Tatsuya Sakurahara

For More Information

• Socio-Technical Risk Analysis (SoTeRiA) Research Laboratory

Education

• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, PhD, Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, 2018
• University of Tokyo, MS, Nuclear Engineering and Management, 2013
• University of Tokyo, BS, Environment and Energy Systems Engineering, 2011

Biography

Tatsuya Sakurahara is a Research Assistant Professor at the Socio-Technical Risk Analysis (SoTeRiA) Research Laboratory in the Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering (NPRE). The SoTeRiA Research Laboratory is a multi-disciplinary research team focusing on advancements of Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA), pioneering three key areas of scholarly developments: (1) spatiotemporal coupling of physical failure mechanisms with human/social performance and generating an Integrated PRA (I-PRA) methodological framework, (2) incorporating big data analytics into PRA, and (3) integrating safety risk and financial risk. His current research interest includes the pipe failure rate estimation for advanced nuclear reactors, component reliability and availability prediction with explicit modeling of maintenance work processes and its coupling with physical degradation, and advancements of Fire PRA for nuclear power plants focusing on an efficient screening approach and multi-compartment fire analysis.

Sakurahara holds a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His Ph.D. research developed an Integrated Probabilistic Risk Assessment (I-PRA) methodological framework for Fire PRA of nuclear power plants by coupling a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) fire model with a human performance model for fire crew and integrating the fire-human coupling with the plant PRA model. For I-PRA, he also developed advanced techniques for importance measure analysis, the simulation-informed common cause failure modeling, and the Probabilistic Validation methodology for comprehensive uncertainty analysis. Sakurahara holds an M.Sc. in Nuclear Engineering and Management and a B.S. in Environment and Energy System Engineering from the University of Tokyo.

Academic Positions

• 2021-Present, Faculty Affiliate, Illinois Informatics Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 2020-Present, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering, Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Resident Instruction

• NPRE 561: Advanced Risk Analysis for Technological Systems, Spring 2023

Research Interests

• Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA)
• Integrated static-dynamic PRA
• Probabilistic Physics-of-Failure (PPoF) analysis
• Human Reliability Analysis (HRA)
• Risk-informed analysis for advanced nuclear reactors
• Risk importance measure
• Uncertainty quantification
• Sensitivity analysis
• Risk-informed decision-making
• Fire PRA
• Common Cause Failure (CCF) analysis
• Risk-informed Assessment of Automation Trustworthiness and Transparency

