as Fault Tree Analysis and Event Tree Analysis. The present work will describe the procedures for the realization of PSA and its applicability to the assurance of the operational reliability of the nuclear reactors, as well as a brief comparative between the approaches used in some countries traditionally users of thermonuclear energy and Brazil. By means of this analysis, it can be concluded that nuclear power is increasingly reliable and safe, being able to provide the necessary tranquility for the population of the countries where it is inserted.

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Author Biographies

Jônatas Franco Campos da Mata, Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear - CDTN

Possui graduação em Engenharia de Minas pela Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (1994), MBA em Gerenciamento de Projetos pela Fundação Getúlio Vargas (2014) e Mestrado em Ciências e Tecnologia de Radiações, Minerais e Materiais pelo Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear - CDTN (2016). Está cursando o Doutorado em Engenharia Metalúrgica, de Materiais e de Minas pela Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, com previsão de conclusão em 2020. Leciona as disciplinas Seminários Integradores, Sistemas de Transporte e Equipamentos de Mina e Desenho e Mapa de Mina para o curso de Engenharia de Minas da Faculdades Kennedy. Leciona as disciplinas Pesquisa Operacional II, Gestão de Operações de Serviços e Fundamentos de Sistemas Produtivos II para o curso de Engenharia de Produção da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais - PUC MG. Lecionou para o curso de Engenharia de Minas da Universidade do Estado de Minas Gerais (UEMG) e para o curso de Engenharia Mecânica da Faculdade Pitágoras. Tem atuado como orientador de projetos de pesquisa e extensão, nas áreas de Tecnologia Mineral e aproveitamento de rejeitos de mineração em construção civil. Tem sólida experiência na área de Engenharia de Minas, com ênfase nas seguintes especialidades: pesquisa mineral, planejamento de mina, desenvolvimento e lavra, operação de usina de beneficiamento mineral, desenvolvimento de processos e gerenciamento de projetos mineiros. Atuou em minerações de médio e grande porte, sendo as principais: SAMITRI, VALE, CADAM, Jaguar Mining, Prometálica Mineração, Galvani e MMX.

Amir Zacarias Mesquita, Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear - CDTN

Doutor em Engenharia Química - Universidade Estadual de Campinas (2005), mestre em Ciências Técnicas e Nucleares - Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (1981), graduado em Engenharia Elétrica - Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (1978). Pesquisador Titular III do Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear/Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN). Docente Permanente e Membro Titular do Colegiado do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia das Radiações, Minerais e Materiais do CDTN, a partir de 2013. Bolsista de Produtividade, Desenvolvimento Tecnológico e Extensão Inovadora do CNPq. Dedica-se à pesquisa em engenharia nuclear com ênfase em termohidráulica e neutrônica experimental de reator nuclear de pesquisa. É autor de mais de duas centenas de artigos técnicos publicados em revistas internacionais e anais. Sua pesquisa tem-se destacado em estudos e experimentos sobre alternativas de monitoramento da energia liberada pelas fissões nucleares, objetivando a segurança e confiabilidade na operação dos reatores. Indicado duas vezes pelo "Eni Scientific Secretariat" para o "The Eni Award" (2011 e 2012, Azienda Generale Italiana Petroli AGIP"), categoria: "Protection of the Environment Prize". Perito da Agência Internacional de Energia Atômica - IAEA e do "National Centre of Science and Technology Evaluation (Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan) .Consultor do "Programa Iberoamericano de Ciência y Tecnología para el Desarrollo - CYTED", do Conselho de Ensino da CNEN, da FAPEMIG e do CNPq. Coordenador de projetos de pesquisa no CDTN/CNEN, FAPEMIG e CNPq. Líder do Grupo de Pesquisa/CNPq "Tecnologia de Reatores Nucleares". Colaborador de projetos na UFMG, UNICAMP, FINEP, CAPES e INCT/CNPq. Membro da Associação Brasileira de Energia Nuclear (ABEN) e da Associação Brasileira de Engenharia e Ciências Mecânicas (ABCM). Autor do livro: Digital Control System Simulation for Nuclear Reactor Neutronic Parameters - Nova Science Publishers Inc. NY (2012). Editor dos livros: Current Research in Nuclear Reactor Technology in Brazil and Worldwide (2013) e Nuclear Reactors (2012) - InTech Publisher (Croácia). Membro do Corpo Editorial de várias revistas, tais como: Energy and Environment Research (Canadian Center of Science and Education) , International Journal of Energy Engineering (USA) e Journal on Nuclear Energy Management and Safety (UK).

References

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Conferences Proceedings

ŠIMIĆ,Z.; MIKULIČIĆ,V.; VUKOVIĆ, I. Risk from Nuclear Power Utilization after Fukushima Accident, In: SYMPOSIUM DEVELOPMENT OF POWER ENGINEERING IN CROATIA, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Osijek, Croatia, 2011.