Hierarchical differential evolution for minimal cut sets identification: Application to nuclear safety systems

•We identify minimal cut set (mcs) of coherent and non-coherent Fault Trees (FTs).•We present a Hierarchical Differential Evolution (HDE) algorithm for mcs identification.•Mcs identification is originally transformed into a hierarchical optimization problem.•The HDE method is applied to the Reactor Protection System (RPS) of a PWR reactor.

In this paper, we present a Hierarchical Differential Evolution (HDE) algorithm for minimal cut set (mcs) identification of coherent and non-coherent Fault Trees (FTs). In realistic application of large-size systems, problems may be encountered in handling a large number of gates and events. In this work, to avoid any approximation, mcs identification is originally transformed into a hierarchical optimization problem, stated as the search for the minimum combination of cut sets that can guarantee the best coverage of all the minterms that make the system fail: during the first step of the iterative search, a multiple-population, parallel search policy is used to expedite the convergence of the second step of the exploration algorithm. The proposed hierarchical method is applied to the Reactor Protection System (RPS) of a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) and to the the Airlock System (AS) of a CANadian Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) reactor. Results are evaluated with respect to the accuracy and computational demand of the solution found.