Selected Articles in Journals

• H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Probabilistic Validation: Theoretical Foundation and Methodological Platform, ASCE-ASME J Risk and Uncert in Engrg Sys Part B Mech Engrg, Vol. 9, Is. 2, 021204, (2023)
• K. Heckmann, D.-H. Ahn, J. Beal, W.-C. Cheng, X. Duan, T. Jevremovic, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, B. Lydell, S. Reihani, T. Sakurahara, M. Wang, Estimation of Pipe Failure Frequencies in the Absence of Operational Experience Data: A Pilot Study, Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 398, 111990, (2022)
• J. Yang, J. Kim, P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, C. Blake, Z. Mohaghegh, Uncertainty analysis on support vector machine for measuring organizational factors in probabilistic risk assessment of nuclear power plants, Progress in Nuclear Energy, Vol. 153, 104411, (2022)
• W.-C. Cheng, J. Beal, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, "Modeling Interconnections of Safety and Financial Performance of Nuclear Power Plants, Part 3: Spatiotemporal Probabilistic Physics-of-Failure Analysis and Its Connection to Safety and Financial Performance," Progress in Nuclear Energy, Vol. 153, 104382, (2022)
• G. Schumock, S. Zhang, P. Farshadmanesh, J.G. Owens, N. Kasza, J. Stearns, T. Sakurahara, Z. Mohaghegh, Integrated risk-informed design (I-RID) methodological framework and computational application for FLEX equipment storage buildings of nuclear power plants, Progress in Nuclear Energy, Vol. 120, (2020)
• W.C. Cheng, T. Sakurahara, S. Zhang, P. Farshadmanesh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, K. Heckmann, J. Sievers, B. Lydell, C. Zammali, X.-X. Yuan, X. Duan, R. Alzbutas, G.-G. Lee, J.A. Karim, V. Morozov, C. Takasugi, T. Jevremovic, Review and categorization of existing studies on the estimation of probabilistic failure metrics for reactor coolant pressure boundary piping and steam generator tubes in nuclear power plants, Progress in Nuclear Energy, Vol. 118 (2020)
• T. Sakurahara, Z. Mohaghegh, E. Kee, Human reliability analysis (HRA)-based method for manual fire suppression analysis in an integrated probabilistic risk assessment, SCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems: Part B. Mechanical Engineering, Special Issue on Human Performance & Decision-making in Complex Industrial Environments, Vol. 6, Is. 1, (2020)
• H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Spatiotemporal integration of an agent-based first responder performance model with a fire hazard propagation model for probabilistic risk assessment of nuclear power plants, SCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems: Part B. Mechanical Engineering, Special Issue on Human Performance & Decision-making in Complex Industrial Environments, Vol. 6, Is. 1, (2020)
• T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Global importance measure methodology for integrated probabilistic risk assessment frameworks, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part O: Journal of Risk and Reliability, Vol. 234. Is. 2, pp. 377-396, (2019)
• T. Sakurahara, N. O'Shea, W.-C. Cheng, S. Zhang, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Integrating renewal process modeling with probabilistic physics-of-failure: Application for estimation of loss of coolant accident (LOCA) frequencies in nuclear power plants, Reliability Engineering & System Safety, Vol. 190, (2019)
• H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, J. Pence, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, An algorithm for enhancing spatiotemporal resolution of probabilistic risk assessment to address emergent safety concerns in nuclear power plants, Reliability Engineering & System Safety, Vol. 185, pp. 405-428, (2019)
• J. Pence, T. Sakurahara, X. Zhu, Z. Mohaghegh, M. Ertem, C. Ostroff, E. Kee, Data-theoretic methodology and computational platform to quantify organizational factors in socio-technical risk analysis, Reliability Engineering & System Safety, Vol. 185, pp. 240-260, (2019)
• T. Sakurahara, G. Schumock, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Simulation-informed probabilistic methodology for common cause failure analysis, Reliability Engineering & System Safety, Vol. 185, pp. 84-99, (2019)
• P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Shake-RoverD framework for nuclear power plants: A streamlined approach for seismic risk assessment, Nuclear Technology, Vol. 205, Is. 3, pp. 442-463, (2019)
• J. Pence, I. Miller, T. Sakurahara, J. Whitacre, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, GIS-based integration of social vulnerability and level 3 probabilistic risk assessment to advance emergency preparedness, planning, and response for severe nuclear power plant accidents, Risk Analysis, Vol. 39, Is. 6, pp. 1262-1280, (2018)
• T. Sakurahara, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Methodological and practical comparison of integrated probabilistic risk assessment (I-PRA) with the existing fire PRA of nuclear power plants, Nuclear Technology, Vol. 204, Is. 3, pp. 354-377, (2018)
• T. Sakurahara, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, M. Brandyberry, S. Rodgers, An integrated methodology for spatio-temporal incorporation of underlying failure mechanisms into fire probabilistic risk assessment of nuclear power plants, Reliability Engineering & System Safety, Vol. 169, pp. 242-257, (2018)
• E. Kee, J. Hasenbein, A. Zolan, P. Grissom, S. Reihani, Z. Mohaghegh, F. Yilmaz, B. Letellier, V. Moiseytseva, R. Vaghetto, D. Imbaratto, T. Sakurahara, RoverD: Use of test data in GSI-191 risk assessment, Nuclear Technology, Vol. 196, Is. 2, pp. 270-291, (2016)

