Integration of the heterogeneous reliability data for fusion-specific components of the DONES Accelerator Systems

• Published in: Fusion engineering and design 2021-11, Vol.172, p.112868, Article 112868
• Main Authors: Kowal, Karol, Kopka, Piotr, Kałowski, Jacek, Kwiatkowski, Tomasz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algorithms; Component reliability; DONES Accelerator Systems; Failure rates; Heterogeneous reliability data; Monte Carlo simulation; Monte Carlo simulations; RAMI analysis; Random sampling; Reliability analysis; Safety; Statistical analysis; Systems design
• ISSN: 0920-3796; 1873-7196
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fusengdes.2021.112868

•A novel method for integration of the heterogeneous reliability data was developed.•Monte carlo method was applied for random sampling of data from different sources.•A case study was presented on the data integration for fusion-specific components.•Enhanced dataset was provided for components of the DONES accelerator systems.•Within-source and between-source uncertainty is addressed in the resulting dataset. A novel method in the fusion field has been established to integrate the heterogeneous reliability data for fusion-specific components of the DONES Accelerator Systems. It makes use of several data sources of different content and structures developed independently by various organizations. The algorithm is based on the commonly used Monte Carlo method. The random sampling of reliability data coming from different sources is preceded by the selection of the relevant inputs. The sampling process is implemented with respect to the within-source and between-source uncertainty of the raw input data. As a result, the empirical probability distributions are generated for the failure rates of the relevant components that can be used in safety and reliability studies of the DONES Accelerator Systems. The final objective is to improve the RAMI and safety studies by enhancing the quality of the input models. This, in turn, provides more confidence to the decision makers on the fusion systems design. The general method proposed in this work can be applied, however, for the source-to-source integration of the reliability data for a wide range of other components, thus making the statistical inferences on the system's reliability more adequate.