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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.
N. A. Anderson, P. Sabharwall
Nuclear Technology | Volume 178 | Number 3 | June 2012 | Pages 335-340
Technical Note | Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT12-A13598
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Molten salt coolants are being investigated as primary coolants for a fluoride high-temperature reactor and as secondary coolants for high-temperature reactors such as the next-generation nuclear plant. This work provides a review of the thermophysical properties of candidate molten salt coolants for use as a secondary heat transfer medium from a high-temperature reactor to a processing plant. The molten salts LiF-NaF-KF, KF-ZrF4, and KCl-MgCl2 were considered for use in the secondary coolant loop. The thermophysical properties necessary to add the molten salts KF-ZrF4 and KCl-MgCl2 to RELAP5-3D were gathered for potential modeling purposes. The properties of the molten salt LiF-NaF-KF were already available in RELAP5-3D. The effect that the uncertainty in individual properties had on the Nusselt number was evaluated. This uncertainty in the Nusselt number was shown to be nearly independent of the molten salt temperature.