Abstraction of information in repository performance assessments. Examples from the SKI project sife-94

摘要

Peforomance Assessment of a nuclear waste repository implies an analysis of a complex system with many interacting processes. Even if some of these processes may be known to large detail, problems arise when combining aill information, and means of abstracting information from complex detailed models into models that couple different processes are needed. Clearly, one of the major objectives of performance assessment, to calculate doses or other performance indicators, implies an enormous abstraction of informance indicators, implies and enormous abstraction of information compared to all information that is used as input. Ohter problems are that the knowledge of different parts or processes is strongly variable and adjustments, interpretations, are needed when combining models from different disciplines. In addition, people as well as computers, even today, always have a limited capacity to process information and choices have to be made. However, because abstraction of information clearly is unavoidable in performance assessment the validity of choices made, always need to be scrutinized and judgements made need to be updated in an iterative process.