The analytic hierarchy process as a systematic approach to the identification of important parameters for the reliability assessment of passive systems

Passive systems play a crucial role in the development of future solutions for nuclear plant technology. A fundamental issue still to be resolved is the quantification of the reliability of such systems. In this paper, we firstly illustrate a systematic methodology to guide the definition of the failure criteria of a passive system and the evaluation of its probability of occurrence, through the identification of the relevant system parameters and the propagation of their associated uncertainties. Within this methodology, we propose the use of the analytic hierarchy process as a structured and reproducible tool for the decomposition of the problem and the identification of the dominant system parameters. An example of its application to a real passive system is illustrated in details. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.