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The human factor in licensing and operating the next generation of nuclear plants
As human factors specialists working at the intersection of human performance and nuclear operations, we are witnessing one of the nuclear sector’s most significant transitions in decades. The emergence of small modular reactors, microreactors, and other advanced designs is reshaping the industry’s landscape. Digital instrumentation and controls, passive safety systems, and increased automation are creating opportunities for greater safety margins and more flexible operation. These same features also fundamentally redefine what it means to “operate” a nuclear plant. Interactions among human roles, automation, and passive systems shape how people maintain awareness, exercise judgment, and intervene when necessary. These developments affect both operational realities and the regulatory foundations on which nuclear safety is built.
G.A. Esteban, F. Legarda, L.A. Sedano, A. Perujo
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 41 | Number 3 | May 2002 | Pages 948-953
Material Interaction and Permeation | Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Tritium Science and Technology Tsukuba, Japan November 12-16, 2001 | doi.org/10.13182/FST02-A22725
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An accurate and particular description of isotope effects in hydrogen transport within structural martensitic steels is highly needed in nuclear fusion technology in order to describe the tritium-material interaction on the basis of the properties of the non-radioactive hydrogen isotopes (protium and deuterium). As a result, tritium transport investigation becomes technologically more feasible because a cost-effective radioactive device is not mandatory. Additionally, a precise isotopic description allows differentiating the behaviour of the fuel-components deuterium and tritium within the blanket structures in reactor operation conditions. A time-dependent gas-phase isovolumetric desorption technique has been used to evaluate the isotopic effects in the diffusive transport parameters of hydrogen in an 8% CrWVTa reduced activation martensitic steel in the temperatures range 423 to 892 K and driving pressures from 4·104 to 1·105 Pa. Experiments have been run with both protium and deuterium obtaining their respective transport parameters diffusivity (D), Sieverts' constant (Ks), permeability (Φ), the trap site density (ηt) and the trapping activation energy (Et).