Articles in Conference Proceedings

• W.-C. Cheng, S. Reihani, T. Sakurahara, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, “Spatiotemporal Probabilistic Physics-of-Failure Analysis in Modeling Interconnections of Safety and Financial Performance of Nuclear Power Plants,” American Nuclear Society (ANS) 2022 Student Conference, Urbana, IL, 2022
• S. Alkhatib, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, “I-PRA Risk-Cost Informed Decision-Making Algorithm for Nuclear Power Plants,” Proceedings of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) 2021 International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2021), Online Virtual Conference, 2021
• S. Alkhatib, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, B. Ratte, K. Kaspar, M.A. Billings, S. Hunt, “Methodological and Computational Developments for Fire Scenario Selection and Analysis in Fire PRA of Nuclear Power Plants,” Proceedings of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) 2021 International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2021), Online Virtual Conference, 2021
• A. Roy, P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, “Managing Unexpected Failures of Nuclear Power Plants by Quantifying Uncertainty of Organizational Impacts on Probabilistic Risk Assessment,” Proceedings of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) 2021 International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA 2021), Online Virtual Conference, 2021
• K. Shimada, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, Z. Mohaghegh, Integration of Evacuation Simulation with a Level 3 PRA Code for Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 2020 Asian Symposium on Risk Assessment and Management Conference (ASRAM2020), Online Virtual Conference, 2020
• J. Yang, J. Pence, P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, C. Blake, Z. Mohaghegh, Equipping Machine Learning with Uncertainty Quantification to Update Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Nuclear Power Plants using NRC Licensee Event Reports, Proceedings of 2020 American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Meeting, Online Virtual Conference, 2020
• H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, J. Biersdorf, Z. Mohaghegh, I-PRA Uncertainty Importance Ranking to Enhance Fire PRA Realism for Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 2020 American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Meeting, Virtual Conference, 2020
• W.-C. Cheng, J. Beal, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Integrated Probabilistic Physics of Failure Methodology to Estimate Pipe Failure Rates for Risk-Informed Analysis of Advanced Nuclear Reactors, Proceedings of 2020 American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Meeting, Online Virtual Conference, 2020
• J. Beal, T. Sakurahara, E. Kee, S. Reihani, Z. Mohaghegh, Integrated Enterprise Risk Management to Synchronize Safety and Profitability Analysis for Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 2020 American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Meeting, Online Virtual Conference, 2020
• P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Risk-Informed Analysis of Nuclear Power Plant FLEX Storage Building, Proceedings of 30th European Safety and Reliability Conference & 15th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management Conference (ESREL2020 & PSAM15), Venice, Italy, 2020
• J. Beal, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, An Algorithm for Risk-Informed Analysis of Advanced Reactors with a Case Study of Pipe Failure Rate Estimation, Proceedings of 30th European Safety and Reliability Conference & 15th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management Conference (ESREL2020 & PSAM15), Venice, Italy, 2020
• S. Alkhatib, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, B. Ratte, Z. Mohaghegh, Academia-Industry Collaboration to Advance Screening Processes in Fire PRA of Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 30th European Safety and Reliability Conference & 15th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management Conference (ESREL2020 & PSAM15), Venice, Italy, 2020
• T. Sakurahara, H. Bui, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Enhancing Realism in Fire Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 30th European Safety and Reliability Conference & the 15th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management Conference (ESREL2020 & PSAM15), Venice, Italy, 2020
• H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, J. Biersdorf, Z. Mohaghegh, Integrated Probabilistic Risk Assessment (I-PRA) Importance Ranking for Fire PRA of Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 2019 American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Meeting, Washington D.C., 2019
• J. Beal, T. Sakurahara, J. Pence, P. Farshadmanesh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, Coupling Degradation and Maintenance to Model Safety Risk and Financial Risk Under An Integrated Enterprise Risk Management Methodology for Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 25th International Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology (SMiRT 25), Charlotte, NC, 2019
• T. Sakurahara, G. Schumock, T. Murase, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Spatio-Temporal Probabilistic Methodology and Computational Platform for Common Cause Failure Modeling in Risk Analysis, Proceedings of 2017 American Nuclear Society (ANS) International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA2017), Pittsburgh, PA, 2017
• T. Sakurahara, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Modeling the Interface of Manual Fire Protection Actions with Fire Progression in Fire Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 2017 American Nuclear Society International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA2017), Pittsburgh, PA, 2017
• T. Sakurahara, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Global Importance Measure Methodology for Integrated Probabilistic Risk Assessment, Proceedings of 2017 American Nuclear Society International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA2017), Pittsburgh, PA, 2017
• T. Sakurahara, H. Bui, J. Pence, W.-C. Cheng, Z. Mohaghegh, E. Kee, S. Reihani, M. Wortman, V. Moiseytseva, F. Yilmaz, D. Johnson, Protective Systems: Possible Extensions to the RoverD Method, Proceedings of 2017 American Nuclear Society International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA2017), Pittsburgh, PA, 2017
• H.H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, J. Pence, Z. Gu, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, M. Wortman, E. Kee, V. Moiseytseva, D. Johnson, Protective Systems: Definitions and Terms in the Regulated Risk Assessment Setting, Proceedings of 2017 American Nuclear Society International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA2017), Pittsburgh, PA, 2017
• H.H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, W.-C. Cheng, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, T. Crook, R. Vaghetto, M. Wortman, D. Munoz, D. Johnson, W. Schulz, F. Yilmaz, V. Moiseytseva, Protective Systems: An Application of Regulatory Guidance for ECCS Sump Performance, Proceedings of 2017 American Nuclear Society International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA2017), Pittsburgh, PA, 2017
• W.-C. Cheng, C.-H. Ding, N. O’Shea, T. Sakurahara, G. Schumock, Z. Mohaghegh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Global Sensitivity Analysis to Rank Parameters of Stress Corrosion Cracking in the Spatio-Temporal Probabilistic Model of Loss of Coolant Accident Frequencies, Proceedings of 2017 American Nuclear Society International Topical Meeting on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Analysis (PSA2017), Pittsburgh, PA, 2017
• T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, Z. Mohaghegh, M. Brandyberry, E. Kee, S. Rodgers, M.A. Billings, Integrated Probabilistic Risk Assessment (I-PRA) Methodology to Advance Fire Risk Modeling in Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of Annual European Safety and Reliability Conference 2015 (ESREL2015), Zürich, Switzerland, 2015
• T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, Z. Mohaghegh, M. Brandyberry, E. Kee, D. Johnson, S. Rodgers, M.A. Billings, Developing a New Fire PRA Framework by Integrating Probabilistic Risk Assessment with a Fire Simulation Module, Proceedings of 12th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management Conference (PSAM12), Honolulu, HI, 2014
• T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, M. Ertem, Z. Mohaghegh, E. Kee, Analyzing Importance Measure Methodologies for Integrated Probabilistic Risk Assessment in Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 12th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management Conference (PSAM12), Honolulu, HI, 2014
• T. Sakurahara, Z. Mohaghegh, E. Kee, S. Rodgers, M. Brandyberry, R. Kazemi, S. Reihani, A New Integrated Framework to Advance Fire Probabilistic Risk Analysis of Nuclear Power Plants, Proceedings of 2013 American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter Meeting, Risk Management Topical Meeting, Washington, D.C., 2013

