1 Introduction

Current American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) nuclear codes and standards rely primarily on deterministic and mechanistic approaches to design. The American Institute of Steel Construction and the American Concrete Institute, among other organizations, have incorporated probabilistic methodologies into their design codes. ASME nuclear codes and standards could benefit from developing a probabilistic, reliability-based, design methodology. This report addresses this need of developing such a methodology for piping.

This chapter provides general background material, discusses an earlier pilot project to develop probabilistic design procedures for Section III, and identifies current risk-informed regulatory, ASME, and industry initiatives.