Software review

Estimations to support safety analysis of nuclear facilities are carried out through the use of different national and foreign software tools (hereinafter to be referred to as the – software or computation codes). The federal regulations and rules in the field of use of atomic energy include requirements related to the application of the software which is certified to support safety analysis (The requirements provided by regulatory documents in the field of use of atomic energy on software certification).

The Expert Council as well as its subpanels for different thematic areas is established under the aegis of Rostechnadzor (hereinafter to be referred to as the - the Council) to carry out of review and certification of software. The Council and its subpanels include specialists which are recommended by the industry-oriented enterprises, institutions of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the higher education institutions and SEC NRS. The representatives from fifty organizations are involved into the Council and its subpanels activities. In correspondence with the assignment of Rostechnadzor since 1991 the Council activity management has been performed by SEC NRS.

Software used to support the analysis of the designs, the engineering solutions, parameters, modes of operation which influence the safety of nuclear facilities along with the software applied in the process systems to ensure the safety of nuclear facilities are considered as the objects of certification. The Russian and foreign computation codes (the newly-developed and already adopted) are subject to certification.

The sequence of Rostechnadzor actions in case of organization or individuals’ application for software certification is established by “Procedure on Organization of Software Certification Used to Support Safety Justification and (or) Safety Ensuring of Nuclear Facilities” (RD-03-33-2008).

Report on Software Verification is concerned as the fundamental document, which demonstrates the declared characteristics of software (availability to perform mathematic simulation of different modes, processes and/or conditions of nuclear facilities with the reasonable accuracy). This Report is submitted to the Council in the package of documents accompanying the application for a software certification.

The requirements to the items and content of Report on Software Verification and Validation are specified in RD-03-34-2000.

The following Safety Guides are recommended to be used in the course of software verification and review:

  • “Provision on Verification and Review of Software in the Field of “Neutron and Physical Calculations”, (RB–061–11);
  • “Provision on Recommendations to Comparison of the Calculated and the Measured Reactivity during Nuclear Safety Analysis of WWER-type Reactor Installations, (RB–074–12);
  • “Design Ratio and Calculation Methodologies for Hydrodynamic and Thermal Performance of Components and Equipment of the Water-Cooled Nuclear Power Installations”, (RB–040–09);
  • “Calculation Ratio and Calculation Methodologies of Hydrodynamic and Thermal Characteristics of Components and Equipment of Nuclear Power Facilities with Liquid-Metal Coolant”, (RB–075–12).

«"On Approaches of Regulatory Authorities of Mature Nuclear Countries to Software Verification and Validation at Nuclear Facility Safety Analysis", Bogdan S. N., Ph.D. in Technical Sciences; Shevchenko S.А. (SEC NRS). (Preprint of the article prepared for publication in the Scientific and Practice Periodical “Nuclear and Radiation Safety” No.4 (2013).

The list of the applicable Software Certificates.

Head of the Expert Council on software certification under Rostechnadzor is Sergey N. Bogdan, Deputy Director of SEC NRS. In respect to the organization and implementation of software certification, along with aspects concerned with the Expert Council and its subpanel’s activities, please contact:

Shevchenko Sergey
(Scientific Secretary of the Council, Deputy Head of Safety Review Division)
tel. +7 (499) 753-05-24,
sshevchenko@secnrs.ru or

Shevchenko Roman
(Senior Engineer of Safety Review Division)
tel. +7 (499) 753-05-24,

rshevchenko@secnrs.ru

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