To develop a human-reliability assessment (HRA) application called the Human Unimodel for Nuclear Technology to Enhance Reliability (HUNTER).
HUNTER functions as a framework for dynamic HRA modeling—including a simplified model of human cognition and a virtual operator—that produces relevant outputs, such as human-error probability, time spent on task, or task decisions based on plant evolutions.
Researchers will develop a framework that formalizes the HRA method as software code that could be applied to industry risk analysis. The initial demonstration centers on a steam-generator tube-rupture scenario, using complexity as the first virtual operator performance-shaping factor. The implementation of HUNTER can be readily scaled to other nuclear power plant scenarios of interest and will include additional PSFs in the future.
2022—update the HUNTER code to include the capability to support evaluations of operator actions during highly dynamic (i.e., time-dependent) accident scenarios; develop coupling mechanisms to support interaction between HUNTER and Event Modeling Risk Assessment using Linked Diagrams (EMRALD) to facilitate seamless integrated dynamic probabilistic risk assessment simulations; and demonstrate capabilities of HUNTER using additional accident scenarios during which operator actions are analyzed within dynamic accident progression.
2023—finalize a quality-assured code for industry use; facilitate a HUNTER user's group with industry engagement.
2024—use HUNTER to model safety margins and staffing efficiency through planned control-room upgrade scenarios related to digital instrumentation and control; develop an approach for the use of artificial-intelligence and machine-learning technologies for simplifying HUNTER analyses; develop and demonstrate interfaces between HUNTER and other simulator tools (e.g., full-scope and microworld simulators).