Quality assurance for a nuclear power plant simulator by applying standards for safety-critical software

• A systematic quality assurance method for nuclear power plant simulators is proposed.
• Basing on experiences with safety-critical software.
• Application of this method to a real project is also described as a practical reference.

Nuclear power plant simulators are playing a more important role in nuclear power plant lifecycle analysis, and the quality of the simulators should be verified to ensure the safety of nuclear power plants. Currently, there is no systematic quality assurance method for nuclear power plant simulators. In this paper, a systematic quality assurance method for nuclear power plant simulators is proposed basing on experiences with safety-critical software. Key aspects of the method are discussed. In addition, application of this method to a real project is also described as a practical reference.