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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.
L. Yu, E. Weetjens, J. Perko, D. Mallants
Nuclear Technology | Volume 174 | Number 3 | June 2011 | Pages 411-423
Technical Paper | TOUGH2 Symposium / Radioactive Waste Management and Disposal | doi.org/10.13182/NT11-A11749
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Two numerical codes, TOUGH2 with the EOS5 module and CODE_BRIGHT, were compared in a confidence building effort for multiphase flow problems in a geological repository in Boom Clay, Belgium. A model study comparison between two codes was carried out through three numerical examples, including a one-dimensional hydro-gas (HG) case, a two-dimensional (2-D) axisymmetrical HG case with a constant hydrogen production rate, and a 2-D axisymmetrical thermo-hydro-gas (THG) case with time-varying heat and gas production rate. This numerical study of modeling the gas-driven migration of pore water under constant or time-dependent thermal conditions in two dimensions is based on the current Belgian multibarrier repository design for geological disposal of high-level waste. Comparison between numerical results demonstrates that the two numerical tools give sufficiently similar results in all three cases, thus providing evidence for the consistency of these tools in solving HG and THG problems in Boom Clay. The differences in the results obtained by the two modeling tools were also discussed.