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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.
S. Chatzidakis, A. Ikonomopoulos, S. E. Day
Nuclear Technology | Volume 177 | Number 1 | January 2012 | Pages 119-131
Technical Paper | Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT12-A13332
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This study presents numerical modeling of the SPERT-IV D-12/25 tests, a series of reactivity insertion, self-limiting, transients for a variety of coolant flow conditions. The PARET-ANL code is used to simulate the system response under these reactivity-initiated accident conditions and estimate the measured damage-indicating parameters - including the cladding temperature - using three departure from nucleate boiling (DNB) correlations, namely, those of Tong, Mirshak, and Bernath. The main objective of this sensitivity analysis is to identify, through performance measures, the DNB correlation influence on the prediction of the transient behavior. It appears that for reactivity insertions >1.20 $, the predicted transient behavior varies significantly depending on the applied DNB correlation. In addition, this study discusses the degree of conservatism introduced by each DNB correlation in the peak clad temperature estimates.