Abstracts (in print or accepted)

• H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, “Probabilistic Validation Methodology for Probabilistic Risk Assessment,” Proceedings of the 16th Probabilistic Safety Assessment & Management Conference (PSAM 16), Honolulu, HI, 2022
• J. Beal, W.-C. Cheng, P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, “A Systematic Enterprise Risk Management Framework for Modeling the Interactions of Safety and Financial Performance in Nuclear Power Plants,” Proceedings of the 16th Probabilistic Safety Assessment & Management Conference (PSAM 16), Honolulu, HI, 2022
• T. Sakurahara, S. Alkhatib, M. Albati, S. Reihani, E. Kee, Z. Mohaghegh, T.L.v. Thaden, R. Kesler, F. Masoud, K. Kaspar, B. Ratté, M.A. Billings, “Academia-Industry Collaboration to Advance Fire Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Nuclear Power Plants,” Proceedings of the 16th Probabilistic Safety Assessment & Management Conference (PSAM 16), Honolulu, HI, 2022
• T. Sakurahara, Z. Mohaghegh, “Risk-informed Analysis for Advanced Nuclear Power Reactors: Pipe Reliability Case Study and Lessons Learned,” Proceedings of the 16th Probabilistic Safety Assessment & Management Conference (PSAM 16) Honolulu, HI, 2022
• J. Pence, J. Yang, P. Farshadmanesh, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, Z. Mohaghegh, “Theory-Guided Machine Learning for Licensee Event Reports of U.S. Nuclear Power Plants to Quantify Organizational Factors in Probabilistic Risk Assessment,” Abstract Presented at the 30th European Safety and Reliability Conference & 15th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management Conference (ESREL2020 & PSAM15), Venice, Italy, 2020

Reports

• Z. Mohaghegh, H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, M. Albati, S. Alkhatib, S. Reihani, E. Kee, D. Mandelli, V. Yadav, F. Yilmaz, and K. Kaspar, “I-PRA Decision-Making Algorithm and Computational Platform to Develop Safe and Cost-Effective Strategies for the Deployment of New Technologies,” Final Report for DOE Nuclear Energy University Programs (NEUP) Project 19-16298, (2023)
• International Atomic Energy Agency, “Methodologies for Assessing Pipe Failure Rates in Advanced Water Cooled Reactors,” IAEA Nuclear Energy Series (NES) No.NR-T-2.16 [IAEA Preprint], (2022)
• K. Kaspar, B. Ratté, M.A. Billings, Z. Mohaghegh, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, E. Kee, S. Alkhatib, M. Albati, T.L.v. Thaden, R. Kesler, F. Masoud, Integrated Fire Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) Modeling in Support of Operational Efficiency, Final Scientific and Technical Report on the U.S. Industry Opportunities for Advanced Nuclear Technology Development, Advanced Reactor Development Projects Pathway (DE-NE0008856), Urbana, IL, (2022)
• International Atomic Energy Agency, Technical Insights from Benchmarking Different Methods for Predicting Pipe Failure Rates in Water Cooled Reactors, IAEA TECDOC No. 1988, (2021)
• Z. Mohaghegh, T. Sakurahara, J. Beal, W.-C. Cheng, P. Farshadmanesh, S. Reihani, E. Kee, A. Rowell, F. Yilmaz, Systematic Enterprise Risk Management by Integrating the RISMC Toolkit and Cost-Benefit Analysis, Final Report for Nuclear Energy University Programs (NEUP) Project 17-12614, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, (2021)
• J.M. Biersdorf, H. Bui, T. Sakurahara, S. Reihani, C. Lafleur, D.L. Luxat, S.R. Prescott, Z. Mohaghegh, Risk Importance Ranking of Fire Data Parameters to Enhance Fire PRA Model Realism, INL/EXT-20-58489, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID, (2020)

Teaching Honors

• Teaching Excellence Awards, Illinois Student Government, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (April 2017 )

Research Honors

• George Apostolakis Fellowship, International Association for Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management (IAPSAM) (June 2022)